13 DAZE: A Bloodstained Cross
by Heath Oslo
Summary: Fallen in the clutches of the devils, will the young dragon ever be set free from his chains? Through tragedy and suffering-this is the story of Issei Hyoudou and his War of Change. A more philosophical take on the events of DxD with some existential themes.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, this is my first fanfic ever as I've written mostly philosophical essays and that but never a story. It's a first so i don't even expect it to be interesting in the least,but i had fun writing this first chapter of 13 DAZE

Well it might seem similar to any other dxd fic as it starts with Issei dying and his meeting with Rias. It might seem similar to other works but that is just the beginning. Kinda inspired by the great Arrixam but it would go differently than most as I've prepared some interesting twists and lots of OCs plus some unexpected things.

In the future chapters I'll deal with the people at the 7th Daze bar and Issei's transition and change. I don't expect it to be read by anyone so if i could get atleast 1 feedback or comment i would continue to write as things are getting to the juicy parts. Some new lore would be added as well as original arcs and that shit. The title of this story is a corruption on the word Days as it is a allegory to the clients of the Bar.

So I'd be happy if you would give it a shot and keep reading. As for the final part of this chapter, read it with some creepy background music. And the identity of the character in the final part- I'll leave that to you. Because the possibilities of her true identity are a lot and it's more deep and philosophical as it's lots of symbolism and subtle hints. I decided to spice up Raynare to make her a bit more nasty than usual and for what's on Issei's body- it's not a tattoo, it's a bit different(inspired by Arrixam for this one) plus the curse. Well enjoy. And so it begins. The story of 13 Daze...

Act.1

Hey,are you free on Sunday? Hey I'm talking to you, you know?

It was a dream like never before. A dream so vivid, just like it was yesterday, like it happened not so long ago but it would still haunt me today. Yet it felt so unreal like a daze in the middle of spring as the leaves bloom with color,life anew to begin with the soul of the passing winter.  
Yet unreal,it was more than a distant memory as much more reality. A cruel reality that no matter how much i would wish for it to be untrue, it was always the opposite of what the logic of the world had in store.  
And there was nothing left of the simple, peaceful life that i had been living until that day came. Something i would have never thought to happen, not even in my wildest nightmares, but it happened. I'm still alive, still breathing... But this emptiness that i feel... It's like nothing can fill up the void in the place where my heart used to be... Why was i left alive.?Why did i survive... Why me,why did it have to be me... I'm still wondering why it was me and why did it have to happen. Just why...  
And occasionally i would still see that moment of my existence as a day that for which i prayed would never happen or to be true. The day that changed everything...

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Hyoudou everyday average 17 year old guy and a normal high school first sight it was sure he was a plain highschooler living his mundane life without a worry in the world. That would have been true if he hadn't seen the worst the world could have offered anyone on the plate of karma,for it had been 2 years since the day he was left all alone in this cold world,without much anything that a empty home with no one to love nor to bicker with.  
Since he had nothing else to do he still did go to school, still had to study for his grades, was always on time for his first class and still had to do some odd jobs to meet the criteria for living, as it was hard to find a normal job for the lecherous beast he was. And of course just like any young man, he would still peek at the girls in the locker room or in P.E class to satisfy his nature of indulging in the ways of Debauchery. May the force of Debauchery be blessed as he would say.

He wasn't a model or like any of the popular hot guys at school, who'd be asked by a multitude of girls on a daily basis.  
He wasn't really handsome, but neither ugly as it would be more likely to say he was unremarkable or distinguishable in the flock of pretty boys. In fact he was one of the losers at school, one that you'd avoid by any means necessary. It was a benefit he shared with his accomplices in peeping - the duo of Matsuda and Motohama,a bespectacled boy of average physique and a boy with a shaved off head with a passion for breasts as much as the other two. They were also known as the Pervert Trinity of Kuoh.  
No one would give Issei the time of day or to notice him as no one acknowledged his existence due to being regarded as enemy of every woman. But it was a good asset for his hobby as hardly anyone gave him a glance... Unless as usual he was caught by the girls and thoroughly beaten for his perverted antics.

But the reality was a bit different if anything one would guess. If there was anything that actually stood out it was the way he dressed himself. Never to be seen without his shirt off even for P.E and was thought of being a skinny loser with zero muscle and weird fashion taste. Though he was anything than skinny, as a matter of fact he was quite fit more than your average pervert would be but it was unnoticeable due to the red shirt beneath his uniform,tightly hugging his upper body and making him look like one of those otaku guys that were more involved in their activities than to go outside. It was probably due to being beaten every day for peeping but it can't be always carried a silver cross,a memento from his late wasn't even religious or anything like it,it was due to respect of his late one even cared to ask why he was wearing such a thing under his uniform even in the heat of summer, as no one actually cared for his existence especially the female populace of school. Or even more if he was wearing it non stop, since he was never seen at the pool or in gym clothes without like if anyone would dare speak with a sexual deviant and risk their reputation of being acquainted with one of the Pervert Trinity and get laughed at. It was a social suicide no one would like to take. And no one actually noticed the bulk of his muscles as he wore that undershirt non stop.

…Or what was crawling beneath the surface of his upper body.

As for one thing he was blessed with - it was the power to avoid attention and not raise even the tiniest bit of suspicion as one might guess. Heck it was so good that dare say it would rank as a Presence Concealment. But that stuff was only in anime and visual novels. For the sake of his hobby he was ready to take risks and take a hit for the team, sadly always and was encouraged to the extreme by fellow perverts...

Living the life of a pervert wasn't easy- to be rejected, shunned and scorned by society for being true to your nature. Never to be acknowledged or even have a relationship where you won't get kicked on the third minute of a date. As no one would even think of being friends or lovers with someone on the bottom chain of society. But it wasn't so bad because there was always eroge and hentai releases every month. But it could never replace real communication or relationships with people as Issei was the type of person you wouldn't want to get involved with. Aside from his best buds... But it was probably because of shared interest than a courtesy of friendship.

If anything it was a sad and miserable life for him with no one to turn to or relly on. He was all alone in this world. A loneliness he had never felt before. He was never the same... Well if not friends or any confidants he had someone to help him around or find him work as he needed money to to survive. And on top he was a part of some club, be it 13 people in total but he wasn't really in touch with most of them except for Chesare MonBlanc and Arthur Halle Mason. But the rest either freaked him out or were people he didn't want to mess with,most of them being rich or dangerous . Especially that blonde Italian girl named Eleanora Florence. For she would never forget their first meeting and still didn't had a good opinion of him and avoided him like the plague whenever he went to the bar known as 7th Haze to meet with the others. She probably hated him in the guts...

XXXXXXXXXXX

It was a sunny day in the middle of June on a Friday afternoon. 5th Period was starting but Issei was no where to be found as he was probably going for a run to the room above the girls locker.  
" The damn pervert is probably out again to check on girls "... was thinking the Literature teacher of class 3. That poor man was the homeroom teacher for Issei's class as decided by a game of luck between the teachers for who to take over the class. Sadly he got the end of the short stick for this one.  
"What am i to do with this boy,dear god "- he mumbled under his nose with a frown growing on his face. He really hated that kid.

Meanwhile in a not so far away place...

A huge line of people was before the local anime and manga goods store, probably waiting to get their newest copies of their favorite manga or to buy Blu- ray disks on a discount price.

" When will my turn come? Ive been waiting since an hour for now and it's still not my turn yet. Mankitsu Happening 4 won't wait forever god damn it! " - he sighed on the thought of waiting for another hour in the heat. His face grew in a tired expression of sleepiness and annoyance as he couldn't get the hentai he waited for a month. He hoped that it would be better than the last one... But it was for naught...

After 15 more minutes of waiting, the thought of a quick stroll came into his mind out of nowhere so he decided to follow on. " Maybe a short walk won't hurt,right? I don't have anyone to be worried, so it won't be a problem. " - sighed the tired man yet again and started walking away from the crowd that was gathered around the shop.  
The sun was yet still scorching even though it was around 19:00 pm as shown on the clock.

His walk continued till he reached what appeared to be a old concrete brigde with metal bars and a nearby convenience store with porn magazines at the front, next to a fridge with cold beverages on the side of the 7/11. He sped up his pace as by attracted to the alluring gaze of the porn mag stand, as he was a pervert and wouldn't miss such a opportunity to refresh his evergrowing collection of indecent memorabilia. Plus those were a special edition pack, one that he absolutely must have if not be damned. He reached out for the magazine, ogling it with his eyes like a predator it's prey. And then he heard a sweet voice calling "Hey you there,the one with the magazine! ".. "Hey!"...

Just like a miracle that befal only those who prayed for it, it was like the gods had actually heard his prayers. And he wasn't in the wrong at all. He turned his head around only to see the legs of a girl he didn't know.

" There's no way a girl would call for me just like 's probably someone else or something like that,i don't know." - as he removed his gaze from the girl in the distance and affixed his eyes onto the magazine cover, doubting that someone would even call. Shifting between pages and shifting he felt the presence of someone closing by on him with a fast pace, which spelt trouble for him - he thought.

And a arm made it's way to his shoulder, tightening it's grip on him.  
"How many times would i have to yell for you to get your attention?!. Jeez,you boys are always more interested in that... said a voice full of mischievous playfulness. Issei didn't know what was happening and the grip of her hand dropped his magazine on the floor in his panicked state to turn around. He didn't even notice when this girl came so close to him, standing with a bashful stance with her arms on his shoulder. He was perplexed by this situation due to never having experienced such a moment in his of it was due to being the but of someone's it was different this time. It sure was bliss for him.

The girl standing in front of him was someone he had never seen. Her hair was jet black as the night and she was damn cute as hell. She had smooth skin like that of a model and her chest was big, with playful eyes full of mischief. She was probably a popular girl among the boys in her school, no doubt. But still it felt too good to be true.

"Um, i think you've got the wrong guy,miss? It's not me you're looking for. " said Issei with a rather meek and down tone as if falling defeated by the arrows of luck. His eyes were far from cheerful and there was something else in them. Confusion. He was asked out only as a laughing stock or for some girl's bet and when he was, he was only used for a rite of passage. As no girl liked him,it was out of pity and disgust and most of them left on the 10th minute. They couldn't stand being with him more than that. So why this?

The girl bowed down in a courteous manner and introduced herself as Yuuma Amano, a second-year from a nearby school. She lifted her head up and said-  
"Issei Hyoudou from Kuoh Academy, Class 3. That's you, right? I've been wanting to see you ever since a friend of mine told me about you. Are you free on Sunday noon? Well if you don't want to"...- said with a slight hesitation the girl who came a bit closer to Issei to close the gap in distance.

" I'm free, ok!" Issei nodded with the speed of light with his arms up in the air. He wasn't thinking much because he didn't have expect this kind of a situation. It was probably someone's was embarrassed by his sudden reaction and dropped his arms to his waist.

"So Sunday noon it is. I'll wait for you at the shopping center at 10:00 am. Next to the benches. Is that okay with you? " She winced her eyelashes with a hopeful gaze mixed with an impatient flicker of her beautiful eyes while holding her IPhone with a steady grip near her chest.

"Aa,also can i get your number as well?"- she muttered with a slight hesitation, not expecting anything or rather wasn't sure what to do. She squeaked with a really cute voice, which was a surprise for Issei. Most of them wouldn't even try to act nice... But this one?...

" Sure,no problem "- as he reached for the pocket on the left of his black pants and in his hand was a black Xperia E1 with a red devil bumper case.

After exchanging numbers and saying the proper parting words,Issei readied to turn away to continue but something sparked his attention. She started quickly walking down the lane with a rather prideful her cheeks were flushed with she was out of his line of sight just as quickly she had appeared. But it still felt off. It was rather weird.  
He shrugged it off like it was nothing, expecting it to be another fake date with him getting ridiculed and hummiliated. Then he turned away and started walking away from the 7/11, but forgot to get the magazine he wanted due to this unexpected turn of events that had transpired.

"If anything, she was acting atleast nice. It's probably fake like always but why did it feel so good. Her words did strike me as strange indeed. She was pretty eager after all". "Her words didn't seem forced or something like that but more dishonest. I'm sure it was that but if it's a date, then i don't really mind it".

Fake or not,it was a cute girl inviting him to a date, maybe he could actually enjoy this date and maybe he would get a kiss at the end of the day, something he would have looked forward to if not his reasonable doubt for Sunday. To hell with it,it's a date.

2 DAYS TILL THE DATE!

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Say, what do you think will happen on Sunday afternoon? " - muttered a unknown voice full of curiosity. As if waiting to hear something fun or interesting.

"For one thing the poor bastard would die surely. He's a stupid human anyways and would surely get killed easily. Oh such irony,to be killed on your first "real date"!

" So why are you so interested in him,especially him. He's average, not so good looking or of any worth. He's just a damn shitty human..."-  
Responded the first voice to the story of it's companion.

" He's not so worthless as you might believe him to be. In a matter of fact he's quite the valuable piece. But he's still human, he hasn't awakened yet. But time is on a constraint. If someone else knew what he had inside of him, it would surely bring up conflict. If he could awaken faser it would be better. So we..

"We will kill him?"- interrupted the first voice. Just by the sound of the voice,the owner sure was in excitement over the acquisition of the new piece. But more so it was the fact that he would suffer that entertained them, ready to reap in his missery and sorrow.

" No need to rush things. Everything is falling into it's place,the game is set and now it's time to see how the player would play. Why dirty our hands when we could just leave it to the Fallen and steal away the spoils.? It'd be a grave mistake to do it ourselves. So just stand back and watch the fun. It's starting tomorrow. "- the second voice burst into laughter and then the nasty sound of cracking bones was heard.

And it was only the deathly silence left as the moonlight shed light onto the dark asphalt of a nearby park...

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Sunday noon.

A small silhouette was peering through the mass of people gathered around the shopping center. It was surely a girl based on the way it walked and that long hair wouldn't be mistaken for a guy, would it?

" Sorry for being late,i should've called. I had some problems with reaching the place and missed the bus." It was Yuuma. Given the way she was breathing, she must've ran from the bus stop to this place.

" No problem. Don't worry. I actually get lost around all the time "- is what i said trying to act cool. I actually came an hour ago here and walked around the place to kill time. Wait she's watching me. I should pay attention to her after all.

"So shall we go? "

"Sure,let's go " - is what she said. And so our date began...

The day went by so fast . First they went to a local movie theater to watch some cheesy romantic film like any other couple did,went for shopping to the local stores, had lunch at McDonald's and spent the remainder of the day walking around. He even won her a plushie after spending a lot of cash win on one of those crane machines. It was worth every last penny to see her dazzling smile,even if it was even took a selfie or two to commemorate his victory over the crane machine.

As the day was being replaced by the advancing stages of the night the sun began to set, they went over to a near park as the final destination of their date. There was no one around at this time of the day so it was rather peaceful.  
She even wrapped her arms around his hand and pressed her generous bosom against his chest. It was like a blessing for him. But still something was nagging him in the back of his head. It was probably due to his excitement but he still couldn't shake this weird feeling.

And without even noticing the time, they were at the park already,a popular site for lovers or for those who were going to confess under the warm rays of the reddish sunset.A lot of lovebirds had their first kiss in front of the fountain so Issei wondered if this was going to be his first kiss.

Yuuma dropped her hand off his arm and went over to the fountain. She bended over and directed her gaze towards Issei. He could see her ample bust showing from the hem of her thight blouse and without much she spoke. 

"Issei, today so much fun with you. Did you enjoy our date?"

"Yeah,it was nothing like any other date i had before. I really enjoyed it."

She gave a lovely smile under the background of the setting sun, a view Issei had never seen before. It was just like one of those movies,so beautiful. She was radiating like the sun and she closed to him really close with a gentle sincerity in her eyes. He was stunned by this marvelous view.

"There's just one more thing left "

"What is it?"

"Can you die for me now ?"

He snapped, his eyes open wide.

She took a step back. The air around her swirled and a dark haze started to pour from her back as her clothes shattered into oblivion. A pair of black wings ripped through the back of her skin and stretched out, and the nakedness she had for a second was gone.

"This was really fun," even her tone changed from a cute girly one to something far more sinister and powerful , " it was just like taking a dog for a walk, in this case a pig"

The light was being sucked in her extended arm as the shadows within the park grew her hand manifested a bright spear of light and she gripped it like it was a physical object and not light.

She switched stances faster than the eyes could trace with a arrogant smirk threw the spear with master precision towards Issei. It would've been more effective if she just stabbed him while he was fazed by the view but her arrogance made her throw it expecting it to be a easy kill.  
The smoke from the blast was gone and her eyes widened in a conceited expression full of satisfaction. But then she looked again only to see - he survived. The spear had only scorched his jacket and made his shirt into tatters.

He quickly changed his stance with his right leg in front and arched forward with his fists clenched. Within the blink of an eye he was right in front of her with his eyes glaring at her with utmost rage.

"The fu—?!" were the words she was going to say but before she even managed to finish, a heavy uppercut combined with a fast kick to her ribbs sent her flying to the fountain.

He thought she was probably some avian humanoid so he went with enough force to knock her out.  
The dust settled down and before she could stand up, another punch landed on her face but stronger than the last.  
Trying to gain her footing again she went for the right but was caught in a bind by her left leg and slammed hard into the dirty pavement. Such a blow should have broken atleast a few ribs or more. All it left her was a few scrapes and a bleeding forehead. Her arms were bloody as the shock of being lifted so fast caused her to cover her face, but it wasn't so effective.

She wiped away the blood and roared with rage. "How the hell did a human.. "

He didn't wait for her to finish. He longed at her with a quick dash,landing his right leg on her chest. With his left leg he stomped rigth into her face.A cracking noise was heard as his legs caved into her, but it was for naught as she had this monster durability and was still conscious.

Yuuma snarled in a wrathful voice and grabbed his legs, throwing him in the nearest bench. With a lot of vigor and agility she kicked off the ground and flew upwards while she had time. She gritted her teeth and started mocking him.

"You fuckin shit,don't you think I'd let you get away with this!" -she cried, brought her arms in a X shape and started flinging spears at him.

Issei saw that and prepared to dodge. And them a strong sound was heard,smoke was everywhere and falling debris in every direction imaginable. Also there was a tint of blood in it.  
As the smoke cleared,it was clear it was hard due to the caved in pavement and the craters , there stood the aftermath of that spear barrage- Issei was lying on the floor with a spear of light in his left shoulder while the other ones barely hit him. It was the brunt of the impact that had damaged him- his head was spinning and his eardrums were busted, there was a small cough of blood. His upper shirt was now nonexistent.

The Fallen Angel rejoiced. She enjoyed the sight of him bloody in the dirt. She even gave a maniacal laugh, full of her disgusting pride. Her face twitched in a ugly face of smugness as she had won.

"How do you like it now,you filthy piglet? Was the date good enough for ya? Or you want some more of that? Where's your cool man act now huh?"  
She went on with her boasting without batting a eye to the bloodied boy on the ground. She was really proud of herself.

While she went on with her rants, he had stood up in a flash and jumped towards her with superhuman strength, propelling him in the air towards the Fallen.

Issei had been able to double his speed and wouldn't make the same mistake like the first time. He took out the spear from his shoulder midair and threw it towards her. She noticed it and didn't give it much thought as it wouldn't have hurt her. But it was a clever misdirection as he had shifted positions in her blind spot and clenched his fist. It went straight to her face.

 _ **A ***BOOST,BOOST, BOOST*****_ was heard.

His arm shifted into a draconia limb with blood red scales and had boosted his strength three times to deliver a headcrushing blow to her face. She was taken aback by his fist,plummeting to the ground with high speed, leaving a huge crater in the ground. She was coughing blood and was grasping for air.

" Just what the fuck are you? A human isn't capable of stuff like this." she spat blood. He had surely ruptured some capillaries and broke her jaw.

Yet Issei was unfazed. All of his previous wounds had faded by the time she was ranting. He went closer to her at a unidentifiable speed, 150m in less than a second. He was like a specter in her field of vision,incapable to trace or calculate where it might be.

He was right in front of her. His eyes weren't human. No human had eyes like that,especially green reptilian eyes like of a dragon . His eyes were peering into her very soul,piercing deeper and deeper... There was something savage, primitive, deadly in those eyes of his.

Just like those of a wild beast ready to attack it's prey.

He snatched her neck and lifted her up in the air,applying a deadly choking grip as she was erratically swinging her arms in a chaotic manner, trying to break free. All of her struggling was futile before the hands of this deadly predator. All she knew was that she was going to die this moment if a miracle didn't happen. And there were signs of none.

Then suddenly... another spear of light pierced through his legs as he didn't have time to react. He wasn't quick enough due to the effect of BOOST dwindling and reseting hims back to his base level. Another spear struck him from the front after the first one did it's job,his hold of her lessening. There was a big wound on his stomach,dripping blood all over the place. He screamed in pain as more and more spears pierced him in his shoulders. By the act of screaming his stomach wound had opened even more and he was loosing footing fast.

" It looks like we just came in time. If it was a second later you'd be dead by now Raynare " - it was the voice of a man.

Another one of them. Just like her. It was a man dressed in a long black overcoat with buttons in 2 rows,a black fedora and black gloves. Behind him were standing a entourage of two females with their wings fluttering. They descended to the ground and the fedora man gave her a whimsical smirk with a mocking gaze just by looking at her wounds.

"He got you good, didn't he? I didn't expect that Sacred Gear to be like that. No wonder he was on the target list"- mockingly said a rather childish voice.

" It wasn't a good idea to leave you to deal with him. That's why he followed you. If you had died it would have spelled bad for our affairs. We can't bring trouble to the plan. But it was kinda fun watching you get trashed around " - were the words, chiding Raynare. It was a different voice from the first one.

"Doh.. nas..ek…" barely pronouncing his name because of the thight grip Issei had on her,Yuuma or rather, Raynare was still gasping for air and she spat blood She would have said more if not for her almost crushed throat and lungs.

Issei tried to move but he was losing a lot of blood. Everything in him was screaming to run, to survive but his body didn't respond. His eyes were going dim... he was losing strength as the cold was gripping his battered body.

 _"*why didn't my regeneration work? Why did it happen. Why?*"-_ his thoughts were racing, questioning his awful luck. And then like a ghastly wisper the words he had heard before filled his head..

 _ **"*You won this battle boy but it won't be for long. You defeated me, a Original being but don't get so arrogant. This isn't the last of me. You'll see, just as you brought me down. I'll do the same,at your most dire moment when you wouldn't even expect it. Mark my words for I'll come to haunt you one more time in your last moments. I'll be waiting...***_

 ****"How does it feel to lose everything? Even now you're just a low life freak, come on. Beg for mercy like the worm you are. Does it look good on me? Maybe i should've taken your face as well. It'd make a nice wallet for my collection. **** the nightmare started yet again even in the final moments before his death.

He was getting colder. Yet he had fought stronger foes and harder battles but his mistake of not seeing the truth would cost him his life. If he had only listened to his gut feeling of declining the offer it would have been different. Or not as it would have happened anyway. And the feeling of pain was wearing off just as he was losing consciousness.  
The world around him was growing dimmer and he didn't even hear most of their conversation..

" So let's just take him out of his missery, even now he's dangerous. He must die"- brought down his words that black fedora tipped man while the rest remained quiet.

Raynare sprang her arm and lifted Issei by the hair, just for their eyes to face was even more twisted than before with a psychotic grin that spew utmost contempt for anything living as it marked her once beautiful face. Her voice was still heavy and gritty as her throat had yet still healed the damage she suffered.

" Time to die you little pig. I'll keep that plushie you worked so hard for me to get. Atleast in the end of your miserable life you get to die by the hand of a pretty lady. Blame God for being blessed with a Sacred Gear. Maybe if you didn't we could have had another date. Or not. Die you fuckin piece of shit. " - she uttered with great pleasure, while switching to her cute voice but it wasn't still there as her lungs were still damaged.

Even till the end she kept the nice girl act just to make it the last thing he would see. And she brought down a large spear to his chest, right into the heart. She even went as far as to kick the spear deeper to stab another one.

Everything was getting darker,blood was all around him,feeling nothing as his body was dying at a rapid rate. He wouldn't survive... the only thing before Death appeared to knock on the door was -" In the end i couldn't even do it. I didn't even manage to make my dreams come true. I didn't... Even manage to kill the one who stole everything from me, i couldn' me. Why always me. I wish it didn't go this way. I should've done something back then. Just why... After everything.. Everything i did... is this how it's going to end? Mother,Father... Forgive me...  
And he shut his eyes forever...

XXXXXXXXXXX

" Where am i? This place doesn't look familiar. How did i end up here anyway? I don't even remember. "

As he looked around it was only a vast field of thorns,the sky was grey and there was not even a soul around no matter how much he searched. He was alone in this colorless world devoid of sound and motion. There was nothing but deathly silence and a growing uneasiness took over his body.

 _"* Come, come*"_

A aluring voice was whispering, inviting him, rather compeling him to follow the echo of this mysterious voice. His every fiber was telling him to follow the voice no matter what as attracted like a magnet. He took a step further and further, with the voice whispering in his ears _"*Come_ _,c_ _ome, Come_ *"as he hurried his step until he was lost in the garden of thorns and no sight of him was left. The sound was getting stronger and stronger with each step he took, going deeper and deeper into the maze of thorns as his feet were growing weary and everything was getting darker and darker. The silence became even more scarier as the skies darkened even more by the min. It was a silence scarier than death,trapped in a endless circle of maddening silence.

What was this feeling?

He closed his eyes as he was sensing his legs stopping in place. Opening his eyes in fear, he was in the middle of a beautiful garden full of the most beautiful flowers he had ever seen before. It was just like out of fairy tale,magnanimous and sizzling with life. There was no sign of the thorny maze or the dark sky, like they never had existed in the first place. Gone was the sickening lack of sound as motion and life were brimming around where he stood, it was a tranquility he hadn't felt since that day but for more or less the peaceful feeling that was seating in his head was unnatural at the least. No matter how much he felt it wasn't right and unnatural, the soothing feeling of being home was something terrifying. "Once you've lost something you won't be able to get it back" were the thoughts he had at that moment. Still this peacefulness was scarier to him as much as the silence that had disappeared from his senses moments ago. If anything he felt a certain need to stay there as the evergrowing sense of tranquility had seeped deep into his mind and had washed away his loneliness. But he still couldn't believe it. He hadn't felt like this since a while, it was like the void had been filled up with something else, maybe even scarier due to the fact of being unable to feel anything else aside from happiness.

"Maybe I'm dreaming. No, it must be a dream. There's no doubt about it"

 _"* It's not a dream young traveler, it's real. Feel the air and the ground and you'll see that it's all what you see. *"_ \- were the first words he heard as he turned his head around.

"Who are you?"

 _"*I've come here to aid you in your quest, to provide you with peace as you deserve it. *"_

"But i..."

 _"*You've led a long battle, what keeps you going, sacrificing everything for others with no reward to ask of? *"  
"*You are tired of your journey. Come here and rest. You deserve it young warrior.*"_

Before him was a girl, garbed in a white dress with glistening hair that was the epitome of the blazing sun. She was gently stepping on the grass, where once stood nothing but black thistles and a cold, dark soil as if made of the blackest earth and bones. She was nothing like the girls he had seen all his life. She was beyond beautiful, she was so perfect in every aspect any man could think of- grace,gentleness and beauty all in one while exuding the aura of a goddess. Her steps, her voice, her shapely figure outshined even the most of the greatest statues of goddesses he had seen. She was unnaturally beautiful yet the same time so human that it would be an insult to say she was anything else but pleasant. Her eyes were like the ocean, vast and deep blue with a glistening gaze. They were like the azure,pure and innocent as a raindrop. And her skin was white as alabaster.  
Even her dress was just as magnificent as the full moon, when it was in its zenith, nothing beyond and nothing below the mark of perfection.

Her ephemeral voice was whispering _\- "*Come, come for thou hath been on this road for a long time. Are you not tired of this battle? Come and ,rejuvenate your senses._ *"- inviting him with an open hand.

"I am kinda tired actually. I haven't had a good rest since so long. Maybe for a min wouldn't hurt, right? " - Issei nodded with agreement.

She stepped forward to him with inhuman graciousness, hugging him tightly as a mother would and sat on the green grass with a radiant smile,it was like the sun. Issei moved towards her lap,placing his head neatly and closed his eyes. It was this peace of mind,this tranquility he had longed for so long.. To be held by someone who wouldn't scorn him or be disgusted of his lecherous nature.

He could feel the warmth of her gentle hands running through his hair. It reminded him of his past days when he was down - his mother always took him in her embrace and ran her fingers on his head to comfort him. This memory made him shed a tear for he had lost the only ones who had loved him, this sense of nostalgia was excruciating as it made him feel even more sick, as he couldn't do anything back then. But the forced feeling of peace didn't let him feel that for so long, it just shoved away all of his sad thoughts and replaced them with calmness and a sense of security.

 _ **"*** Was it good enough for ya? Or you want some more of that? ***"**_

He suddenly opened his eyes like a flash. He was disturbed by the vision he saw and it's sudden appearance made it even worse for he had thought he had finally gained peace.

" I think i should go ahead. I rested a bit so I'm feeling better now. "

 _"* Stay. It is yet too early to go. You have not rested yet, here you can have everything you want. Food, material goods,a place to belong and me. Do you not wish to be at peace? Stay..*" "*You need to rest as you have fought for so long. Even the gods and mightiest warriors rest once in a while to enjoy life. "*And you're not a god_. *"

"No,I'm not"- he mumbled under his nose.

 _"*You are weary and exhausted. Stay here and rest. *"_ _-_

Her words were warm and full of comfort. He was feeling a bit better now.

" Maybe for a little bit . It's not like i could get this anywhere, so I'll stay for a bit more."

He stretched back to his previous position and the girl rested her arms around his shoulder, bringing him closer to her chest. It was like watching a little baby in the embrace of its mother. She started singing a slow, peaceful song and it was soothing as the wind was blowing gently on his face. It was just like at that time he went to the sea on a vacation. The sun was starting to wane and sunset was taking its place, coloring the blue sky with a purple-reddish tint and the clouds in a golden aura. This view could be the best one he had witnessed so far as his other memories of something like that were nothing but a child's drawing compared to the sky at this time.

It was beyond pleasant, but it was surely wrong. He knew it was probably something else or just a silly dream to escape his evergrowing loneliness but it was even deeper. He just wanted to be accepted as who he was, to be loved. To have a place where he actually belonged. It was this dear wish he had hidden deep inside his soul, for the world would destroy it yet again and again as everything in his life so far.

"But why not enjoy this dream anyway?" I've never had time to rest and ease my mind. Plus I'm in the hands of this mysterious beauty so i should enjoy it . There won't be a time like this any sooner so... It's probably a dream... " He thought.

 _ **"* You may have won but it's not the end. It's far from over mortal! I'll be there when you least expect it and I'll take what's mine just as you took it from me. *".**_ The image of the dark pit flashed through his eyes. Every memory he had of this struggle filled his head.

 _ **"*** Do i look nice? Hehe, it's not so bad. Don't you worry kiddo, you're going to be next! Oh, what a happy family reunion! I just can't get enough... Show me more of that expression as you cower in fear. More More More! That's the spirit. ***"**_ __

*The nightmares. The mutilated, flayed and splattered bodies of his parents were on the floor. With their dead eyes peering straight into the his own, screaming for help but they were already dead... There was not even a ounce of skin on them.. And then everything went blank.*

Issei opened his eyes and screamed. Terror took over every fiber of his being and even if he closed his eyes again. It wouldn't go way...

" I should be going. I can't stay here any longer. I have to go now. I really have to.." - his words were full of determination and blazing with the strong conviction he held. As he had nearly forgotten why he had endured so long.

The girl looked with a slightly different gaze and urged him to stay.  
 _"*Stay.*"_

"NO! I have to go. There's nothing here worth staying for. It's not real. It's not real. " - his words were mixed with conviction and fear.

 _ **"*YOU WILL STAY! *"**_

He tried to stand up but he couldn't.  
Issei struggled to break free with all of his might. He stood up fast as he broke free from her grip, only to be entangled with thorns all over his body. They twisted around him tighter, coiling like snakes with their spikes burrowing in his flesh,blood gashing all over his body.  
She pounced back with more thorns coming out of the ground and lunging towards his limbs to grasp him, tightening with the intent of crushing every organ in his body.

His eyes turned to green, with his pupils changing into slits as veins rose up from his face,his teeth lengthening and massive scales covered the sides of his face.  
He clenched his fist, gashing with blood, grabbed the thorns around his neck and with a swift maneuver ripped them off his flesh with ease. He kicked forward and released his right leg as he arched forward, ready to attack. With more strength he stepped forward, ripping the rest of the black thorns around his body and his blood started burning the rest of them with his wounds closing up with bloody red scales while he roared with a terrifying volume, shattering all that was around him by the strength of his draconian roar. With both legs free, he dashed forward with immeasurable speed and ran towards the girl with his full might, his right arm ready to strike.

Less than a second had passed and he was just a hair away from her. Even with his superhuman speed he couldn't reach her as the moment his fist rammed into her face, leaves covered her and in a flash. She was gone...

Confused, Issei readied his body for a multi directional assault and tightened his muscles,ready to retaliate. But she was gone, nowhere to be seen like she had never existed and was just some figment of his broken mind.

Just as she had faded into the nothingness, the once beautiful garden full of life was gone as well. There was no more grass or flowers, all that had lived there had disappeared like it was never there in the first place. As Issei looked up - the sky was yet again sickeningly dark with no light and motion around this wretched place. It was all gone - there was no sign of it existing as the maddening silence came back and everything was static with no life, the earth was again black dirt and smog and he was again in the maze of thorns. It was all so quiet...

" I'd better get outta here and fast. The silence is creeping me out. " - as he ran fast as he could while still watching out, for his strength went down to his normal human level and he wasn't sure if he was ready to fight again. The growing silence brought back his fears coupled with a wide variety of unsettling feelings of being watched. He hurried his pace and neared the exit of this accursed domain in which he had found himself with no memory of how he got there.

And in the distance as he slowly escaped the clutches of the maze,there was this feeling...  
He took a gaze back but saw nothing more than giant thorns in the distance. And continued running.  
There was nothing in the darkness...

The silence was taking over everything. And within the darkness of the garden, a girl was watching with eyes narrowing the a smile appeared on her face...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


	2. Act 2 A New Devil In Town

Act 2. A New Devil In Town

 _"*Hey,Wake up! You have to wake up already. *"_

The sun was starting to rise up the horizon and he snapped at a alarming speed from his bed,in just one fast spring he was on his legs in nothing more than his underwear and bandages all across his upper body and legs. He reacted half consciously and his natural reaction was to stiffen up his arms and prepare to fight this unknown enemy. But as he took a second glance on the situation, there was no one around to hurt him and he was fully conscious of the situation. There was no one else in his cold room aside from him,the bed and all of his paraphernalia. It was a sad, lonely place filled with painful memories about his life till now.

" I probably forgot to take my pills. MonBlanc told me it won't go away just like that and i should take them regularly, especially before bed. He's gonna have my head if he finds out. Damn. When will those nightmares ever end. I can't take it." Better make breakfast since it won't make it's self right? "  
As he traced his hand onto the blood soaked bandages, he noticed that his mother's cross was nowhere in sight. And his legs hurt like hell.

"Where is it? I don't remember removing it at all and what's with the bandages. Fuck, fuck i don't even remember what happened last night. Whatever, I'll have to change them anyways so let's get it on with. I probably fought with someone as far as the bandages tell. "

Issei sighed in frustration and his gaze was full of confusion. Rather mixed emotions as he couldn't piece anything that had happened to him last night.  
He placed his arm on the back of his head and it suddenly struck him.

"The fuck? It's like i was hit with some tank or something. Oh God i seriously need a pill right now. And breakfast fast. "

He got dressed for school, tidied his room, not that there was much to tidy that is but it was a habit he had acquired from his mother since he was a messy child before and always got scolded for the way he kept his room.  
And after doing this daily routine he went down the stairs for his bag and to fix something quick in the kitchen.

" Hey mom, what's for breakfast today? " was his usual way of greeting his parents, sitting in the kitchen with his dad reading the morning papers and his mother making breakfast for him as usual. They would chastise him for being late while they did their usual morning routine of drinking coffee, reading the newspaper or just watching tv while eating before they went to work.  
But there was no response. It was a voice in a desert.

He sighed again with a heavy breath with his eyes filling up with tears. He had always woke up at the same time every day, went down the stairs and waited for his mother to greet him like usual only to find the kitchen room empty as always. He acted as they had never left the place, their morning routines and silly banter but it was surely gone. It was probably not to forget them. There was no one... Just the walls and him in his solitary existence ever since he was left alone. He gulped and his arms tensed up as he was sensing his bitter loneliness again. He tried to stop his flowing tears, wipe them off and continue. Just as always. There wasn't a day that he felt happy with it,only to wake up and keep being reminded how things were. Reality sure was cruel...

He ate his breakfast just enough so he wouldn't starve and flipped out his phone from his pocket to check the daily news and forecast. He also had some messages from people like Matsuda and Castor, one of them for school and the latter for a well paid job. He cleaned the dishes and the table as he finished as fast as he could. He couldn't stand being in there for so long. It was just painful. He picked up the pace, headed to the corridor and was before the bathroom with a pack of bandages.

Inside the bathroom he took off his shirt, headed to the big mirror and started scrutinizing his body with utmost care, not to miss anything. He didn't want anyone to notice he wasn't ok since the bruises would make people question his actions on what he did or if someone was threatening him with something. But it was probably no one who'd ask that since no one cared actually. But still better safe than sorry.

As he removed the bandages steadily, his body was finally free from the constraints of the itchy cloth and fixed his gaze onto his broad shoulders. They were full of bruises,burns, claw marks and many more as his whole back had been patched up,stitched and covered with a myriad of were before he had changed and they wouldn't heal.

But what was striking the most was a big mark on his upper back and chest. It wasn't anything like his other scars he got from his tragic incident for it had been a swirling, moving black brand with scales,shifting and changing it's pattern every second in every possible combination, geometric sigils,impossible vectors, it was beyond the abstract concepts of reality as it was itself a law bending, defying reality and space-time concept of existence, changing by his own thoughts. And surrounding it were heavy burns with the flesh burning whenever he was close to something of the essence of supernatural beings. His chest bore a slash from a previous skirmish, those wounds had not healed as they were before he had devoured a Original and gained it's characteristics. Those scars would remind him of his life changing experience for the rest of his life.

He wrapped the new bandages around again just in case his regeneration would fail and burst open his wounds. But he didn't see any wounds on the places he felt pain,they had faded the night before. He put the old bandages in the nearby trash bin,threw away the wrapper and headed towards the small mirror with the health aid still it was something he felt hiding so he finished up quickly, and put on his red undershirt upon the bandages. Better safe than sorry.

He reached his right arm out to the cabinet in order to grab a small red bottle of prescription pills which he had taken since a while now. Unlike other substances those worked as they weren't rendered useless due to his draconian regeneration. He couldn't even use normal painkillers unless taking a bunch of them to have effect.

"Someone must have taken me home and bandaged my back. It's the only logical conclusion. Or I'm having blackouts again but that would make it impossible for me to go back home, would it?"

His eyes were dim and still he couldn't remember exactly what happened last night. It was so gloomy and blurred. He gulped down the pills and closed the door as he turned towards the exit of the room and without much haste he was going to get his bag. But something irked his senses like a sting,making him turn around to see what it was all about, he felt that he shouldn't let this slip for he had known there was something. With his peripheral vision he saw a murky shadow on the mirror with a sickening smile but no eyes. He quickly reacted to what he saw and turned around but there wasn't anything.

"Fuck it. Now I'm seeing things. Maybe i should've taken those pills last night. I'll definitely take a look at the bar forArthur. He might help me with those. But first... " - he hadn't even finished his words and smashed the mirror without a flinch., I'll buy a new one anyway. That one was ugly as fuck ".

And behind the glass was a small white pentagram, inscribed with latin words and sigils. It was masterly crafted for surveillance and it would be even better for stalking someone or peeping on girls.

"I'll take this one and send it Mason, he'll find who's this signature. What type of a deviant would stalk another deviant? Have they got no shame?"

He manifested a scaly clawed arm and tore off the inscribed pentagram and took off soon without a min to wait. He was getting late for school.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Monday, School, Last period

"Hey"- Issei went over to Matsuda's desk. He was feeling heavy like he was kicked in the stomach and thrown in a river. He had waited for the end of class where he could have time to ask them freely with no one around. He was hoping that the duo would know something since rumors spread like fire around these places.

"Have you heard anything about some incident or something like that on Sunday night? "

"Sunday? Nothing like that was heard at all. Are you ok man? You look kinda worn out." was Motohama's reply

Issei bluntly stated- " I had a date yesterday with a really cute girl,you should've seen her!" by the time of the day he had remembered atleast so much that he was on a date with a girl named Yuuma Amano.

Their faces turned to stone by the words their friend had uttered with such boldness and pride.  
And suddenly they burst out in laughter.

" Like hell you did. Please man,don't mess with us. You know that every girl in this town possibly hates you so how could you even say you had a date? It's preposterous!

"I'm not kidding man. It's true i swear. "- he tried to rebuke their disbelief with fierce passion. Even if it was probably fake it felt so good, come on it was a fuckin date for God's sake. It counts.

Motohama made a weird face with his glasses being covered in the light seeping from the window,took a chair and locked his arms together with them resting on the desk.  
" Do you seriously believe anyone of us could even get a girl to look at us, even a date is something in dreams for 've probably hit your head or something. Heck the world would probably explode if the three of us got dates. It's impossible "

"There's no way it would happen you know that, right " - Matsuda said while standing behind Motohama with his arms on the back of the chair.

"Ok,stop stop with the Gendo Ikari pose . It creeps me out so knock it off already. This time it's different! " -Issei balked out to them in a slight annoyance . This time he has proof, real on top of it. One that would make them drop off and start rolling.

He reached out for his phone, went through every pic but didn't find anything. He went through everything - Facebook, Gmail but it was .His face switched to a rather confused and meek expression as his efforts were useless. He went over to the contacts register and found a number. He called but all he could hear was " The number you have dialed is invalid. Please try again. "  
He tried again but replaced a digit in it just in case he had written it down wrong. This time someone picked up- " Is that you sonny?" the voice of a old granny was heard through the speakerphone.

It was out of order just as expected, there was no number like this

"It's not possible! This can't be right! "

"I didn't expect you to go for the elderly, well whatever." Motohama's words were full of indifference. " Whatever. Don't be so sad man! How about we hit the dust and go back to my place for a party. I've got the 4th episode of Mankitsu Happening that you wanted to see so much. I hear it's better than all of the previous ones and it's juicy, the new blonde has scenes finally. "- these words were said with a warm feeling of happiness. The glasses boy was prideful of his long awaited acquisition, one Issei didn't manage to buy but would see anyway.

Issei smiled. " You're right. There's no point in dwelling on it. It's just a waste of time. So lead the way. " behind those words he hid his dissatisfaction of his date never having existed. Why couldn't atleast something good happen to me once god damn it?

Their pervert talk was disgusting to others as always. You couldn't just get comfortable with it no matter what. Aside if you were a pervert yourself. Then you'd feel no shame talking about it in public but still it's not easy.

"Rias-senpai is coming "- was heard in the corridor loudly.

Everyone stood up, there was this silence when a ruler was passing through the crowds. And this was no different for she had been like a queen in this school.

Rias Gremory, one of the most popular girls in Kuoh Academy, well known and respected by both faculty and student body for her graceful nature and talent. Born in Europe but studying overseas from her country because of her parents corporation switching office. The queen bee around here, but she was actually nicer than she appeared. There was a big reason why she was popular - she was an object of lust for the male populace with her dazzling proportions, deep blue eyes and ample bust,while the girls either envied her or fawned over. There wasn't anyone around who could say they disliked her. On the contrary. You can't find girls like her around, especially with crimson red hair. She was no doubt like a living statue of a goddess.

Everyone stood in their tracks for this beauty to pass with all of her magnificence just like a queen would be addressing her subjects. She even batted an eye for some of them but was still out of reach for the rest.

Something in Issei snapped. Something inside him churned up as he fell to his knees. What was this feeling? He was remembering things, what had happened last night and memories he shouldn't have experienced. All of his existence was being drawn to serve this foreign authority and vow his alignment to her.  
That red hair... Where had i seen it...i don't remember really. And just as suddenly it dissappeared.

"Issei! What the hell happened? Are you ok?" - Matsuda and Motohama were actually concerned about him. What a surprise.

"Yeah,Yeah I'm ok. Don't worry about it. It's just that I've been really tired lately and I need rest. "- he was red and he was sweating, trying to catch his breath.

"Maybe we should leave it for another time? It's no fun without you. " Motohama was concerned and even offered to send him off home.

" Don't mind it you guys. It's just a small problem. You don't need to cancel things because of me. I won't forgive you if you don't take me with you. "- Issei was truly radiating this moment. His passionate love for boobs wouldn't just let him fall ill. For it'd be a grave sin not to enjoy this fine art for such trivialities. As for he was one of them and would never leave a bro behind.

"By the way you should have seen her. I'd love to have her over me. Just 5 min,nothing else and i would die happily. "- Matsuda was fantasizing again, deep in his mind with his face locked in a grin.

"Who?"- he was in a state of confusion.

"Rias Gremory. Who else? She even looked in our way."-Motohama fixed his glasses again and waved with a gesture, telling them to roll out back to the den.

" Why can't we ever have a chance with girls like her? Just why? - The duo were sobbing on the way out with Issei tailing alongside.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Monday Night, 21:00 pm

"Well that was fun. Man was he right about it- Collaboration Works outdid themselves this time. And i even got one of the special edition gifts from him. I'll send Motohama something special for this fine piece of art. " Issei was cheerful in a surprisingly good mood like never before.

He was walking down the street. There was no need to take the bus as it was a 12 min walk to his home. Luckily his friends lived nearby so he could sneak out at night and meet them to spend time under the moonlight, discussing life and their plans for the future. Atleast something was intact from his previous life.

The streetlights weren't working much but he could manage due to his unnatural state. It was no biggie if he got attacked as he would beat local thugs to a bloody pulp and peacefully continue his way. It was dark but atleast it was hotter today than yesterday. It was summer after all but he didn't have the luxury of going to the beach for which he had taken as granted before.

"It's time. It should be up any minute now"- we turned left to a nearby alleyway and walked there slowly as it wasn't necessary to hurry. He had 3 min to wait so it was normal courtesy to be a bit patient with it.  
He took out his phone just to check if there was something new or if the meeting was adjourned. It would've been a real hassle if it was.

3 minutes later..

A black door appeared on the wall, forming and materializing out of thin air on the surface of this abandoned building in mere seconds. He reached for the door knob and was greeted with the usual "Qual è la password?"

" Sono proprio come Dio e voi"

And the door opened just as he finished his sentence only to reveal a large corridor, bathed in dark lights and a sign leading forward. He charged in as usual and the door closed behind him within the blink of an eye. In this corridor he stretched his arms and took off his bag only to hold it in his left hand while walking down the distance.

"Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate."

"Thats so just like you to decora the place with disheartening words,don't you Arthur? " his voice echoed in the spacious corridor for he had been right in front of the entrance. A big 7th Daze was hanging on the wall above the entrance, it was carved out of wood and polished till perfection. He didn't wait for a second chance as he stepped forward.

" You've changed a bit around here, haven't you? It's much better now with those new tables you brought back from England. "

" I see that you fancy them more over the previous furniture. If anything, you were right about buying black tables Mr Hyoudou . They just make it better and are easier to clean after her usual drunken stupor. " - it was a manly voice, deep and husky coming from behind the bar.

It was Arthur Halle Mason, a friendly Irish gentleman at the age of 52 and owner of the bar. He had this bar since long and it was running as smoothly as ever. He was of tall stature with graying hair at the temples,with soft brown eyes and a gentle smile. Always immaculately dressed and with a small goatee and carried a silver tipped wolf cane. As traditionally, he was wearing a black suit with a white dress shirt, a black tie, a pair of black leather moccasins and black leather gloves with emblazoned crosses on them. He was always exquisite in his choice of apparel and more so in his spirits arrangement. Truly a meticulous man.

" You're just on time to bare witness on the birth of my new cocktail. Would you like to be the first one to try it? I assure you it is quite the heavy hitter. "

" How much is it this time?. Last week you had me taste another of one of those and i couldn't even get back home. I had to stay here till Thursday since the door wouldn't open. I nearly starved since you had all of the food gone. It wasn't nice you know..." Issei became mushy while skimming through what had happened last week. It surely wasn't nice spending 4 days in a closed dimension.

"It's on the house my boy. I still would have to repay you for taking home that drunkard after she passed out on the bar. She's such a handful. " the old man sighed in disillusionment yet again. He would always try to stop her but she would get drunk,start talking nonsense, roll on the floor and pass out. She would even make him go through the horror of cleaning her mess as she was a loud, emotional drunk. He grabbed his head and covered his eyes. The man couldn't stand it any longer.

" Tell me about it", Issei retorted without much haste, " she's always like a spoiled child who can't hold her liquor. "- dear god he hated that side of her, she was a rocket in a bottle when she was inebriated and he always had to deal with her shenanigans and accidental strippings,that one he didn't mind at all. None in the least.

" Shall we take a seat Mr Hyoudou? " The old man invited him for a drink and they would usually spend the remainder in discussing supernatural threats, life and many more at the big table. They were usually accompanied by Chesare MonBlanc but he had yet to arrive this time. He was late...

" I received your urgent call on the current matter you wished to discuss. It is with you i presume? " his eyes locked onto the bag the young man was carrying. He had brought out a Victorian style gold pocket watch out of his right breast pocket and laid it on the table next to the ornamented ivory ashtray.

" Here it is. " Issei went through his bag and took out a small piece of wood with a inscribed pentagram, full of Latin sigils. It was the same one he tore out this morning. And explained what and where he found it.

" Truly a masterfully crafted piece of work. It's not so complex but it's effective in it's designation - surveillance. It has a in-built timer as well as a self destruct mechanism. A bomb and a camera if you may. The signature is clearly not human, id rather say it was the work of someone talented in this field of magic. Classic Latin is mostly used by demons with Greek aside and a handful of other sophisticated forms of communication. I'd advise you to check your house again for more of these things. There could be a lot more scattered around. "- the old man was quite concerned about the situation, because if Issei was taken out they'd lose a member but more so he would lose a friend. He was the first to take care of him after his incident and ever since then he has been acting as a fatherly figure to the young man.

They finished their conversation, sat around for some time and then started cleaning the place.

" I noticed that you're not wearing your mother's cross. Have you lost it somewhere? I doubt since it's your mother's. So what hap-

" When i woke up it was gone,it was gone. I searched around everywhere but still no luck. I also woke up covered in bandages, the last thing i remember was being on a date.. Everything else is hazy."- he nodded vigorously and took a seat. Dissatisfaction was spelled on his face, when he couldn't even remember what exactly happened.

" Have you been taking the pills MonBlanc prescribed you? "

"I've been taking them 2 times a day. Nothing out of the ordinary. In fact they seem to work just fine." - is what Issei was trying to make the elderly gentleman believe. He didn't tell him about the things he saw in the mirror, it was unnecessary to worry his dear associate. But behind his smile was a worried soul, the small incident at school wasn't worth mentioning since Arthur Halle Mason wasn't a medic.

A knocking was heard loudly. Someone was inside...

" Dante? I didn't know you had such a high opinion on literature, Arthur. I should've brought you some books i got my hands on from a Boston Auction. But that will wait... Is Issei here?" - a strong,baritone voice was echoing from the side of the door.

" I'm here. Thanks for coming on such short notice. I know your schedule is pretty filed up but I'll make it up to you somehow. "

" Don't worry kiddo, I'm not so finicky as to rip off my patients, it's against my policy as a doctor. I've brought you some new pills by the way. These should work better than the last ones. Any side effects? "

"None"

This gentleman was Chesare MonBlanc, a 33 year old doctor from Milan, Italy born in the family of a pastor and a nurse. A renown doctor all around the world with a huge influence in many spheres of life and science. Aside from his main occupation he was a voracious reader,artist,played the piano, sang opera and was filthy rich. You wouldn't believe he's 33 as he looks like in his early 20s with dark brown hair,black eyes and his silly beard. But nevertheless he was a lady killer, girls would swoon over him like flies on a honey pot. But atleast he was cool and very down to earth.

The two sat down while Arthur went to fix up a drink for the tired doctor. He threw off his leather bag on the marble floor and fixed his shirt colar. It was burning hot outside for he had ran up not to be late for this meeting. He was very strict and rarely got late for his appointments.

" How have you been doing Issei? I got your call and went as soon as i could. So what's the problem, you sounded very serious. "- he mumbled while drinking his piná colada and lit up a cigarette. He was apparently a fan of the Dunhill brand, the whites especially.

" I need you to check my condition. Somethings off and i can feel it. I've been having these weird visions like something is there and the moment i turn it's gone. My whole body is like being scorched in the day and once the sun sets i feel weird. My legs run faster and i could see better. What the hell is wrong with me doctor? " Issei was worried and his cheerful face had been replaced with a more honest, confused and frightening visage.

" We'll have to check it right away. It's good that i brought my stuff here. Arthur can you open the back side?" a warm inquiry was headed to the old barman as with a flick of his fingers opened a large door.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Monday Night, 7th Daze bar, 21:57 pm

" The results are in Issei, you should take a look about this one. It's odd.

"What's wrong doc? Is it serious? "- Issei was clearly scared of what might be the cause of this. His legs shook and he had a hard time standing still. The things that happened today were weird more than what he usually dealt with.

" Your blood sample showed rapid changes in your physiology. By the traces left- your body was clearly stabbed with a non physical light weapon in the legs,shoulder and chest area. There are still very faint traces in your body from it and they're fading with alarmingly fast which is good news. But... " he hesitated to state the whole truth for it would shock him off his socks.

" But?" he was impatient to know of his current condition. He was expecting the worst like every moment he breathed.

"Issei... You were dead for 2 minutes. Something clearly stopped your body's natural healing process and you suffered injuries that should have been nothing more than a light tick for you. Also something brought you back to life. It's this foreign matter that saved your life. Look". The doctor handed him a picture of what was inside him. It was a set of 8 pieces that took the place where his heart was stabbed.

"Dear God,what the f-" he had a certain headache the moment he mentioned dear god. It hurt like hell as it made him fall to the ground. He spat blood.

" Your body has barely changed which is good. Only 3% is the total amount of change which is the reason you are here 're still you but on the lower back area i noticed some interesting growths that don't appear on your skin. It's some form of limbs, a flying apparatus to be precise. I've got it. Focus on what you wish to do!"

"Okay. Here goes nothing. " Issei stood up and took his usual stance for assault and focused on the feeling of flying.

"Nothing? Seriously? "

And a pair of spiked, black scaly wings sprouted from lower back and he noticed he was soaring in the air. He panicked for a second as these weren't his wings,wings he had grown to love. But nevertheless he calmed down to assess the situation and came back to the ground.

" On second thought these aren't bad. There's no need to hide them with clothes since they can retract and leave no marks." But still he was really curious about this fact of gaining extra wings.

" Well that is all for today. You're perfectly fine and here's your new medicine. We'll study those new wings of yours again. But for now let's get another shot and off home. What do you think? " - the doctor was quite intrigued by this turn of events and would clearly study it more which had Issei cover his back and turn away with fear.

He clearly remembered the tests they did before. And another one would surely scar him for are really scary.

2 minutes later...

" I almost forgot. I brought something for you. "- Chesare was smiling with a devious smile which would reveal his other side- he was a comrade in arms for the hunt of female beauty as well.

" It's not another one of those crazy shots,right? "- Issei went over with terror, his memories of the last time with the young doctor were still fresh so as his dislike for needles.

Out of his bag, Chesare took out a small nylon package, wrapped with stickers and bubblewrap. He handed the package to the curious Issei, awaiting his response.  
Issei took it cautiously since he had fallen in this trap a few times over. He knew better than anyone that Doc was a trickster and would occasionally troll with people close to him. But to his surprise it was the real deal.

"Wow. This won't be released till September. Where the hell did you get this one. And it's the special edition on top. This is just crazy". - his smile was like the sun,burning brighter than the chandelier above their heads.

" I hope you like these two. It wasn't so easy to get them but it was worth it. I went straight away to the authors and had them make it earlier than expected.I got the same one as well . Hhm, i hope it's up to your liking." - he was boasting on how he got the special edition volumes earlier than anyone else on the planet. He lit up another cigarette to go with his jedi mind trick and smugness was written on his face.

" Thanks. I'll treasure them dearly," enthusiastic as a little kid, Issei brought the books close to his face just like any hardcore fan would," so who is your favorite? Who do you ship him with? "

Surprisingly both men were fans of Oregairu and would discuss every episode and volume extensively while staying at the VIP zone in the bar. Not that it was open for anyone, it was just that they had a special table only for them.

" I'll have to say Yuigahama or Sensei. I don't get what's the rage about Yukinoshita. She can't even do shit by herself, always having to rely on others. What about you? "

" Yuigahama and Saki. But if anything id rather have him go the Monster of Logic route or Sensei. I'd personally go for one of them. We're on the same team atleast, i salute you as a brother. "- his soul was burning with passion since he had a comrade on this battlefield. He wasn't alone atleast once. He and the doctor stood up and had a fist bump to express their shared interests.

" I'll go with the Totsuka route then." - jokingly Arthur appeared. He liked to mess with them once in a while as they would engross in theor discussion and would stay over time.

" Don't do that. Don't! - both men roared in unison for his silly remark.

" Nevermind. Here's a Black Russian and a Irish Whiskey. I'll put it up on your tab and make sure you don't sneak out again without paying. Got it?"- Arthurs aura intensified as he became more menacing. He hated clients who didn't pay their bills.

" Issei! Catch! ", a pair of keys were flying in the air straight into his palms. And it wasn't a door key, " Castor said it's a token of gratitude for handling last week's job flawlessly . You can keep them, head to the corridor for the rest and it's time to close already."

" I'll check it out on the way back . Just 5 more min and we'll go home i promise. "

Chesare lit up another cigarette and handed Issei the pack of white Dunhill. It wasn't fun to be the only smoker.

" Come on, just one wouldn't hurt. You had a rough day and it's not like you die and come back every day, you know?

" You're a doctor. You shouldn't offer your patients stuff like that. It's not right. "

" I'm not a doctor at the moment as you can see. I'm just another client as yourself and plus you're drinking 's with the double standarts?" - he was serious while he retorted this statement.

" Okay, Okay. You got me i admit it but just this once. " he lit up the rolled tobacco with his finger and finished his drink in one gulp.

Soon both went home safely. Somehow...

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It was getting really late. The clock had just hit 00:00 and there wasn't a soul out in the night. Everything was sleeping. Probably...

Arthur was cleaning the bar plate and arranging the bottles of spirits he had amassed from his travels. Kahlua,Russian Standard, Scotch, Martini- everything you could think of. There were even some rare ones that you could only find at a specific place or bottles of the highest grade alcohol that you won't find anywhere. Even a 160 year old whiskey which was one of his prized possessions was in fact in his collection, but that is only for special occasions.

It was quiet and peaceful at this hour because this bar wasn't a ordinary place for people to gather. It was almost untraceable - one second it was here and another it was in a different location. The interior and location constantly changed by the minute, expressing the client's preferences and taste. It usually was a spacious room with black tables and purple walls but it could change to any other bar you'd wish for. Even a tea house should it be requested. And the only way to find it was to search for it extensively, be invited by someone from the bar or have a VIP pass and password. Since it was a place for the high society, mostly people from different strokes of life and duty, you wouldn't expect to see anyone mundane or regular. It was a place for the crop of power.

Footsteps were heard, growing stronger with each step as the sound of clattering shoes seeped in the air.

" Is it still open? I heard this place was pretty good so i decided to have a drink here. Do you mind if i take a seat? "

"It's closed but since you're here I'll make an exception. After all not everyone could go as they please. What would you like to drink sir? " Arthur courteously asked the man on his choice, while he stopped with his cleaning and got behind the counter.

" A Godfather and a Hammer of the Gods please. " - he was very polite since half of the clients were either brutish beings of power or just high and mighty cash holders.

He was dressed in a unbuttoned black dress shirt with gray buttons and wore pants of the same shade with a big belt. He was dressed in black from head to toe and would give the impression of being a funeral worker at some graveyard. He had a straight face with a pronounced lower jaw, his chin was adorned by a sufficient stubble . His face showed dignity and calmness with his black eyes full of mischief. He looked around 26-27 but gave off the aura of someone much older than he looked. His hair was jet black with a fringe dyed blonde and wore a black onyx ring on his left hand.

" So what brings you here at this time of hour sir. And who gave you the location of this humble old man? " Arthur affixed his eyes onto the young stranger as he lit up his cocktail and brought the other after serving the first.

" I was given this card by a member of this club. He told me this place and to drop by whenever i wanted. " he handed the card to the old barman to prove his intentions. And took a sip of his godfather cocktail.

" It is most certainly real. I don't sense any oddity or it being a bootleg copy. It's valid. It was the German who probably gave it to you i suppose. How's that old rascal doing? He's probably in some mess again for him to send you here."

" Correct. But he's not in trouble at all. I actually came for a different reason. I came here specifically to meet you, Arthur Halle Mason. I have some information you may find helpful but i would like you to exchange something in return. "- his face became serious and a troubled expression replaced his previously reserved nature.

" I'm listening. What is that you want from me. I don't do hits or make calls. If it's for that I'd call Castor for you but he's not here currently. So what do you want? "- Arthur's voice broke from his usual calm tone and became deeper with his brows locking.

" What I'm going to say is important so listen closely. It's about the boy in your care,Issei i believe. He's in a disadvantageous position currently and i couldn't arrive on time to prevent it. If anything he's being targeted and i heard that some nun from Rome is heading towards this town from a drunk pastor. Plus strays are lurking around here so I'd advise you to be careful. Don't let him go out at night, in the day he's safe but at night they're out of the shadows. "

" Why are you telling me this? What is your goal ? "

" I wish to repair the mistake that happened and in doing so save him from them. Nothing more. It shouldn't have happened in the first place " the young man was contemplating and apologizing for what had happened with Issei. He deeply regretted not being there and having learned about the situation so late.

They exchanged information, talked about the world,drank more shots and had a good chat. Shots were poured and music was heard in the background. The bar changed into a luxurious room with black lights, a giant sofa and the table was replaced with a glass one. They had taken their seats and continued their conversation.

" There's no one here,you don't have to hide it. Client confidentiality is a top priority around here. The previous day a member of the Phenex clan came and got drunk while yelling he's to marry soon.He had his bachelor party here, you don't want to know what happened believe me. What happens here stays here", he was considerate of his client as he had seen many types of patrons and was good at reading people so he noticed his client's involuntary movements, which spelled hesitation, " It's clear that you're not a human being so you don't have to hide it here. One must feel right in their skin."

" Nothing escapes you. Not even the tiniest detail can escape your eyes. Nothing less from the Timeless Swordsman. " - he sprouted wings from his lower back, wings blacker than the void itself. Filled with feathers they were like the wings of an angel, only darker and reminiscent of a mighty eagle.

"Aren't you scared? "

" Why should i feel threatened? I've sliced over many of your kind to be taken aback now. But don't worry i have no intention in hurting you. " - the young man was creeped out by how calm and peaceful he looked while saying that,if anything he was surely scary for a old man.

" That's more better! " he nodded with a approving shake and tried to stop his laugh. He had returned to his earlier state.

" You humans aren't bad at all. No wonder HE chose you to be in the center of his creation. No wonder Helel felt jealous. After having waited locked away in Dudael for so long I'm finally free to roam the earth again. Well i did change after so long in the darkness, i had time to reevaluate what i wanted to do and everything. I found some new hobbies as well. " his face was sincere and no trace of malicious intentions was found. He was clearly honest about his words.

" Why do you let inferior beings treat you as dirt. Why do you let them do as they please? "- a question was directed towards the young man.

He lit up a cigarette from the nearby box and poured down another glass of wine in his crystal clear glass. He arched back on the sofa and rested his head onto the soft fabric of a nearby pillow. He took a comfortable pose and started talking.

" You know that most of the beings you've encountered are a creation of mankind, phenomena explained and defined by their need of understanding. They require the belief of humanity to exist like prayers,knowledge, fear,gluttony or blind devotion. Take for example the Greek Gods- they're nothing more than hollow shells for people's beliefs and in return they would reward them with nothing but suffering when they decided. Just a mechanism of the human ability to impose their collective belief onto the principles of the world. Heck it's the same for those silly devils and angels,even the Fallen. " he was snickering mischievously while taking a sip of his wine, " you know, Currently real demons and angels exist but they're being blocked by these fakes as they couldn't exist at the same time. The man made angels and devils superseded the original ones leaving them with no entry to here. Same situation with Original Beings, they're out of reach due to these idealized, hollow gods. Real gods aren't perfect, they have their flaws and everything but none of the immaturity of humans."

" So are you even real yourself? Im sure you've wondered on that one a lot. How long has it been since you were locked Azazel? "

" I assure you that im 100% real and the original one. I guarantee that for Barakiel and Shemhazai as well. Well,i did had to kill the fake ones for us to descend,they were a bigger joke than the current ruler of Heaven,Michael. Can you believe it? "

" Why did you fall? What was the reason you were kicked out of Heaven, i mean the real one? "

" All of those millenia ago i wasn't happy with how i was. I didn't like it to fly around all day,do boring work and obligations. What i wanted was freedom from this monotonous existence, i wanted to have fun just like you humans do now. It was all because of lust all along. But still i can't find a wife... It's so hard you know that." - Azazel started sulking, he was the only one from his fellow friends who didn't have a family. Well he was mostly cooped up in his research and didn't had time for anything else aside from researching various things.

" Don't you worry, there are plenty of fish in the sea as they say. And on top of it a being such as you has all the time of the world. You have much more chances than we do so don't sulk about it. There's time for that. " - Arthur tried to encourage the depressed Fallen with wisdom he had acquired through the years. But to lecture a higher being was pure irony in its most essential part. But it wasn't so much that as there wasn't so much of a difference.

10 minutes later….

" It's high time i left. I made you work over time so let me make it up to you somehow. "

"No need to worry. You gave me some good information so no need to go through such lengths. Come again some time when you feel like it."

He paid his bill and headed towards the exit. But before he went out he said- " I don't know if i could free him yet but I'll support him to the best of my abilities. Prepare for it, when the time comes there will be a calamity. But there's still time to avert it. Remember my warning please and let us meet again. "

" I will. You can count on it Governor."

And he left, the door closing behind him and dissappeared.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Monday Night, 23:47 pm

After leaving the bar Issei decided to go for a walk to clear up his head from all of the things that happened. He had remembered everything that had transpired yesterday - he met Yuuma, prepared on Saturday picking up his best attire,took out some cash from his credit card,couldn't sleep the night and then went to the date. And died at sunset. But what he was missing was the 2 minutes during which he was dead and the rest of how he got home.  
He just couldn't think of anyone saving him, no leads or theory could even make it clear.  
It was darker than earlier and the streetlights were still badly maintained - it was almost pitch black out in the streets and it was quiet.

He continued walking until he was close to his home, just one lane away from reaching the front door.  
He didn't speed up as there was nothing in that place, it was just him so why would he even hurry only to go back in a empty home where no one was waiting for him. It was just useless to expect anything from it, only to be kicked down by reality for the millionth time.

He had thought of going to the park where he had last went with Yuuma but he wasn't stupid to make that mistake. He clearly knew that if he went it would only risk him getting attacked again and just the thought of hearing the whispers in his head made him sick. If he went there he could die and he would have wasted this second chance. And he was never given one- always shot down,kicked by life with no mercy or a happy moment, only to be rejected yet again.

And it happened again... Just before reaching the front door he spotted a murky shadow glaring at him with a sickening smile like it was enjoying it. It was behind him. He turned around again hoping to see it finally but it wasn't there. Just like earlier.

"Am i seriously going crazy?I'm seeing things again. This is not good, really. I should take the new pills MonBlanc gave me. When will it stop? Fuck it." - he started running going straight ahead into his house. He was growing paranoid bit by bit.

" How did i end up like this? Seriously, just to run because of seeing a phantom? How did i end up so pathetic i wonder. " - he tried to calm down and rationally think over things. But still this nagging feeling in the back of his head was hard to shake off. Like it was something that's watching him.

Home. A place he had grown to resent - it wasn't feeling like a home with no one in it. It was just him to return to his isolation, locked between the 4 walls which once used to be a foundation of his life- the place he grew up and lived everyday surrounded by people who loved him no matter what. But it was nothing but a shadow of his former life,always there to remind him of himself.  
Regardless, going home was something he wanted to avoid. He didn't feel like it but with nothing else to do, he just entered the corridor, took off his shoes and jumped in his bed. What if he had continued his stroll and came across a helpless girl being molested by some thug. He could've saved the girl and get a reward. It came through his thoughts but shrugged it off since he knew that it won't happen ever

He was just lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling of his room with dead eyes in nothing but his boxers and bandages. The lights were off and only the silence was present in this moment.

 _"* Just another day. It's always the same huh? Nothing ever changed and I'm still here like this. Was there ever something of worth in me, was there just something that i was good at? Even though i have people like Matsuda and Motohama, even the people at Daze. Why do i still feel like this? Even around them i feel like nothing could close this hole in my heart. It's just so empty. Why did i even live on for others to die? Why was it always the worst for me out there damn it. Just why? There's no happiness in the world neither love. It's just all fake words and fake smiles as nothing like happiness could really exist in this nasty hole, called life. *"_

 _"* When i think about there's no one that actually likes me, is there? They just put up with me due to pity or because I'm just a tool to use for them. Even so no matter how much I'd think of it,there's no one that actually cares about me. A girlfriend? Huh,that's just a stupid dream to delude myself thinking youth is the best time of life. Having to meet with people, leading petty conversations,getting ignored like trash, it's all lies and hypocrisy. Like hell a girl would like me. I'm just a fuckin loser at the bottom of the poll,people like me don't even have the hope for something like that. Especially someone like me. Why do i feel so lonely and miserable? Why am i even thinking about this again? Maybe i should've died, no one would even give a damn about it. No one would even miss me... I just want to die...I should've died...*"_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It was morning again as the alarm clock buzzed 06:00 am. The sun had yet to rise but Issei was still sleeping, barely, he turned off his alarm before it could buzz again and dashed in the shower and started his daily routine. It's been a couple of days since he had visited Arthur on Monday. Today was Friday and he was hower. He was so tired last night and forgot to check the news, it was rare for him to miss them for he had to watch out for information about any strange phenomena because he was mostly there to stop the cause of it. Another job from Castor, he had taken errands since a year and would stop supernatural beings from going berserk and causing mayhem. Well plus some other things like acting as a armed escort, tracking dangerous individuals, dealing with drug cartels and other work. The job was payed handsomely and he had made a good fortune from such plus occasional gifts from his employer Castor.

He did skip class sometimes as going to school wouldn't fill your stomach. Barely able to cling to his everyday life was more important than getting yelled at by the homeroom teacher . For his last work he received a Honda CBR as well as the usual pay,it was waiting for him at the 7th Daze where he would usually receive his income. Since a while he was tailed by some white armored individual but he clearly didn't have time to see who it was. He didn't know, he was curious but his work was more important than to stay around and see. It could cause trouble, he wanted to avoid being recognized and pursued by the military. He could get experimented on and be some weird scientist's guinea pig and he had enough experience with that from his usual routine with MonBlanc.

And then there was the question. What was it and why did it follow him? It was the thought that it was probably someone who had a grudge against him, was just some weird pervert or a hot girl. He didn't remember anyone who hated him or anyone he had met like that. And suddenly remembered Eleanora but she didn't have that type of power so it led him to his last guess. But why would any girl be interested in him anyway? He sincerely had hoped it was a girl but it was probably not. Why wouldn't it be a girl?

The day passed uneventfully as any other school day would. He went around school, ate the usual food, did his hobby and barely managed to stay for all of his classes. He was worried with other things than to listen in boring math classes - he really had a lot of hate towards mathematics.

Aside from that he saw Rias Gremory more often than before. This time she was accompanied by her entourage of Vice President Akeno Himejima and Pretty Boy Yuuto Kiba, respectively one of the hottest girls in school and the top ranking Prince of Kuoh Academy. He wasn't really familiar with them or cared for their existence unlike his fellow schoolmates who were worshipping and glorified their very being. They were of no interest to a loner like him, like hell would they associate with someone like Issei and he was clearly not wiling to mingle with them- they'd just use him like a monkey on a leash and make fun of him. Like it wasn't enough that he was hated by almost everyone in school.

But it was different this time. Instead of just passing him like trash just as everyone would, Vice President Akeno looked towards his way and winked. Their eyes met for the first time but he quickly averted his gaze and stepped up in the opposite direction. But as doing by he noticed Rias's gaze on his back which stressed him more. They were probably thinking something nasty and try to use their charm on him to do something and then laugh it off. But would they really even look at him, nag it was probably someone else or was just some weird luck. He shrugged it off and after 5 min he was at the front gate, ready to head back to his empty as ever home.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

It was a long day. Nothing really happened which was good in its own way. It was rather rare for Issei to have a peaceful, non eventful day like this. Well aside from the fact that he met eyes with the popular crew,which was unprecedented as he was in the bottom of the school hierarchy. It was really weird and his reaction back then was his way of avoiding trouble - if you don't give them a reason or avoid them, they won't mingle with you.

Later that day...

It was getting late as the sun soon waned and was replaced by the growing shadows of the night. It was already dark so there wasn't much of a soul around. Except the usual scum that lurked around. Issei had his usual stroll around like any day and since it was peaceful,he would walk undisturbed to look around the neighborhood. He had plugged his earphones and as music could calm him, as on top there was no traffic so he would roam freely without getting hit by a truck, not that it would hurt him really but expose his identity. He was pursued by several countries but would always end up with nothing as whenever there were attempts to photograph him,the cameras would always show just a humanoid shadow and nothing else.

 _"* Ever since i met her, I've been feeling so weird. I can't even explain it nor comprehend it why. But there's just something wrong about it im sure. I can't exactly say but there's something fucked up in this and it ain't me.*"_

He was so deep in thought that he had barely payed attention where he went. Luckily it was a 7/11 convenience store and he was kinda hungry as a matter of fact. He bought a pack of snacks,some juice and a can of coffee just to trick his hunger - he wasn't really in mood to cook than more in thinking about the past few days.

Things were happening, unnatural stares were looming over his back, the visions and his encounter with Rias. He knew he was back thanks to someone else but he had decided to make them wait and grow impatient and look for him would be expected to look for their savior but it could end up in many ways but he would make them look for him as he didn't know who was it and if he started looking around he could meet the wrong person.

Clearly he was resurrected for a reason. To serve someone and own them for saving his life and work for them till he dies. It was his first guess as no one would be so generous to just bring up the dead back and let them free.

Just 15 min away from home, he sat down on the nearest bench and had his coffee under the moonless night sky.

" This brings me back . It was the same sky just like then, only a bit brighter. Well not that it matters anyway. We're just so insignificant compared to what's up there,the universe wouldn't give a damn about us so why should we? Just a tiny particle in this endless universe, nothing more or nothing less. It's just so cruel... I don't know what God had in mind but it's clear he enjoys our suffering. Such cruelty... No wonder we're so flawed. "

 _"*You can say that again *"_

" Just what the fuck was that? " he didn't hesitate and ran away to the nearest street. It was faster to get home that way so he ran and ran. It was already raining by the time he had reached his near his house but he didn't have an umbrella as it wasn't expected to rain that day.

He was panting and had trouble taking his breath, his heart was beating fast. He was pale like he had seen a ghost and his legs were shaking wildly just by the time he had powered down from his boost. Being unable to stand up in the cold rain he was surely to get sick if he didn't hurry back. Just a little more.

He raised his head and in the end of the road he spotted a female figure. She was walking gracefully with her umbrella and was still in her uniform. He recognized her as it was no other than the infamous Rias Gremory.  
She was probably going home late from her club activities due to some meeting of some sort. And she was closing by.

The rain intensified quickly just like it was nothing. But in that rain was Rias Gremory - she looked so beautiful under the rain like some forest nymph under the open skies. Just like a queen passing by to look around her people's wellbeing, but there were none other than Issei at the other side of the road.

He rose up steadily, wiped off the dust on his black jacket and put on his hoodie, hoping to be just passed by as a road sign and avoid any contact. It was probably unnecessary as a girl like that won't go out of her way to greet and acknowledge someone like him. He didn't think about it as he just wanted to go home and fast. He was cold.

She was approaching and so was their paths crossed and he lowered his face to avoid contact but didn't step up the pace for god knows why. Maybe because it would clearly seem he was avoiding her and would make her react. Or not.  
He was soaking wet with his shoes drowning in water and he raised his head as she had already passed behind him and ignored his presence.

 _"* So far so good *"_ he thought on escaping this uncomfortable situation.

And then her voice echoed in his ears.

"Hey,you there! Wait."

But he didn't care and continued his way. And then a second time her voice was heard.

" Hey, just wait for a bit. Issei Hyoudou. I wanted to ask you something. "  
Her voice was sweet but her words were like a command, issued to a servant. She was like a queen so it was only natural for her to be like that.

He turned around slowly and with his peripheral vision saw her standing behind him 5 meters away.

"I'm not in a good mood right now. So let's just finish this quickly since i don't wish to take up from your time. " - retorted politely without much thought.

" You seem quite different than you appear to be. I didn't expect you to be such a gentleman. "- she chuckled. The same laughter he had seen before.

His scars were burning red under the jacket but were left unseen by his undershirt, it wasn't a normal one after all. The burning sensation irked his instincts, telling him she wasn't human at all. He avoided looking her in the eyes to avoid what happened last time.

"I just wanted to talk with you for a bit. I noticed how you acted around us and it made me curious. You don't like us, do you? " her face was full of questions while her eyes were peering deep. She was interested in him because he was one of the few who didn't acknowledge her.

" If i had to be honest - i don't. To be precise I'm not interested in any of you neither do i have a desire to do so. After all why would a cool beauty like you even talk with someone like me? If someone saw us, it could be bad for your reputation. Wouldn't it?  
Well if that's all I'll be going back home now. Have a nice day"

No matter how hot she was, being the girl every man desired to hold in his arms,he just flat out stated he wasn't interested in her stupid reason. Since she wasn't human he had readied his body to retaliate if she tried to attack.

" Wait! Just please wait. I wanted to talk about something else as well. "  
She pleaded him to stay and listen to what she had to say. But he wasn't interested.

" Sorry for not telling you about your condition earlier. I believed that you needed time to adjust and thought that it was time. I didn't know where you lived around until today so i couldn't contact you. In school it would've been harder to do so. And with all of th-" she wasn't able to finish

" Of course you wouldn't. It would tarnish your reputation in being acquainted with me. I don't really care what you say but it's clearly you've mistaken me for someone else. So sorry. " he waved his hand while walking just to show her that he wasn't in a mood to ruin her rep since it didn't have anything to do with him.

" I didn't have a opportunity to speak with you. So just please listen to what i have to say. It's important. "

He turned around just to hear her explanation and after she's done, go home and forget about it. But he saw black, crooked bat wings sprout from her shoulder blades.

" Now do you believe me?" - she wanted an answer. Her eyes were full of slight irritation mixed with a sincere... He couldn't exactly understand it.

" Who exactly are you? Drop the act!"

He felt something ripping sensation through his lower back, only to spot black scaled wings with spiked tips. He looked again at her and back and fort.

" Mmh, that looks kinda nice... " her smile was cunning but her eyes were like a lioness, with her tone being awfully nice.

"As i was saying ", she began her speech, " i didn't have any chance of meeting with you. I had work to do and it had left me with no time to spare. If i could, i would have told you earlier but since you're here now I'll start".

" But what if someone sees us? Atleast a Bounded field or something like that would've been better "

" Already taken care of"- she smiled yet again.

By the moment she had spread her wings, Issei had deduced that it was her probably that saved him. She had the same aura and his wings sprouting automatically in her presence would confirm it.

" And on your question. Let me state it this way"- she took a breath and her disposition shifted to a more regal one, " My name is Rias Gremory, heiress to the House of Gremory and I'm a devil. Nice to meet you Issei Hyoudou. "

He was a bit dumbfounded by this bold declaration but nonetheless he was still on the defensive.

" Sorry for not trusting you right away. It's still new for me. I was killed by a Fallen Angel and now I'm a devil. It's awfully convenient if you ask me. And now comes the part where i have to repay you and work for you. No one would revive someone without a reason and just let them go by. "

" I revived you because your life was cut short because of my mistake on failing to notice the Fallen's activities in my territory. Everyone deserves a second chance and it was the only way to repent for the mistake i made. "

"From now on,due to the circumstances of your death and by the rules of your resurrection, you were reincarnated as a Devil in my peerage. You will stay under my rule and protection as i am your King.I'm looking forward to having you join my peerage. She finished with a smile and a cute tilt of her head.

He closed his eyes for a second to think. She was good enough to let him adjust but why did she wait for so long to say it. If she had done so earlier it would have been better but since a good period of time had passed it was suspicious. Still he wasn't completely sure of her exact goal for saving him other than have him serve her. It was something deeper for sure.

Something inside him snapped. He sensed she was approaching closer to him and suddenly opened his eyes.

Gone were the brown eyes of the perverted loner,only to be replaced with... It couldn't be defined what were they. Everything became even darker as Rias stepped forward. She couldn't feel the rain, the only thing she could feel was the darkness enveloping her as she looked towards Issei's eyes. What she saw was hard to define... In those eyes she saw suffering, the countless bloodbaths he had witnessed, the creeping feeling of death was surrounding her being. She swore she saw something move under his skin as hard scales appeared on his face. His eyes were the only thing she was sure were there.

She was terrified. Her thoughts had ran rampant with the single lingering thought - she didn't know if she was about to die by the hands of this monstrosity.  
But suddenly the darkness was gone. It had only passed a second but she felt like it was eternity. She glanced again but only saw the boy in his jacket with his hoodie on.

Issei began - " Since you saved my life i am really grateful. But... "

"But?" she blinked in surprise.

" I won't work for you if you're unworthy. I'll repay my debt to you but if you were to mingle in my life more than necessarily or put anyone i know in danger, i won't hesitate to put you down. You can count on it. Have a nice day " and he left the crimson haired beauty, vanishing in the darkness of the night.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Saturday night, 01:15 am

Issei had a call in the middle of the night by one of his associates to act as a courier of some sorts and had to change gear quickly. It was another request by Cecilia and as much as he didn't like it, he had to do it otherwise she'd get pissed and would burn out half the Pacific Ocean if they were to meet. Aside from her short fuse,she wasn't so bad actually but he wasn't close with her at all. If she wanted to scorch a whole city, no one would stop her as there was a mutual agreement between all members of the club not to mingle in others affairs. So they all could do anything they wanted - start a war,destroy countries or just fucked things up for people. No one from them would criticize his ways or job as a mercenary for hire as he wouldn't in return. But still, the money was good this time and to save a lot of people's lives, he agreed to do it. He would have done it for free but it would still be nice to get some funds for it.

He was a bit sleepy as he couldn't get rest. Plus all of the things Rias said had lodged deep into his mind and were of importance since he would have to stick with this girl. But atleast it wasn't so bad as he would expect it. Who knew, maybe he could actually meet some girl who'd accept him and not be revolted by his nature. But it's probably impossible he thought.

And by the time he had concluded yet again it was impossible, he had reached Argentina in a wasn't any problem getting there due to his Scale Mail Balance Breaker. He had learned a trick or two in his sleeve to widen it's capabilities and experiment with the brand. The flight capability wasn't the normal one the Boosted Gear offered it's hosts as much more it was a natural phenomena caused by devouring the Original housed in it. It was all the work of the brand.

.

He was to go to the capital, wait a bit and receive the package and bring it to the club for Hilda. It was probably alcohol again. She really enjoyed drowning in alcohol just like a bottomless pit- she would drink,drink and drink, pass out and then drink again. She was annoying to deal with.

He slowed down in the outskirts of the capital, removed his Scale Mail, walked to the city and was heading towards a nearby restaurant where he was supposed to wait.

He reached out to his chest , traced the metal chain around his neck and grasped the cross he was wearing. The same one he thought he had lost. It was on the right side of the bed,lying in wait to be found by its owner.  
He couldn't wear it without getting hurt at first because of the 3% that changed his biology, but with enough time he produced scales around his chest to cover his scar, these scales would act as a shield to the effects of the cross and due time gained a resistance to religious objects. It was another one of the experiments he did to test how changed he was in the past days. It wasn't much since only light weapons could hurt him a little, religious objects burned but wouldn't leave permanent damage, and most on top he couldn't pray or swear with God's name in it.

He looked around to see if anyone was watching and snuck in. He was sure to attract attention as you wouldn't see a Japanese person in these places. So he was atleast masked by the presence of the night which was a blessing.

" You actually came. I didn't expect you to respond to this request. The package is at the counter. So if you're not in a hurry sit down and let's have a chat. "

" Well only for a while. I've got work to do,things to sort out and anime to watch. " he reached out to a nearby chair and sat down to listen what she had to say. Or atleast look like it- he really didn't care but it would be disrespectful to act like that with his senior. Plus she was a bit of axe crazy.

" So you finally got yourself a girlfriend, eh?"

Cecilia Elizade, 23, restaurant owner and number 8 in the 7th Daze, **single.**

" Not really. I'm still far from that" Issei sighed and locked his hands on the bars of the chair,leaning backwards while his eyes went over all of the place," do you honestly believe I'd have any chance with a girl other than 2D?

" Maybe if you weren't such a perv you could have had a girlfriend. Aside from your habits, you give off the impression of a nice guy. But nice guys don't win the girl. " she snickered loudly. She gave off that cheesy smile that made Issei wanna slap her. Still she was a bit annoying but he could put up with it.

" Yeah,just like someone special who can't get a boyfriend at this age. So we're in the same boat. Must probably sting to be disliked by men. " he calmly retorted her statement of his single status.

He didn't budge a finger but Cecilia was really into changing the subject, she couldn't stand being reminded how much she was disliked by men. It hurt the most for her,and especially to hear it from this 2D loving, nice guy otaku virgin. But he was right as always and she didn't like it.

" So how you've been doing Issei? You haven't called lately so i thought you hated me. Am i so unattractive for you to avoid me?" she retorted while arching her back and tracing with her fingers on the hems of her blouse. He could see her cleavage in full view but she didn't pay attention while she was busy twirling her hair with her left arm.

" Not bad i guess. I've been just busy with work,some stuff happened lately that i haven't been in a mood to talk with anyone. I don't hate you or anything like that." - he tried to rebuke her statement. She was pretty stingy when it came to people who don't adore her. But Issei was the only one whom she didn't mind having banters and have him act natural around her. Even though they weren't close they had this special relationship, more than acquaintances but less than friends. It would be better to call it a business relationship, started by the shared situation and the feeling of being one of a kind in a small group of 13. Still it was far from friendship.

" So how's Arthur doing. I haven't seen him in a while so I'm curious. How's at your school? "- she was curious as a middleschooler and her face was full of anticipation. She really liked to mingle in others affairs like a storm in a sunny day. She didn't have that air of maturity as it should be expected of a grown up. In fact she was a bit childish sometimes.

" He's fine. It's the same as always. Nothing really happens at school. Why does everyone expect it to be a time full of fun and chatter. It ain't some stupid romcom like in those animes. There's no girl who'd like me. So don't ask the obvious. " he wore a indifferent face,full of acceptance of the fact, that he would never cherish this concept of life, called love ever again as his heart had dried up of such emotions.

" And that's why you're single. You always look at things negatively. Don't be so pessimistic, life is ahead of you. Brighten up and it will happen. Just like me"- she went on with a cheerful face, trying to brighten up the mood while her words, instead of helping, only reaffirmed his point of view - she was a naive optimist with no tact or what so ever.

" Yeah, just like you. You know that these words don't work on me. Sorry but it's impossible with me. And coming from you it's kinda jarring - you're single too! That advice doesn't work since you can't apply it on your self. It's just self elevation and gratification. Sorry to break it for ya- his gaze was cold as ice,like he had never hoped before." These expectations - they are just presumptuous guesses on the course of life,until it breaks you and crushes all of your dreams. It's useless... "

Before she could start, he ran up to the counter, grabbed the package and was heading towards the exit. But she stopped him in his tracks only to ask him another favor - beat up the local terror that had ravaged on people.  
She was so insistent on making him do so - she was lazy and since she wasn't in a good mood, what's better than make him do her work as an excuse for her bad mood. She surely was annoying to deal with. Even Hilda was easier to handle than Cecilia.

3 minutes later...

The earth was cold and snow was falling down in large chunks. Everything was covered in ice,what had been a peaceful field with crops was now a frozen wasteland with whatever unfortunate being frozen to death in place. The wind was blowing unnaturally, swirling with such ferocity that could shred flesh in a matter of seconds, just like a tornado ripping apart everything in its way.

Without hesitation, Issei aimed for the center of the this current, in the zenith of this pressure circling around the core was preventing him from closing in and the cold winds were freezing his whole body. Soon he would freeze to death if he didn't do something about it. His wings were being covered in ice the more he tried to close in. The thing in the center had noticed his presence and lunged  
blades of ice towards his way.

He dodged this barrage with grace but a pillar hit him from the other side. He couldn't pinpoint the angle of the frozen pillars as they changed trajectory supplemented by the ripping winds blow. He was surrounded by this vortex with nowhere to run but his mind had made a plan to pierce through the wind.

 _" *900 m to the core, but if i get closer I'd freeze. So a shot on every 25m would do it,totally 36 times for every 25 m. That should do the trick.*"_

He heated up his wings in even intervals until he reached 300 degrees and flew upwards. He aimed and shot a fireball downwards, tailing it down immediately - it melted the frozen swords in front of him while also heating up the air around him with his wings gliding further. He continued to do this strategy as it made him go so close to the center, with whatever projectile coming his way melting and his wings preventing him from freezing.

His draconian wings burned brighter as he changed his flight pattern,shooting more and more fire to distract it from finding out his pattern. The air was boiling from the scorching heat his wings produced as it was spreading in every direction, making it hard to pinpoint his location as he had the same temperature as the surroundings. No matter how much it struggled, all of its attacks were rendered useless due to the heat of his wings. Even if it could reach him,his armor would deflect it's onslaught. He swinged his wings in a circular pattern like a buzzsaw and lodged them deep in the pressurized ice wall the being in the center had erected but it was sliced through like cheese. His wings weren't on the level of a normal dragon as wings shouldn't be able to rotate and vibrate as a heated up chainsaw.

It was a good thing they weren't normal . They used a much more abstract concept,bending the air currents around them to define a closed space which could move into the concept of space and distort it. Thanks to his unnatural wings and their properties they could twist and change shapes depending on the need as much they weren't wings but a abstract concept of existence with undefined properties and shape. They twirled, zigzagging, swirling, bending, shapeshifting within every second as no one could comprehend it,it was something out of this world's laws.

He didn't wait for a second as he drove his fist into the the direction of the wall. His fist hit something hard as he sent his opponent flying down to the ground, leaving them in a giant crater from the fall.  
He dropped his legs fast onto the ground and shifted his stance for attack. Without a second to waste he ran towards the crater and with a fast kick lifted the cause of this mess,he didn't really care how it looked like as he brought down his other leg on their face midair and pressed harder to the ground.

Issei swung his tail and drove it close to its neck, ready to kill with a single blow to the jugular vein if it had any.

" You're tougher than they say. It's my loss. But beware, they are coming. Run while you can,you cannot hide from them forever. Beware of the ones lurking in the shadows. You cannot def-" and blood splattered everywhere in all directions. The body of a girl was lying on the ground with her white dress painted red by her own blood.

He dug a small grave and placed the body of this mysterious girl in it. By her looks she was a ice elemental but it didn't matter much - she was dead.

After doing the proper rites,he said final words before flying away.

" May God forgive your actions and judge you for your deeds. Rest in peace. And don't worry - I'm ready for them, you can count on it."

And he flew off thinking _\- " Why does this always happen, damn it. Why can't all of the cool girls not be trouble. This job is ungrateful for sure... "_

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Morning came soon as the sun rose up.  
It had been only 4 hours since he had gotten home after his delivery service finished. Make it 3 because he couldn't get out the words of the dying elemental about "Them" so he wiggled in his bed, deep in thought and barely managed to even fall asleep. He had this feeling something evil was could feel it.

He had a growing disdain for the sun as devils didn't fare so well in daylight, it was draining their power and would make them more irritated due to the constant burning sensation of the sun rays. They were more easily hurt by light weapons ever since the first angels fell from grace and their offspring were cursed with a weakness against light and every object which held a holy aura. It was the same situation with reincarnated devils or more to say - the reparation was even higher for them than a pure blood or a original angel which became a demon. He knew this as he had studied theology extensively for the past 2 years so any further explanation would be unnecessary.

He came back at 3 am only to throw his clothes and take his pills . His armor had protected him well but he could still feel the cold as he didn't get out unscathed from this frozen wasteland. His skin was falling apart from the overexposure to ice and then being warmed up in a instant by his heat. He took a quick shower while peeling away the dead skin with care as he didn't want to freak out people more. It would definitely be too suspicious. After a while his skin grew back and covered his burning veins and stiff flesh and returned him to his original state but his scars were still there as they had been adapted to his draconian biology and would still persist.

It was Saturday morning so no school meant free time to rest and laze off his ass on the couch in the hall. It would be a peaceful day and he would have time to think of his next move in dealing with this situation of being a "slave" to Rias Gremory. She clearly had her agenda in adding him to her peerage so he had plans on finding out her true motives by getting close enough to her and observe.

" Damn, i should've bought some new curtains if i knew the sun was such a bitch. I'll add that to the list as well. Maybe i should blow up the sun some day. Nah, it would be bad as millions would die. Still, fuck you sun and your sunshine days. Now how am i to go to the beach.? Oh yeah i couldn't even if i wanted... "

He was clearly salty because of the sun and shoved his head under the pillow and kicked. Only to hit a pair of legs close to his.

 _"* A pair of legs? That would mean only one thing - someone's in my bed. *"_

He thought the worst - some pervert had snuck in his bed unnoticed. He moved carefully not to wake what may lie under the sheets and quietly put on his clothes. He was naked a min ago -  
 _"* Oh dear God, I've been soiled by some freak. How am i to live with this. What would my mother say if she were here. I wanted it to be with a girl i love, not some male crossdresser. What am i to do with this? *"_

The horror was written on his face as all of the possible situations raced through his mind. He was shocked, confused and frightened by this realization of being deflowered by something weird, his legs were shaking violently and he barely contained the urge to scream like a little girl.

After a few minutes he regained his composure and decided to follow what his mind told him - kill it with fire!  
But it was probably a normal human so he grabbed a nearby water bottle and proceeded to lift the sheets steadily not to wake them up and have time to react. Grabbing the sheets tightly, he slowly lifted up the covers only to see a pair of breasts pressed on the blue mattress. And he heard a soft moan...

"Mmm~"

He was confused. Why was there a girl in his bed unless... He had finally scored with a girl and became a man. "* How did she get inside. The house is trap wired,sealed shut with a protective ward,filled up with circles to repel people and the supernatural. It should be impregnable... Who cares man,i did it! I feel so proud of myself, my duty is done great ancestors! *". He posed with a smug grin with his arms on his waist in a cool guy pose and raised his thumb in the air to thank the Lords of Eros for this glorious moment.

" Pretty lively in the morning, aren't we?"

Rias Gremory cast away the sheets only to sit up and wipe off her sleepy the girls he had seen were pretty thanks to applying make up and with just a wipe, it would all wash up to reveal their true faces. But she was different, even negligee in the morning, she was still more beautiful than any girl he had seen, she was naturally gifted with beauty and grace and her whole body was in plain sight for Issei to see.

" Good morning Issei. Did you sleep well? "

"Good morning, i suppose yes. " his voice was filled with embarrassment and his eyes were focused on her bare skin. He was nervous.

She stretched up her arms and walked around to the nearby desk to get her belongings. She just walked around naked in his room without even flinching, despite being naked in a boys room. She didn't have a care in the world on being seen,more so like she was letting him see in all of her magnificence.

" Why don't you get dressed and let's have breakfast? "- he turned around to give her privacy and on instinct shot words like a machine gun. Trying to convince himself not to look was a hard battle on trying to top his lust for female breasts.

" Does it disturb you? I don't mind, stare if you wish. Go ahead. " her words were like a commandment to his ears.

Issei froze in place. Was it possible for karma to be so generous to him with this turn of events. Words like that couldn't exist in any language - words more sacred than a deluxe edition porn release announcement. It was like the world had stopped working in its set parameters, things like these were beyond all logic and reason. Could this really be reality? A girl not to be disgusted and run away? To say it's ok to watch...

His eye shed a manly tear for all of his perverted brothers around the world. It was a win for all of the perverts around the globe. His prayers were finally rewarded, his wish was heard finally. It wasn't just to see a naked girl, he scored with that girl! He was a man!

"Are you better now? I sensed some disturbance in your Evil Pieces so i came check on you. Your house is pretty hard to get in with all of those defenses you put up. Well luckily there was a chink in the defensive for me to enter. "

He turned around now only to see her fully dressed in a yellow summer dress with frills and a small necklace.

Issei didn't wait so he shot the question - " Thanks, but why were you naked?", he had to ask just in case as he knew too well it was too good to be true," What were you doing in my bed?"

Shee took a seat and elaborated - " An Evil Piece has to be synchronized with a King piece to facilitate the link between them. Your's weren't fully stable and even more you took all of my Pawn pieces so i undressed us both to make it easier. They have to be in close proximity and contact to register and link. "

" How did you find this place? I never said anything about where i live."

" Evil Pieces emit a almost untraceable signature to a King piece just like a homing beacon. So if you're ever in trouble I'll know where to find you . " she tilted her head in a cute manner.

Issei took a moment to think about it. This wasn't included in her previous explanation, neither that the 8 pieces in him were like a tracking device. He was screaming in the back of his head - fate had messed around with him once more. If Fate was a guy he'd beat the shit out of him for making him suffer from this false assumption. Things were going not in the way he was planning, who knew what more could it have in store and to be left in the dark was something he had to avoid at all costs.

" Is there anything else i should know about these Evil Pieces? " an inquiring question was raised. He needed to know how they work if he ever wanted to be free. One way or another he would find out..

After a brief explanation on the nature of the Evil Pieces, the treaty between factions and general history, they went downstairs to have lunch in the kitchen. Issei made some Italian cuisine he had learned from the doctor and presented it proudly before the young devil girl. For once he didn't have to eat alone but it would still feel different, inferior. Nothing would replace what he lost no matter what.  
He turned around and came up to the sink just to hide his miserable expression, he didn't want to concern his guest with his problems.

" I didn't know you lived alone. I was expecting it to be more lively " Rias's expectations hurt.

" Yeah... It used to... " he mumbled quietly while being careful not to be heard. She had hit a sensitive matter without even thinking about it.  
 _"* Didn't she notice already? So much for sneaking in when you haven't even done your homework right...and i thought you were better. *"_

" You're not normal, are you? "

She had noticed but why ask now of all the time? She must have when she took off his clothes, every article of his sleepwear, even the undershirt he wore. It was puzzling, this feeling of uncertainty was creeping inside his mind.

After taking a sip from her hot coffee, Rias began with a questioning tone , "You managed to almost kill a Fallen Angel without much effort , your magic theory and skills are solid, your house is full of traps and fortified like a fortress, it's hidden behind a pretty solid barrier and the most important part- you don't give off the aura of a devil or anything like I've met. It's like you're something completely different, way above devils.Your upper body is riddled with scars that should have killed a normal human. Just what are you? You're nothing like a normal human, i can tell. You're not saying the full truth, are you? "

Issei gulped and took a breath after putting his fork down to explain.  
" Not really, I'm just your average, mundane guy. Nothing special or anything like that. And everyone has a secret or two. It wouldn't be interesting if we didn't, don't you think so President? "

Rias raised her eyebrows, winced her eyelashes and just grabbed her cup.  
" I won't make you say it. It's not right to coerce you into talking about it. Let's just leave it at that and i hope you'll grow to trust me one day. "

After finishing their breakfast she said - " Let's take a walk around. I'll call the others to meet up somewhere for you to get acquainted with the rest of my peerage. They should be free since it's Saturday so how about it? Interested? "

" I was planning on doing something productive with my free time like watching anime, reading some books and lazing around the house all day. But since you're insistent i guess I'll have to comply with it. "

" Lazing around and reading hentai isn't productive at all. You should go out some more, you know. It's not good to stay cooped up in your house all day. So let's go already. "

" Sure sure, lead the way. "

He wasn't really interested in going out but since he was with a pretty lady it would be disrespectful to his great ancestors not to take this chance. Quickly grabbing his cross pendant, he came out after Rias went to the fornt yard, locked the house and they went on their way to the mall.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The same day, 13:54 pm, Airport Station

" Why is this place so hard to navigate through? Maybe im lost? I should try to ask someone here around. I hope they would understand Italian. "

She spotted a man with a foreign appearance sitting on a bench at the airport and was looking around for someone. He was looking around 25-30 with jet black hair with a dyed blonde fringe and wore a dark blue suit. 

She quickly approached him and asked in Italian - " Excuse me, could you please tell me how to reach Kuoh Academy. I kinda got lost around here while asking people around for directions. " she laughed.

The man responded in perfect Italian with a detailed description on how to get there, what bus she should take,where to stop and everything.

" Are you waiting for someone, sir? "

" I am. They should arrive any moment now. Any minute now... "

After sitting on the bench for a while, the young girl checked the time and had to run in order to catch the bus. But before departing she thanked this kind man for his help and blessed him.

" Thank you dear sir for your help. I wouldn't have done it without your help. May God bless you for your kindness. Have a nice day" and she ran up towards the exit.She faded into the crowds.

" He would rather curse us than bless our work. After all he's got a awful temper. But thank you anyway, sister. "

He stood up and started walking slowly ahead. He was directed to the exit as he had finished his job - to find out who was the nun from Rome and asses her.

" She's here." - and he ended his phone call.

The space around him distorted and blackened as everything around froze in time,it was static and lifeless. The only thing moving was the man himself while from his shadow 2 pentacles erupted and grew in size. From these magical circles appeared 2 figures in fancy suits.

" I heard your call, Azazel. The time has arrived. Should we kill this church mutt or let her be for a while? "

" Be more patient Shemhazai. For now let's just monitor. She'll lead us to the snake in our group. It would be in our favor to wait and observe- as they say, " The fruit tastes the best right before a harvest ".

The other man nodded in agreement on this proposal. He wasn't a man of many words but when it mattered the most he was the first to speak. And it was the same for this situation as well.

" We went over the plan 3 times to be sure it won't fail,I've ensured that it would go as planned. Every situation has been brainstormed through, the chances are even... Everything is reading, Governor. Give us the sign and we shall act."

They dissipated into thin air,the circles were gone and everything was back to normal. Time had started moving accordingly to the natural laws of the world as only a minute had passed.  
He scrolled down on his contacts list to dial a specific number he had obtained recently.

" It's me. She's here, Arthur. I just saw her a few minutes ago - i didn't expect it to be her that was sent. Strays and rogue exorcists will gather around here soon so be prepared for it. Can i count on your assistance in this one? Tell Issei what i told you, he must not meet this girl. I'm hanging over. Bye."

A confident smile appeared on his face and he went through the sliding door with a fast pace.

" Things are about to get interesting. "

"This is just the beginning..."


	3. Act3 Dragon Riot

Hello again. I'd like to express my gratitude to the people who gave this piece of work a chance. Like seriously, thank you so much for that.

Please excuse me for the wait up, i usually write a chapter and release it 10 days after the last but this time i took 3 days off to think off the plot progression. I actually dreamed of the future arcs I'm going to include. But i take suggestions and cool ideas, some might even find a place in this. So don't be shy and just bash.

Sona and Issei's relationship will be explained soon enough in flashbacks, while now what's left is to reach to the Asia becomes a devil arc for the story to kick off. And yes i actually hate the blonde nun a lot. Well i will write the Ratings Game arc as mandatory for the gears to switch.

On Issei - i felt he was a bit bland and self insert in the LN so i just wanted to flesh him out more like a real person. He's clearly smarter,more perceptive and pessimistic than the canon one. It's just so fun writing about him as a perverted loner with brutal cynicism. He uses more magic and is imaginative with his powers to surprise whatever may come at him. And to mask as a normal magician.

I don't like the chan and so i don't use them. More POV and monologues,i suck at dialogs and describing their expressions for which i am deeply sorry. Lot's of anime,manga and other media references. So you'll notice some of them even if not clearly stated. On the other club members - Most of them won't be introduced yet but in due time.

This chapter is just buildup so i don't expect it to be any good. Enjoy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Act. 3 Dragon Riot

Thursday, School Entrance, 08:15 am

4 days have passed since Issei went on that group meeting with Rias's peerage, masked as the Occult Research Club in the academy. At first he wasn't looking forward to it but they turned out to be not so bad,but still far from his comfort zone and taste. His opinion on the matter hadn't changed, it would still persist as it was too early to trust them but nevertheless he gained insight on what they were like from this small meeting. He wasn't charmed by the number 1 Prince of Kuoh Yuuto Kiba as he was a popular guy who stole every girl they would ever President Akeno Himejima was pretty much trouble for him as he didn't like her teasing,it was a nuisance to him as much as dealing with the drunkard. They had the same presence but atleast she wasn't anything like the Vice President. The school mascot Koneko Toujou didn't like him at first sight, she knew his reputation and avoided even talking with him. And she was involved in a accident with his perverted friends - they spied on her while she was undressing in the locker room. Another reason to avoid him, if only had she been more more peaceful, she would have been the dream of every lolicon to have.

Their conversation wasn't the most pleasant thing to participate in- they were just conversing on small talk and the usual greetings. Issei did try to be polite but it still wasn't enough to hide his wariness from their beings. They didn't even take him seriously until Rias mentioned his brawl with a Fallen Angel. Their conversation on this topic went something like this -" So you beat a Fallen close to death without any magic or a weapon? How did you even manage to do that while still being human. It's impossible! - Is what Kiba said with a surprised face. He wasn't expecting Issei to be so tough as he gave the presence of a measly weakling.

" See these hands?"

"Y-yes?" - Kiba answered calmly but with a slight hesitation.

" Then you know how". Issei had different thoughts on his mind than what he said - it was more like _"The shut the fuck up"_

" Ara Ara, our new member Issei is quite the brawler, isn't he? "  
Akeno gave off a amused grin while her tone was quite teaseful. That behavior didn't sit well with him as it reminded him of someone he didn't want to remember.

" Well now that we've exchanged our introductions and all, we'll meet again on Monday. Issei, remember that the club room is in the old part of the school, on the second storey. Come and take a look around, I'll do the registration papers so rest assured. Nothing bad will happen if you visit us." Rias finished the conversation and everyone went to their respective places.

 _"* Nothing bad will happen? My ass! If someone saw this they'd rip me apart. It's so sudden and it worries me. I'll wait a day or two maybe...*"_

And then it was...

Soldiers, mercenaries, drug dealers, the army wasn't as scary as the crowds before the front gate of school. A place to meet up,chat with friends and most confessions were held before the gate after school ended. It was a place Issei didn't like to stay long on,it was just annoying and he would pass it as fast as he could without raising his head. No one would greet him so why should he even expect to act nice and courteous for someone. It would be useless and he would look like some idiot waiting for someone that will never come.

As he stepped forward to the front gate he was taken aback in his tracks - Rias grabbed his shoulder in a rather forceful way. She waited for the others while holding Issei, preventing him to escape. He could but it would blow his cover so he had to endure this humiliation.

 _"* I'll pay you back for this one. Just you wait *"_ He was clearly displeased as he knew that everyone would turn around and pay attention to him. He was close with Rias so it would mean suffering by the hands of the jealous crowd. They would clearly understand it wrong and would mess up his barely normal life even more. Human jealousy sure was ugly as hell.

Everyone was looking at their direction with eyes full of hatred for the unlucky pervert. He was hated by everyone, even by people he had never met. They would treat him as non existent, most really didn't even know about him other than that perv from Class 3 but would still hate him nonetheless. This time they noticed his presence - he had both Rias and Akeno by his side, even pretty boy Kiba wasn't away from them. They were glaring at him like some wild beast that must be put down, lest the world would end. Who was he to stand besides these outwardly girls. They would have attacked him if it didn't meant expulsion. Even Eleanora didn't glare at him with such contempt. It was reminder of how scary and savage humans were in their emotions.

They split up on the way to the third floor with Rias and co heading towards their respective classes. It was just Issei now. A giant rock had been lifted from his shoulders and he could finally have a peaceful moment or sort of...

It was about time for class to start so he went down the left corridor to his room without much time to waste. He was put in a uncomfortable position as it didn't sit well with his way of solitude. Being the object of acknowledgement was new to him and he just couldn't get used to these animalistic stares heading his way.

Atleast the petty talk was surprisingly small in quantity as he was just asked general things like his living expenses, guardian status and per se general situation. He mostly hid the truth about his financial gains and the status of his guardian. He didn't want to bring Arthur or Castor in this,they didn't deserve this treatment for they had been nice enough to him. But still he didn't think of the Occult Research Club members as nice, they were probably putting air and just acting nice as a obligation to their "owner ". Rias wasn't really any better - he didn't care how pretty she was or anything. Just the fact of his resurrection would be relevant to him in his quest of finding their true colors. But he wasn't free yet...not yet...

He was deep in his thoughts so his reaction was delayed. A strong kick to his ass was delivered by his fellow Matsuda while Motohama was brimming with rage. He clearly saw the situation at the front gate and it would still haunt him as Issei had reached Rias. It was unforgivable.

"Issei! How could you do this to me. And i thought we were friends. Just how could you betray us?

"Wha don't you tell us what happened? ." Motohama's glasses shined while he held a small stapler in his hand, clapping it's sides to produce a intimidating noise.

Matsuda and Motohama were just right behind him standing over his fallen body with the glare of hungry predators radiating from their eyes. His kick had brought him to the ground, it was strong enough to pierce through his buttocks and send him flying. Truly, a man's jealousy was this ugly as well as powerful to bend laws. A man's jealousy shouldn't be underestimated as it could probably bring down a angel to its knees. He had forgotten that they weren't weak in the least.

" Explain your actions for you have sinned before the bonds of friendship. Death to all traitors!

" You're reading too much into it the wrong way. I was actually coerced in that and i couldn't escape from it. So just calm down and let's think it rationally. " he rised back on his feet and wiped away the dust from his uniform.

" Rationally, my ass! I envy you so much. You were so close to her,not just her. Akeno as well.! Do you know how much people would fight for that. She even grabbed your shoulder. Why wasn't it me damn it?! Matsuda was clearly engrossed in his bout of frustration with his arms raised up and crying tears like a river. If there were any fish in it,they were likely to die from his bitter tears. Talk about salty...

" You'll have to make it up to us. I won't accept a no for an answer. Friends should stick up for each other and share their joy and sorrow together. "

" Count on it. I'll make it right. " Issei shot a nice guy thumbs up while having the manliest expression ever.

" Just look at those freaks. They're caught up in their bullshit again. " laughter was heard behind the door.

" Can you believe it? Rias-senpai in some relation with that creep? Like hell I'd happen. " another voice was filling the air and they wouldn't stop even after Issei went to his desk.

Class had started but the teacher was late. Their homeroom teacher was a stern man who never went late for assignments and class. A really responsible man with a good sense of tact. But he was late for the first time.

A knocking was heard,the doorknob was being held up by a young man in his late twenties. He slowly opened the door,close it shut quickly and stood up in the front of the whiteboard with an erect posture.

" Due to circumstances, your homeroom teacher was caught up in a car accident and will be required to stay at a hospital to recuperate. It's sudden but i was called to be your replacement tutor on short notice. So let's get along, shall we?"

His voice was strong and a bit husky but nevertheless manly. He was dressed up in a white dress shirt with a black vest on top of it,a black and red striped tie with 2 pins and wore black shoes. He was a foreigner with black hair and a blond fringe, had a stubble and gave off the aura of someone who had a ton of experience in dealing with people.

" Pardon me for my rudeness, i didn't introduce myself properly. I am professor Adolf K. Mayer and i will be acting as your substitute teacher for the time being. I am new here so please be patient with me." he bowed down and gave a pleasant smile, one that would melt the hearts of women and make enemies with the male populace.

The girls squeaked in joy to this new teacher. He was just perfect - a manly, handsome appearance, a sweet voice, intelligent but with a bad boy aura and proper manners. What's not to love , he was the type of man any girl would like. They even started asking him things right away like if he had a girlfriend, how old he was or if he could marry one of them.

Issei wasn't moved much by his entry. He would probably hate him for his frequent absence leaves and for his antics. He wasn't clearly interested but there was something more to this new teacher of his.

His scars were burning but unlike the usual they didn't feel so bad as most of the time he had encountered supernatural phenomena. They didn't burn painfully - it was more of a minimal sensation just enough to tell him, this professor Mayer wasn't of the human essence.

 _"* A third grade Concealment spell that almost masks your true presence completely. But it won't work on me. I've had my fair share of magic theory so don't expect me to fall for that one. Charm? Nah, sadly it's not magic. It's just this guy's skill of lure. I'll lay down low until i clarify if he's a treat... But for now let's just watch him *"_

" Instead of the boring literature you read, let's dabble into something more interesting. Like theology for instance. Anyone here that knows why a third of Heaven was cast down to Earth? Or who received the 10 commandments?" he livened up the mood with a good theme for discussion. He was a natural at it.

Answers followed one after another as they raced to answer questions and get into their new teacher's good side. He was controlling the situation perfectly as a puppeteer would his dolls. So that's the charm of a older man.

And soon after school came to an end with the bell of the last hour. Everyone in class packed their things and would quickly bow to their new professor politely. With time their numbers decreased.

" Yo,Issei! Shall we go watch some of my special stuff at my house? I've got the new Tsugou no Yoi ready so let's watch that." Motohama was brimming with anticipation for he had to endure this whole day and like the rest of the male populace, he wasn't clearly charmed by this new teacher. He stole all of the girls from them.

Issei could feel a gaze directed towards his back,it was full of intention, calling him to follow. He lifted his bag and placed the strap on his left shoulder while holding his phone with the other.

" Man, i think I'll pass this time. Sudden work appeared so i won't be able to come this time. Sorry guys but next time it's on me. My house. "

" Well it won't be as fun without you but it can't be helped. Well then see you tomorrow again. " Matsuda waved his hand while Motohama grabbed his bag and both left fast.

 _"* Well now it's just me. I should get going fast. It's this Mayer sensei that's worrying me. Is he here to kill me or just another one like them? I don't know but I'm feeling like I'll find out soon enough...maybe now!*"_

Issei took a step towards the door, reached for the doorknob and twisted it. He knew Mayer was watching him, he was sure on it. He opened the door and stepped forward only to turn around suddenly, slam the door and yell **Create Field Barrier**. Everything turned gray and static, the particles of dust could be seen without trouble. No movement or sound existed. He clenched his fists and prepared to retaliate any incoming attacks for just the two of them existed in this timeless barrier.

" You seem more observant than you appear to be. Honestly i expected you to run but this is a pleasant surprise. So how about you lower your fists and let's talk. " Mayer wasn't in the least worried. He was actually enjoying it as Issei saved him the trouble of trying to find him alone and their meeting not to look suspicious. He took a seat on the teachers desk and crossed his legs in a laid back manner.

" Who are you and what do you want? What is your goal here? The homeroom getting suddenly in hospital is quite suspicious and then you come here. Convenient, isn't it?" Issei blinked fast and tightened his muscles even more, scales started appearing on his knuckles, ripping through his flesh with the blood quickly evaporating.

" On that matter yes. It is a bit convenient but nevertheless i am not in fault for your teacher's current disposition. I have no intention of causing you any farm, so you can rest assured. I would like to talk with you on matters concerning your situation. So what do you say?"

" I don't think i could believe you in any way. There's no guarantee that you wouldn't strike me as we speak,is it?"

" Correct. But i haven't done so,yes? I could have just freezed the room and killed you while you didn't expect it but it would be far from my intentions. Honestly, it'd be a drag to kill you. I don't think i could kill you actually but that's a different matter. For now let's just hear out each other and then decide on what course of action to take. " his words weren't forced or outright lies. He was speaking the truth as he took out his phone from his left pocket and started scrolling down.

" Fine. I'll hear what you have to say but don't expect me to trust any of it. I won't take a chance in letting you kill me here right now. So im all ears. And by the way Adolf K. Mayer is a alias, isn't it?"  
Issei took a step back and dropped his arms freely but didn't calm down. He was expecting anything currently so he stayed alert even if his senses told him he wasn't a threat.

" You're in Gremory's peerage right? She must have explained things to you but i would recommend you not to trust her completely. And it's all my fault for you to end up with her."

" How so? By the way you speak, it's clear in plain sight that you were involved. Don't tell me you're the one who ordered the attack on me? I died out there, do you know how it feels to die and come back? You didn't answer my question! " Issei snapped but he was wary of pissing him off as he didn't want to fight without a reason. But he didn't need a reason if he was attacked so he tried to calm down as emotions would cloud his judgement.

" As i said, i have no intention of harming you in any way. If anything, i want to save you from this. There's a traitor in our group that's stirring things from the shadows and gave the order for your death. Don't believe what anyone says. And also whatever you do, don't meet with a blonde girl from Rome with a nun's garb- she's trouble. Oh, and the name's Azazel. But you can call me Mayer since that's my name here." Azazel shifted positions to a more comfortable one with his arms crossed and took out a cigarette.

" Do you have a lighter? I didn't bring mine. Sucks when you can't get a smoke." he sighed and brought his cigarette to his lips,while waiting for a light.

Issei moved a bit closer and stretched his arm out like he was holding a gun and ignited his index finger. He shot a small gust of fire,enough to light up a smoke and not burn everything down.

" That's kinda cool actually, it doesn't seem to be the usual Sacred Gear isn't it? Well enough about that..", he puffed out from his blue Winston and brought out his box, " want one? These aren't so strong as the ones that Arthur offers. "

" No thanks, not today. And wait - did you just say Arthur. As in Arthur Halle Mason? " he was surprised by his statement, his hand was behind his head while he was looking confused as well. He hadn't seen Arthur for a few days so he didn't know of their acquaintance. And he had questions for his mentor for later.

" Spot on, young boy. 7th Daze bar. I even have a VIP card if you don't believe me." he reached out to his right pocket and took out a leather wallet just to show him the card.

Issei brought out his Xperia E1 and dialed a number. The conversation was short but it did calm him down. It was just as Azazel said.

" We don't have enough time so let's make a contract. You've been probably told that devils fulfill contracts and grant wishes."

" Actually not, but i did guess they do. I'll ask her about it. So for now just give me your number so we can communicate. "

They exchanged numbers and he removed the field with a snap of his finger. But still he didn't really trust him, neither Rias. He was still suspicious about her motivations so he would need some digging to do. But what if Mayer,no Azazel was a ally? It could help him in uncovering the truth in both of his cases. But that was far from agreeable at this moment.

" Stay away from that nun,she's trouble. But if you end up meeting her- keep her safe from the others. I'll keep in touch so if anything, you know how to contact me. " Azazel said his parting words after he took his stuff and went out of the classroom.

Issei followed as well and just as his new "ally" was out of his sight, he mumbled "* Auto Barrier, Activate*" with a invisible field surrounding him. He went out quickly and in a few minutes left school, going straight home as the bar wouldn't appear in this time of the day. It was to be night at around 21:00 for the door to open. So he had a few hours to kill for his activities.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Thursday, 7th Daze bar, 21:35 pm

" Good evening Issei. What brings here you today? Would you like a glass of water or something else? "

" A mojito with ice, please. And make it double. "

Issei was already inside the interior of the bar but it was changed to a classic cabaret bar for this occasion. He looked around only to spot a man and a young girl sitting on a nearby table. Only to find out they were none other than Chesare MonBlanc and Hilda Shaun.

 _"* Ehhh, she's back! The drunkard is back! Damn,now I'll have to look out for her and deal with her shenanigans again. Why of all days it had to be today?!*"_

He was perplexed by this strange luck of meeting her again. If anything, they had to deal with her again. He took a step hesitantly not to alarm her of his presence - she was certainly annoying to deal with, especially when she was drunk. But atleast she wasn't so bad as Eleanora, she didn't hate him but she didn't fancy him either.

" Good day Issei. How are you doing today? Anything strange happening lately with your body? " Chesare brought up his glass to his lips to take a gulp of his red Merlot wine and with a quick gesture urged him to take a seat besides them.

" Nothing really. But I'd like you to check something if it isn't a problem for you. I don't want to trouble you so you don't have to if you don't want to. " Issei was considerate of the kind doctor and wouldn't have liked to pry on his kindness. He took a seat next to him only for Hilda to butt in closer to them,clamping him between them like a candy wrapper. He was a bit uncomfortable but she was a girl so he shouldn't complain. After all with every hangover she had a habit of stripping but was always saved by Issei on the last minute.

" Well, we'll have to find out, don't we? I've brought my tools so we'll start soon. But for now let's chat a bit,shall we? "

" Here's your ice cold mojito. Would you like something else with it,Issei? "  
Arthur came up with a small glass of mojito to the table and left a small note under it. He took a seat on the comfortable sofa opposite of Issei and started reading the daily paper he couldn't finish in the morning.

" Hey, yooo Issei! How's it...going? Wanna... hear my...new song?",  
A stretched out sentence was shot right into his face. Hilda shoved even closer to him and was drunk as usual," so tu..rn on ya Bluetooth.!"

She was very enthusiastic and loud as you'd expect of her. She was really annoying when inebriated, a loud, emotional drunk on top of it. And it was obligatory for her to brag about her band activities and tours and drink even more. How would anyone with a weak psyche survive her drunken stupor is a question that may never be answered.

" Okay, okay. No need for yelling. And done. " he reached for his phone only to satiate her whim as if he resisted it would turn out bad. "* This bitch needs to sleep. Permanently *"

" Hilda, you shouldn't drink so much at this age! How the hell didn't you end up cirosis i wonder. Calm down and let others enjoy their drink, will ya? "

"I ain't … 's water… for sinking and rakiq.. for drinki..ng.

 _"* Atleast one of us is the voice of reason here. Thank you doctor. I leave the rest in your hands.*"_

And Issei started to elaborate on his acquired knowledge of Rias Gremory, his status as a Devil, info on the Evil Pieces inside of him and the situation at hand. It was a rather short explanation but very precise as he didn't miss any detail on every matter, including his meeting with Azazel.

" So you're saying ", the doctor pondered on this info dump while drinking his wine, Hilda was cooped up on Issei's left shoulder and occasionally wiggled to get for her glass," those pieces are installed with a homing beacon and a tracking device? They could theoretically possess the function of remote viewing through the recipient's eyes and ears - it means someone could be watching us now!"

A eerie smile stretched on Chesare's face as the realization of being watched irked his instincts to take out a scalpel and swing it in the air. He clearly looked in the young man's eyes and his eyes were telling whoever might be watching that they will die.

" Yo ho, this is MonBlanc speaking. Forget about everything if you don't wanna die in 2 minutes. Or...why don't we make it 1? Your call,devil-san. But it won't be fun if you wait so long!"

Laughter was heard everywhere in the room, vibrating in the air as you could hear it and would never forget. A laugh, reminiscent of the pure chaotic terror that is Death.  
Issei felt a bit intimidated but was used to it,Hilda fell of the couch with everything on the table while Arthur clearly didn't give a fuck about it as he continued reading his newspaper. They were too used to it as they were the same as him but for others not of the same essence as the 13,it was just indescribable...

Seconds after that laugh, a large grin plastered across his face as he was barely trying to suppress his gigle. He went back to his previous disposition of laid back and funny.

" If anything, that should scare them a bit, right? " Chesare cleared the table anew that Hilda messed up, while the old barman fixed some new drinks.

" It creeps me out every time, you know that. It's hard getting used to that, but if anything you made the message clear. Now we'll have to wait for a response. " Issei shot out more words of encouragement while still pondering on some things in his mind - _"*what if there's something even worse than that? I need to get more information on the House of Gremory and for now I'll play.*"_

" Is she ok? She kinda looks a bit tired today, maybe you should take her to her bed. I'd like to examine the results of a dragon mating in the go. So just do it,do it damn it!"

If anything, the mischievous doctor was insistent on studying the nature of dragons in every way possible. Including mating rites and behavior. His enthusiasm was flowing like a river for such, he was actually shipping Issei with either Hilda or Eleanora, but the former wasn't ready for such things while the latter hated him for his nature and avoided him for being of the opposite gender. _"*Whatever - results matter*"_ was his usual leight motive on research and more so life.

" You know it doesn't go that way! I can't take advantage of a drunk girl and plus she doesn't really like me. It's all because of the booze, that's why she's so clingy. Jeez damn it, can't you be serious about this? " Issei sighed again, his arms holding the drunkard tightly as well as being moody. His presence gave off a depressing, if not crushing despair on the matter of much that even the space switched to a gray room. He had taken so many hits from it that he understood that it's impossible.

He carried her out through a door that his old mentor drawed on the wall a min ago- he knew her habits so to save himself from headaches he just memorized her drinking pattern and sent her off with a light kick or two through the same door, directly to her room. It was the same as always.

" I'll take her home so just keep it open as I'll be back in a min or two. After that we'll continue. " he waved off and went over through the ethereal door in a flash.

" Do you think he'll be back soon?"

" Not really. Let it be. So are we proceeding with this or not? "

" Not yet, just give it more time. I'm sure he can handle it but im afraid of what might come in the future. It's still possible but let us not be so pessimistic on the truth. Just wait a bit more,Chesare. It's alright to be worried but don't be so overprotective. "

" Fine by me. Did your contact call again recently? "

" He did. He told me that this certain nun has arrived here. Nothing more, nothing less than that, my friend. "

And by the time their exchange had reached its entirety, Issei had returned with his shirt colar messed up and his face red.

" Ohho,did you struggle so much, eh Ise-kun? You certainly are one heck of a suave gentleman, aren't you?- a cheesy expression of childish curiosity mixed with the teasing tone made Issei feel flustered.

" Why do you always have to do this? Just help with it some time and you'll see what your heart desires. But well, she is kinda strong." he laughed with hesitation, embarrassment most likely.  
" Have you noticed that she looks exactly like Prinz Eugen from Kancolle. They're like exact copies of each other minus the silly hat. Well she is famous all around the globe so they could've based Eugen on her. It is probable,isn't it Admiral?. " the doctor was a closeted fan of Kancolle so it was only natural for him to spot real life Doppelgangers of such people.

" Yeah, you're did mention being the base for a game character. Well her chest is bigger but that doesn't matter now. She's sleeping soundly so let's continue onward. "

They discussed matters at hand,ran some more tests on the boy,he got shot with another one of the doctor's _*crazy shots*_ and ended the night with a few drinks.

" Hey Arthur, can you get me some info on the Gremory House ", he was just by the door, ready to leave as the doctor had left before him and it was a bit late anyway, " so far I've just got info based on conversation and reputation but I'll need more. Im paying it so please find me anything useful on them. "

" I'll ask around, some of the clients might know something about it. Don't worry and be careful on your way back, kid. I'll do something about it so just wait. "

" I will. Well better get going then. Bye."

And the door shut...

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Friday afternoon, Occult Research Club room

At the ring of the last bell,Rias headed towards the old part of the school building, wherein was located their club room. A dimly lit corridor was leading towards it as the old part of the school wasn't in a good shape since almost no one had used it except for the Occult Research Club with permission from the principal. It was a bit far to the right wing of the school, opposite of Issei's classroom and close to the rest. It was expected of a ruler to be before his subjects so Rias prepared the room for their first meeting official meeting to welcome their newest member.  
By the time everything was tidied up, her Queen had already arrived with the rest of the entourage, minus Issei. They took their respective seats and had coffee while waiting for the last member of this meeting to appear.

"I'm not really sure if he'll come. He clearly avoids us and didn't even show up in the club room once since that rainy day where you confronted him. If necessary, force should be applied. "-Akeno giggled at the thought of using him as her new plaything. She was pretty eager to do so,she hadn't messed around with anyone recently and was rather bored without a toy to play with. She lifted her arm straight to her face and gave off a amused grin while she gave her usual Ara,Ara onee-sama laugh.

Rias took a seat at her chair and locked eyes with her Queen," It won't be necessary as i believe he will come this time. Still, he's distant and rather cold, i just can't seem to get closer to him whatever i do. It was some dumb luck that we found him yesterday as his pieces didn't emit a signal to follow. It just vanished at different times for a extended period of time, then showed up again and fade. It was pretty hard getting in his home as well, i barely even found it by a chance. ", she finished her observation and took another sip of her coffee.

" What could we do to make him feel comfortable around us? He looks totally different than what he appears to be. He's avoiding us for other reasons i presume. " Kiba voiced out his opinion to the rest and was met with a approving nodd by everyone in the room.

Akeno snickered, " You're totally on spot on that one. The boy is a talented Mage judging by his defenses- it was really intricate with a multitude of back up seals,a barrier, traps and everything you'd expect of a high level fortress. It took me a hour to find that opening for the President to check on him. I even got zapped a few times while searching for it. He's definitely hiding something. "

" Most certainly. That pervert has secrets " - Koneko Toujou bit through her chips and continued to so. She wasn't really talkative.

Rias sat back and placed her arms on the side handles of her chair and began, "He might be dangerous - i just don't know, maybe i imagined it but something was crawling under his skin, everything went dark for a second. And i don't know if any human has scales on their back. His magical prowess is another question but i noticed he lives alone, no parents or relatives and if that's not enough he said - " Everyone has a secret or two. Otherwise it wouldn't be fun,would it?" and that if i mingled in his life or endangered people, he'll kill me on spot. "

The Queen crossed her legs and with a tap to her chest responded, " He's clearly got a lot of things going on for him so it's only natural to act that way. But i don't think he would attack you unless provoked. But i wouldn't mind that so much... Well if anything give, him time and he'll flock to our side. "

Rias shook her head, " You're right, i hope he will arrive this time but still... Im worried.. ", she lowered her head while intensely staring in her porcelain coffee cup. She was clearly distraught.

"Ara ara, Don't be so pessimistic milady. The House of Gremory treats their people a bit different than others so im sure it's going to be okay. Just time and patience. "

" How long will you be standing there,Student Council President Sitri? Please have a sit. " Kiba went out of his way to make place for the glasses wearing brunette to sit.

" What can i do for you Sona? How much did you hear about that?" Rias greeted her with a forced smile as she didn't like to be surprised like that.

Sona fixed her glasses and subtly, her visage switched to her game face- the cold business stare of a salaryman.  
" Almost everything from the start. I'll be blunt - trade me Issei from your peerage and I'll give you the corresponding pieces you used to bring him back. It's not a bad deal, I'll be happy to rid you of his presence as you clearly can't converse with him. "

Rias frowned. Her composure was barely there like being held with white strings to mask her displeasure.

" Why do you know my Pawn, Sona? In what way are you acquainted? And how did you find out he's in my peerage? "

" Easily. He told me about it on Tuesday. And on your question - we're something like friends, we've known each other for a while. Much longer than you have. Isn't that right, Issei? "

At the door was Issei, who had arrived a minute ago only to hear Sona's proposal. Since they were so absorbed in it, he just snuck in quietly and waited patiently for them to finish their conversation. He didn't really care about this meeting but by having seen Sona enter he just wanted to avoid a annoying situation and go home fast. But since he had something of a respect towards the bespectacled brunette, it was common courtesy to try to avoid eavesdropping so he waited.

" Pretty much that. We've known each other for a while so yeah,i know her we're not exactly close friends"- his response was monotonous and nonchalant for it was a fact and he didn't need to cover it.

Rias frowned even further to the sound of this fact. Jaws dropped as the friendly atmosphere went down the drain and silence took place.

Rias cocked a brow as she didn't expect him,yes him to be friends with the Student Coucil president . He was a loser that no one communicated with aside his two pals so it came down like lighting to them.

" I know him better than anyone of you here. If you think he's some measly weakling you're clearly wrong about that. I won't say anything else not to compromise his position. It would be better if he were to be with someone he actually trusts. I know him well as he does me, we've been through some situations that you wouldn't even care to expect. So don't underestimate him - its just friendly advice. So...will you make the trade?" Sona's cold eyes were staring directly into Rias, her expression was like ice while her signals were demanding a answer immediately.

" Is that one of your secrets, Ise-kun? I would like to hear how you to came to know each other if you don't mind? "  
Rias raised another brow and switched her position while casting the expression of a nice girl when asking that.

 _"* You sure don't spare the threats, do you President? Just be honest with it and say what you mean*"_ \- he knew what meaning she put behind her words due to his status as a loner. The skill of reading between the lines was in his set, thanks to having observed many different people. It was something like this - _"* You've got balls for messing around with other girls when you have us. Absolutely forbidden!*"_

" As i said earlier. It's not in your business to pry into my personal life like that. I see no problem in being acquainted with the Student Coucil president so no need to voice out your thoughts on this matter as it is personal." Issei calmly retorted his King's verbal accusations with a blunt statement. He was saying the truth so there wasn't much else to say.

"Ara,Ara~ such a rebellious young man" Akeno made a slight remark with her hand on her left cheek. Her voice sounded amused.

" How did you get to know each other and when?" Rias raised her eyebrows and made a displeased grimace while standing up from her was really intent on asking the same question again. Everything in her actions spelt saltiness as she couldn't keep the atmosphere peaceful. It was like a battle zone between 2 kings and Issei between the crossfire of their squeamish.

The Sitri girl affixed her glasses and shifted her arms onto her lap while maintaining a reserved disposition. Her expression was cold and static as ever," A couple of months ago. For my bad luck, i had the chance of meeting with him while on a mission away. And since then I've been covering his absences and occasionally discuss matters with him. So do you even know _anything_ about him,Rias? I suppose not.", her words shot down like lightning .

It aggravated the crimson haired beauty enough to piss her off. Rias wasn't used to this attitude directed towards her. It reminded her of Issei - the only one who flat out didn't view her as a princess and would bite back at her statements.

Rias bit her lips. She tried to calm down as acting rashly would be a sign of weakness - it would show that she was the inferior King and of course she was a sore loser. She didn't take a loss well. And this was a situation she had to persevere over Sona Sitri or else lose face.

Akeno shifted her footing after noticing the composure of her King. Likewise, Yuuto's body tensed, Koneko stopped eating.

" You know what you're asking for is impossible? How would i look like if i did? We may be friends but this is a different matter - even though i don't know anything about him, i believe I'll catch up to you and he'd trust me one day. So i shall not comply with your inquiry. That is all."

" Huh,for what reason do you want to have him so much. Why not just trade him to me?"

For the first time Sona Sitri had broken from her inhumanly calm face. It was unprecedented, not heard of for she had been known as the ice queen type of person. She craved to get the pawn of her friend in her peerage.

But to make a face like that- Rias had another reason to finally beat Sona in their rivalry. And her reasoning was the following - " Because i like him,i found him first. He's mine now! ".  
She said that with a cute voice and pouted, anyone who saw that would fall down to his knees. But it was really cute indeed.

" Ugh, nothing less from Rias Gremory. You treat your servants like pets and fawn over them so much. But let's ask what he has to say on this matter. After all it's his choice in the end. So what is your answer Hyoudou? "

Issei took a step back and paused for a second to think on it. He had to make a choice between Sona or Rias- a person he could be close to call a friend and a totally unknown girl with a hidden agenda. He waited a little longer and finally gave his answer.

" If anything, I'd love to join your peerage Student Coucil president but i have a debt to her so I'll have to take the thorny road. You've done enough for me that i could never repay for which I'm more than grateful. I know I'd feel better suited in your group but i just can't go out of my word. I gave her a promise. So don't resent me for this. "

" Well if that's so i have done my work here. Good day to you Rias."  
Sona stood up and waved back and was heading towards the door until Issei stopped her.

" Atleast allow me to escort you. That's the least i could do."

Rias smirked victorious for she had won the approval of her newest pawn. A smug, conceited expression appeared on her eyes narrowed in enjoyment. She gestured him to stay put but Kiba's gaze made her reconsider.

And the Sitri girl and Issei ran out of the club room.

The Corridor...

" Well i did my part of the deal. You got what you wanted so it's all good. It's exactly as you said it would be. I didn't believe you before when you said you could read people like a book. "

" I would have joined your peerage if it wasn't for the fact that i need to find out the truth. Thank you for going through the plan. Your performance was magnificent but you didn't really mean it,did you? "

Sona blinked as her cheeks reddened," Of course i did. But you told me to leave you with her just to test her reaction. It's not like I'd enjoy your company. But now you know how to proceed with it.", she was acting nervous. Atleast she was honest and had enough goodness to help him with his whim.

" Thank you Student Council President Sitri. Your assistance was of great help. But be more honest with yourself, you look cuter when you act more emotional",Sona didn't react so much,  
"She was pretty intent on keeping me for some reason. And to blurt out all of that crap of liking me like some middleschooler was surely fake. She's hiding something. I can bet on that." Issei gave her a warm smile which made her feel flustered and weird. But still in her eyes it was creepy as fuck for him to smile.

" When it's just the two of us,call me Sona. Atleast you don't give me weird names like my older sister. Her magical girl act is way more unsettling than your hobbies. She'd always embarrass me in front of people. Sometimes i wish she'd just go away. " Sona sighed and closed her eyes. She had suffered severe mental trauma from her sister's overprotective obsession. So she avoided her like the plague.

" Atleast it's better to have a sister who does that instead of no one.I'd rather have her yell at me than just seeing them through pictures " he narrowed his eyes in defeat and his arm shaked a bit. He was feeling down as that statement made him remember his solitude. A life with no one to love.

Sona felt uncomfortable for she had added salt to his wound with that speech. She knew that he had no one else and to state something like that in front of him was like stabbing someone in the back. She lowered her head and sped up her walk and only a meek" Sorry "came out of her lips.

" Don't you worry about it. I'm used to being hurt. After all that's the one thing that i feel makes me human. " he tried to cheer her up - he couldn't stand looking at her miserable face. It was just painful to watch that. So he smiled.

" I'll be going back then. They'll probably wonder where i went. I don't really wish to go back there but i have to. Come to my house these days - i want to give you something i got from one of my assignments. "

" Fair enough. I'll see you again soon and good luck, Issei."

" Same here,Sona"

And both headed to the opposite directions...

XXXXXXXXXXXX

She took a sip of her coffee after she calmed down from her verbal combat with Sona over Issei's place. She wasn't high spirited as before the StuCo president's arrival. Things went out like this- explanations on his work as a Devil, his obligations and need to make contracts as well as search for potential victi- no,customers of their services. Behind his unsympathetic expression, he hid his hunger for information with utmost care. He made it appear that he was bored while actually listening and analyzing every word Rias said,waiting for her to slip something involuntarily.

"So when do i start with the contract collection? ," Issei mentioned, his eyes sharpened with his tone becoming serious."As i clearly remember, didn't you state that this was your territory. So why are there Fallen Angels around? Shouldn't you kick them out or something? "

Rias remained quiet and had Akeno explain again the ceasefire between factions .  
"Due to the peace treaty between factions, we can't just chase them out as it could ignite a new war. The balance is rather fragile as there are small incidents once in a while but nothing serious. Even if they're here in this territory, we can't just kick them out without a proper reason. As long as they don't cause trouble for Devils in this territory, they can stay. "

" Even if it means killing people?! I just died by the hands of one of them. Isn't that a clear rule breaking matter? " Issei was aggravated and his reasons were spot on. He gritted his teeth and the sound of them screeching filled the air.

" Humans aren't counted in the treaty in any clause. We use them so there's no penalty if a Fallen kills someone as they are a outsider party in this matter. But now that you're under my King's protection, they won't be able to go after you so easily as it will breach the agreement. Now that you're a Devil you'll be safe with us so don't worry. "  
Akeno's voice was sweet and nice but even so her words didn't mean much to him. It turned out that killing people indiscriminately is not a problem for them to do and would get away with it no matter what.

"Issei ", Rias finally spoke up. She placed her hands on her chin with her legs crossed, " I decided that you should first see how we do things and after that collect contracts.I got a report on a Stray lurking around here that need extermination. Shouldn't be a problem with you, right? "

Issei blinked fast and tightened his fists. The images of Raynare flooded his mind - they were bright as day. Everything. A small smirk stretched on his face and he muttered.  
" When do we start? "

" Tonight. " Rias gave off a pleased look. She wanted to show off in front of her new pawn and prove to him that they're no small fry. She wanted to get his recognition and to make him respect her as well her peerage.

" You can't teleport with the Gremory sigils. They seem to be incompatible with your Evil Pieces so you'll have to use a alternative way to arrive on site. Also i didn't quite get what your Sacred Gear is. What can you do? I noticed scales and how you change but I've never seen a Sacred Gear like that. It's not even written in the books neither there is a instrument or any shape to use it. That's strange. "

" You'll see it when the time comes. It's too early to trust you yet but you'll see what i can do. I guarantee on that. For now let's just say i can do a lot of things. " he didn't give into her curiosity . She must have seen everything so why ask about? Or maybe she didn't.

 _"* Won't this meeting end already? I just wanna rest and do nothing. Just let's get this over with fast - i might see her again and I'm going to make her pay. But still, this hunt of sorts feels a bit fishy. I'll just watch unless i need to take action. *"_

" Fair enough. I'll call you 30 minutes before the operation starts so get ready by them. This meeting is now adjourned. Everyone is free to leave." Rias waved with a single motion and everyone stood up and prepared to go home.

Kiba and Koneko quietly snuck out of the room, Issei followed suit a few minutes after they left because he didn't want to stand out even more. It would be a nuisance and who knows what will some girls do. They were shallow and only cared for stars like Kiba,plus he didn't like the blonde boy just like the rest. It was still too convenient.

In the Club room...

" Let's show him what we can do tonight. I believe this will show him that we're worth trusting and he'd get some experience. He's still avoiding us,I'm sure of it. How to win him over our side?"

" With time and patience, President. He'll see your strength and would accept us. Give him time and it will pay off. But if you want me to whip him a bit - I'll do gladly." seriously, she was a big sadist.

"What if he doesn't? What will i do with him then?" Rias's voice went down to a distraught, over-worrying tone and she looked deep in thought.

" He will. Your approach always pays off well - just look at Kiba now. Remember when he was so distrustful and would lash out at people. "

"Y-yes"

"But now he's fully over it. He's family. So Issei will join our family soon enough as well. "

" Yeah, youre right. Let's head out then. We've got work to do..."

The door closed with a squeak and it was now empty. Their meeting was finally over...

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The same day, 17:30 pm, Main Street

Issei was walking around aimlessly around the shopping center. He wasn't really in a mood to go home despite his earlier wish to do so. He was thinking of going to the bar again but given how any outside communication is cut off he wouldn't arrive on time for this so called hunt. In all honesty it wasn't just his cup of coffee to act so openly - he preferred peace and quiet and to just observe without getting attached to something.

He took a detour to a nearby café to have a cup of coffee and relax. Despite having experienced the situation of watching people die,he wasn't used to it no matter how much he had to kill dangerous existences. He was still angry about earlier - _"*just what justified letting people die because of not being included in some stupid pact? Life is precious to everything no matter what so to just shrugg it off because someone is different from you is cruel. Because of us being mortal makes us appreciate life and how much it hurts taking another. Well most people would. But they aren't people... they're devils.. I don't believe that i should work for someone who thinks of life so lightly. To think it's just a stupid game... I hate people like that. *"_

Immersed in thought, he didn't notice the notifications he received from his phone. It was his memo to take his pills soon . It appeared that his visions had receded for a while but he knew more than anyone else that it won't be for long.

20 minutes later he finished his drink,payed his bill and set off to take a walk. He avoided places like the park and that 7/11 where he met her- it was not so much from caution as from emotional trauma. No matter what you can't forget it even if you wanted to.

It was a sunny day and he was still in his school uniform. He spotted some highschoolers going back home from their club meetings acting all cheerfully without any care in the world. They chattered, hugged around like kittens and did their usual conversations about gossip and that stuff. Just things people with nothing to do or the popular crews at school. He even spotted a few girls he knew from his school hanging around with their boyfriends.

He stepped away as far as he could for he had other things to do than watch their fun time together.

 _"* What a load of crap. You think it will be the best time of your life while in school but reality is different. Sooner or later it will come down on their shoulders with full force and it will change. But even still you wouldn't change... *"_ He closed his eyes for a second to avoid any eye contact. Just pass already was his desire in this niche of time. But sadly one of them noticed him.

She gave him a threatening glare filled with " You fuckin pig. Go die already " but he didn't flinch. He just started walking away to make some distance from them even more.

But behind his back he heard what he was used to when being the subject of someone's ridicule. It wasn't loud but still clearly comprehensive to the ears.

" Hey look! It's that loser from our school. What's he doing out here? Ughh,let's just go faster... "

"So he's the one, right? Hah, he'd never have a girl with him. Like anyone's going to go out with a loser like him - he's just so lame and ugly, right? He'd never even get laid you know? "

Still he ignored them and continued onwards. He was used to it and really didn't care for that. It was just another day of this,nothing else.

" Hey, you know he lives alone? I heard about it from someone that he's all alone. "

" How could anyone even live with that thing? I wouldn't even stand an hour with it. Maybe his parents are grateful that they don't see him, i would if i were them". Giggles and stupid snickering were heard.

They didn't even know anything. They didn't care at all. They just did it.

Issei stopped in his tracks and said -  
" but still you don't even know what it's like to be alone,you stupid bitch. Be grateful that you have parents or someone that loves you... because they won't be here forever... " he finished his sentence and started walking away slowly. He didn't even have any interest to see their faces, not that it would matter if he did. It hurt.

They didn't even say anything else. They were taken aback by how he told them off and felt guilty a little. But more surprised than anything for he had retorted calmy and it was the first time he did so. Something in them told them to run while they could.

A sudden wind lifted up their skirts for everyone to see. It was in the middle of the main street and since it was congested with people - they were in everyone's field of sight to see their embarrassed expressions.

2 hours later...

" It's time to get going probably " as he came out of his house, wearing a black zip on hoodie with its sleeves rolled up his arms, a pair of black gloves and combat pants. It was dark outside now so his clothing camouflaged him in the shadows of the night well. He took his phone out to make sure he's got the rendezvous point right and headed out.

15 minutes ago...

" Should i use the bike or the Honda to go there. Pedaling full speed would break it while with the CBR it would be too loud and would give me out. I don't know... maybe flying?" Well it works either way.."

He picked up his clothes, geared up with some armor under his clothes just in case his power went off and had a call with Rias. It was short but he got what he needed to know. But he gave a call to Arthur and Azazel just in case something might come up and help them in their agendas.

He closed the house, activated the wards and set off at 19:50 pm.

Hangar site 19:58 pm

Rias was waiting anxiously - she didn't like it when people were late. It was common courtesy to arrive 10 minutes earlier than the intended rest of her entourage was in check. Aside from the presence of her pawn.

" Is he even coming or what?" she made a puzzled look to her Queen. Despite having informed him on the phone about how this operation will proceed, she still had a sliver of doubt in her mind that he'd arrive. And given by the things she saw when she met him and going by Sona's words,he could havr easily ran away with no chance of finding him.

" I'm right here. "

" You're late."

" Not really. If anything, i believe that tardiness is justice. "

Issei was right behind them. He had arrived a few minutes ago but didn't know what to say so he texted her instead.

"When did you - barely had she finished her sentence,her mobile rang. She checked it and nodded, " you could have said something, you know. I was kinda worried that you were caught."

" Sorry for that"

She nodded. "Now that everyone is here, let's begin the operation.  
You received a short briefing on the phone and since it's your first time, stand back and watch how we do things. So is everyone ready? You know the drill."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Everyone stay put. Don't go off on your own. "

" Roger", as both Kiba and Akeno took the left and the right flank with Koneko in the rear,guarding Issei. They slowly moved in with the intent of not alerting what lay inside and then drifted off the exit a bit but close enough to have a escape route if necessary.

It was a dim lit place with no one walking around. Making it perfect for a hideout to bring the feast back and eat it in peace, undisturbed by anyone as it was a abandoned building.

Everyone was quiet and on their toes,watching out for the Stray lurking around these corners. It was just darkness all around them so it was a bit hard to see for a normal human being but not for them. But it was too quiet...

 _"* It's here. I can sense it. It's close by. Above*"._ Issei moved backwards while yelling, " It's above us. Fall back", only for the monster above to jump down and barely hit the Knight and Queen.

It was just like imagined. A being bathed in the blood of virgins, she still had blood smeared on her face as the organs of her unfortunate victim fell down from above. A beast with no reason or sanity, only with the drive to eat and eat young, adolescent men who were yet to become adults. She had the upper body of a young woman with black hair,while her lower half was a disgusting cross between a horse and a centipede with a tail ending in a sharp blade. She was said to have been a ordinary devil until she killed her master and started eating young men after having intercourse with them. As a dangerous beast if left unchecked, she would continue to kill more and more people to satiate her hunger and who knows what she might turn into then.

Rias Gremory's peerage retaliated immediately without a direct command. The blonde Knight ran towards the Stray with swords manifesting into his hands like a flash, cutting deep into her front legs.

Toujou Koneko, her Rook, jumped high enough to deliver a direct roundhouse kick in midair striking the vile beast's jaws and sent her flying, while Kiba threw his swords, impaling the Stray, known as Viser, to the ground.

Issei stood back and watched this battle carefully while also making sure nothing Rias did escaped his gaze. It was the first time he saw the effects of the Evil Pieces in real life. Rias gave Akeno a signal to proceed with her Queen sprouting her wings and lifted off the ground.

She raised her right hand up in the air and took a stance with magical circles forming above her hand. Issei recognized those as a electricity spell but with a slight adjustment.

Yuuto and Koneko leapt away from the Stray just in time for the Queen's lighting unleashed bolts of lighting in every direction Imaginable and with a simple gesture of her hand, it rained down on the incapacitated monstrosity bellow but it survived. It even had enough strength to resist it and pounced back at her only to be stabbed with more swords and fall down with a kick on the face by Koneko's legs.

Something in Issei finally gave in. They weren't just trying to kill her,they were having fun in torturing the vile creature. Her screams were everywhere and blood dripped from her legs and face,charred skin and missing patches of flesh were present.  
Even her eyes were damaged by this trio.

Rias didn't mind it at all,in fact she gave a approving gaze to them to continue. A smile was on her face while watching this torture session.

The Queen laughed in delight as she continued to torment the beast with enough force to keep it from dying but in extreme pain. Everything in her face showed her utter lack of sympathy, she was enjoying it so much that she was aroused by the agonizing screams and futile attempts of Viser to free herself from their grip. Koneko remained emotionless while Kiba was just neutral but both still took part in this without feeling uncomfortable. And Rias just standed there and was smiling...

He had seen that sickening smile before. It was just like that night... . The smile of a disgusting sadist that took every possible enjoyment in seeing it's victims suffer and beg for mercy. Viser looked towards Issei's way and their eyes met. Her bloodied eyes were pouring tears and blood on her face as with a single plea reached his soul- " Help...me... End it.."

He fell down on his knees and started having a seizure. He barely stayed up on his arms as they shivered violently and everything around him was going blank. It was back... He grabbed his head in terror as he couldn't take out his pills and the repressed memories started seeping into his mind. A loud scream was heard.

The mutilated, flayed and splattered bodies of his parents were before him.  
Unable to turn around, unable to stop it. Their skinless faces were stretched in cheerful smiles with their dead eyes locked directly on his. His legs were sinking in by the pull of their dead hands with his flesh being devoured.

A figure shrouded in darkness grabbed his chin and and looked straight into his eyes.

 **"**YOU'RE NEXT KIDDO?! ****

There was a sudden flash. Everything was covered in smoke with falling debris raining down from the ceiling and falling around the members of the Occult Research Club. Rias took cover and with a simple spell removed the smokescreen of dust only to see her peerage knocked away from the blast with them on the floor.

As the smoke cleared up, what she saw was the lifeless corpse of Viser laying on the floor. It wasn't until then she spotted Issei.

He was trying to stand up as his legs were shaking wildly and there were holes in the ground and ceiling from the impact of his dash. His hoodie was torn and the shining luster of metal shone upon her eyes as he took out the piece of blade stuck in his cheek.

Rias swore she saw a tail swirl, his wound being covered by black scales,the blood evaporating and something crawling underneath. It was like worms but she couldn't see well as his skin covered his burning wound.

Nevertheless they turned towards what remained of Viser. Blood was everywhere in sight, her body crushed by the pressure of his kick with her head separated with absolute precision by the swing of his bladed tail. Guts were hanging around the place, one even hit Koneko in the face which broke her composure.

Having recovered somewhat from what he saw, Issei rose up and grabbed his cross while saying what he always did after taking a life - " May God forgive your actions and judge you for your deeds", swung his tail to remove the rest of the blood on it and carefully brought back his cross pendant under the body armor he had underneath the hoodie that got ripped in the squeamish - he had deflected Akeno's lightning, threw back Koneko by her feet and brake Kiba's swords but a piece of the pair had struck him in the cheek.

Still somewhat shaking, he finally reached the pills he couldn't open earlier and took them off the ground fast. Busting the pill case,he took several pills simultaneously and gulped them down like a snake would it's prey.

" Regenerate Clothing " - he snapped with his fingers and a pentagram with Hebrew wording appeared on his back and his clothing started to manifest anew with remarkable speed- new fabric was generated from thin air,binding together and changing color to his black zipper hoodie with it covering him.  
He was clearly suffering in this moment - though they didn't know anything about it. And started walking...

" Wait. Just wait Issei! She didn't mean it really. Viser was a dangerous beast that delighted in devouring people. I know i can't say anything to justify this but please stay. I'll do something about it. Please, Don't go.". . Rias started running after him with the rest still locked in shock from the view. She tried to reach to him but it was a fruitless endeavor - he ignored her calls. Despite her numerous attempts to talk with him, he chose to ignore her like he usually did to show her that now he'll definitely avoid them no matter what. No apologies or excuses, that went over the line by a lot

The pills were still clattering in his hands with them shaking - it had yet to take effect and control the flashbacks he suffered from. Everything he did to stop them,every effort to get rid of the nightmares he had poured into was now nonexistent. It was probably going to get worse if he didn't hurry up and get the other pills in his bathroom cabinet. Though not a active smoker, he would accompany the doctor and Arthur when he had a really rough day and needed to relax immediately. Luckily as advised by them he always had a pack of white Dunhill crammed into the inner side of his body armor just in case he needed to light up one.  
He didn't stop walking, he just continued to walk away with his finger burning hot with fire to light up his cigarette.

" Issei! " Rias raised her voice again. She was very much worried about this,it could have scarred him deeply. She couldn't stand looking at him like that,even if she knew he was angry she had to do something about it. She closed the gap between them and touched his shoulder and said," Issei, just wait... I'm sorry...i shouldn't have let them do something like that. Please just hear me out for a bit. I beg you... ", it was totally different than the prideful queen Rias Gremory persona that she gave off in school and when talking. She was different this time..

" Did you finish with that, yet? Cause i don't even wanna see or hear anything from any of you. Now if you excuse me,I'll be going back home. I saw enough today. " he did turn around, just enough for them to see his eye turn green and his teeth lengthening, scales started appearing on his face with his voice, devoid of any emotion as his words sounded robotic, monotonous in the echo of the building.

She froze in her place. Terror had possessed her whole existence as she couldn't budge a little in the presence of this horrifying monstrosity or else die right this moment. Every fiber of her body was screaming to run but she couldn't move her legs. She had witnessed it again and even now couldn't comprehend what was it. His eyes were telling her if she tried just one more time, one more time and she would pay dearly with her life and her what was he? No one knows what had crossed her mind in that perilous fraction of time, called a moment.

Suddenly a large explosion erupted from one of the cranes housed in the hangar with Akeno yelling " Look out!"

Issei turned around to take a quick peek and saw the blonde Knight catch Koneko and Akeno before the fire would get there. Regardless, everyone was caught up in dealing with it and when the crimson haired girl turned to look around, which gave Issei a perfect moment to escape. He ran up as fast as he could and dissappeared in the darkness by the time she had looked his way. He was gone...

XXXXXXXXXXXX 

20:35 pm, City streets

 _"*Just how can you explain that to me? To approve of such despicable methods with such lightness on top. It's not right, it's not... Just why am i even thinking about it? They're devils for a reason... and i am the same as them now...just why did this all happen? What for? *"_

Issei was barely hanging on thinking straight and not succumb to his visions with everything he got. The pills were slowly kicking in but it was far from over. It was still there, _"*Even with pills, how could i even manage to make it. It's just there,it won't go away. I need more pills and fast. MonBlanc would slice them apart if he found out. Why am i even concerned about those savage beings? I don't even trust them so why,god damn it*"_ and a sudden headache struck him.

" This is the one thing i can't adapt to. Just a turn off" he sighed. It was still far from home and if he tried flying it would just make things worse than they were,"But a call to Arthur or Sona wouldn't hurt right? ", and dialed the first number he could spot in his contacts list.

" It's me,can you tell MonBlanc I'll need some extra pills for him to send to my address? I'm not feeling well so also tell Castor I'm not in any condition to take up a job right now. "

" Did something happen today, Issei? You sound in distress, should i come over and take you? Where are you now?" a male voice was heard through the speaker. It was none other than Arthur himself.

" I'm currently heading towards home, I'm at the streets right now but I'll be back soon. I just need some time to think over things. I'll be gone for a while but don't worry. Just don't worry. "

" You know i can't do that. If someone did something to you just say it. I'll make things right. They'll pa- "

" No need. It's nothing, I'm alright. Just feeling down a bit. Don't worry about it because it would feel like pity to me. I hate that. "

" Very well. I'll make arrangements for your medication to arrive. Can you hold out till then? And don't do anything stupid... "

" I won't. Thanks for the help. Goodnight Arthur. "

" Feel better soon. Goodnight. "

And the call ended. For a second he thought he should call Sona but he didn't wish to worry her. It was enough that she had helped him before and for him to ask help was something he didn't desire - to be dependent on someone was even worse than being dependent on drugs for him. It was just impossible to do it.

He was finally approaching his neighborhood. The hangar site was on the other side of the city which going just by foot was a long way compared to flying or using boost to reach. And now he wouldn't use either or else something like his powers failing him could happen and dying wasn't a far stretch if he fell down on some fence. So walking was the safest bet to take - no damage, no identity exposure, nothing. Just walking...

He wasn't even in a mood for perverted antics. That was something extraordinary but still human in its sense. He was still human..that atleast he was sure without any doubt in his mind no matter how far he had transitioned from it.

 _"*Finally, just so close to home . Just a bit more and I'll be there*"_ _._ He was walking heavily. He had pushed himself to the limits to appear in a somewhat okay condition to fool the old man. But deep in his mind he was sure it didn't work out so well and they'd worry maybe. He was feeling dizzy...

 _ **"* Give it to us. Give it to me. We want it...to live...kill... Destroy... Just fall already.. *"**_

And he dropped to his knees violently. The pill container rolled on the dark asphalt as he vomited from the shock. They were calling to him,trying to invade his mind and overtake his body,seducing him with various offers to give them his body in exchange. But he struggled, he resisted defiantly... Just enough to –

"Hey,are you alright?! You need to go to a hospital right away. Let me dial the medics team. "

A arm touched his shoulder gently as the sound of a touchscreen echoed in the surroundings. Barely had he rose his eyes up,he saw a gentle hand upon his back with his eyes tracing everything in sight. It was a girl.

" Don't... I'm fine now. ", with his arms he pushed the dark asphalt to get up but couldn't stand on both legs. He was still to regain full clarity.  
But her arm stretched towards his and she said - " Then let me help you. Can you stand?"

It was never a rough voice. A gentle smile greeted his eyes as she grabbed his arm and helped him stand up and walk down to a nearby bench. He laid back on the bench and breathed heavily. He was still in a state of confusion and pain and had a hard time trying to catch his breath. Everything looked bleak in his eyes but he still didn't have the courage to look at her because if she recognized his face, he might have gotten a fast beating from this girl.

"Are you by chance Issei Hyoudou? You look like him so i thought you were" as she slided before him. She kneeled down to try to take a better view of his face only for him to cover himself with his arms in anxiety.

" I don't bite. Is that the way to express your gratitude to the people who help you? So just let me see your face, i promise i won't bite or anything. I'm not a dog... "

There was no shred of malice in her words, only the strong feelings of concern were exuding from her being. She didn't hit him or do anything in that sort of manner, she just cupped his arms with hers and waited.

 _"* This is bad. Am i hallucinating from the shock or what. It's impossible. There's no girl that would willingly touch me with no discomfort. She's probably going to bash at me. Well fuck it,let's just get over with it.*"_

He slowly moved his hands from his face rather shaky only to spot a pair of thin lips. She was beautiful - dark brown hair in a high ponytail, gentle features with green aluring eyes and a warm smile. She stood up and brought out of her bag two cans of orange and pineapple juice.

" Sorry for that. I wasn't sure how'd you react but i just continued to. It wasn't intentional... You know what? Take this one as an apology. Might help you feel better. "

Issei could now see her in full view. She was around his height and wore black capri pants with a green top and a berret hat decorated with a cat badge. The form fitting pants accentuated her beautiful legs and she gave off a popular girl aura, just like most of the girls at his school. His eyes went up to her chest on a habitual level and was pleasantly surprised by her above average bust. And he took the pineapple juice can from her arm in a cautious way not to startle her.

 _"* She's a human. My scars would've burned deep if she wasn't. Or maybe she's using a high level Concealment spell but it's not it. She's a human but I'd better watch out. *"_

She sat next to him and the sound of metal popping filled the air. She took a gulp of her juice and leaned forward. _"*She looks like she's in thought, maybe about her boyfriend or something. She doesn't give any signs of having prepared pain for me. Should i try to talk with her? Maybe she'll go away if i do.*"_

" U-um,thanks for the drink...and everything. I owe you for the drink so let me pay you back for it. "

" No worries. Anyone who saw someone in trouble would have done it. We're people after all so don't mention it,Issei. "

He was startled. She knew who he was and still helped him despite that. But it made him feel bad - no matter how awful his life was he hated being pitied like he was weak. But someone had taken pity on him and helped him. He was ashamed of himself. And nervous.

They didn't talk for a while, just sat quietly and drank their juice with the night sky, filled with stars,being their scenery. It was a nice,relaxing view other than the fact that it felt awkward.

" Well I'll be going now. I have some work to do and i need to go home. Are you sure you don't need any help with getting home? " she stood up and fixed her bag.

" No need to. I live close by so no need. Thank you. " he replied nervously.

"Well I'll be going now. Take care " and she strolled off.

" I didn't get your name by the way. I'll pay you back for it. "

She turned around as the moonlight illuminated her silhouette. It was a beautiful sight as the light shined on her face and she smiled.

" It's Sayaka. Nice to meet you Issei Hyoudou-san...

XXXXXXXXXXXX


	4. Act4 Scotch and Bourbon Part:1

Act.4. Scotch and Bourbon Part 1: Summer Days

July 23, 15:30 pm Occult Research Club room.

2 weeks passed since the Stray incident and there was still no sign of Issei, nowhere to be found. Nothing, like he never existed. No signature or a direct link to his Evil Pieces could help in locating his whereabouts. It was clearly that he didn't want to be found despite the wishes of others. He still won't come back. Even though i left him alone for 2 weeks hoping he would return,it's just wishful thinking on my side.

Even if i tried to reach out to him,he would just reject me with even more diligence than ever. But still this feeling of wanting to see him - what's wrong with me? I'd still ponder on why i let that happen. Maybe because i was a Devil and had to uphold the tradition of Traitors must Die! But still it made me feel good about it... But that gaze,that fierce passion in his eyes made me rethink on myself for a moment. Did i actually wanted to be like the rest of Devil society, to be ruthless and think of my peerage as slaves? I never wanted that,not even for a second as long as i was a King. And yet i made him suffer even more just to please my ego and show off my status. I'm really just like them after all... I can't deny the blood flowing into my veins... But i should make a difference about it.

As i was submerged in deep thought the door opened only for Kiba to show up. He was feeling rather neutral but deep down I'm sure he was affected as well - he had suffered before as well as a subject to some project. I did find him on the snow bleeding and barely alive on that night. I think it was in Germany but I'm not sure. Never mind that, he's here for a reason.

" Good day President, i brought you some coffee to cheer up. " he smiled to try to cheer me up but still he must have done it because of consideration. I don't know whats on his mind but it's clear he's been down because of the Stray accident. I'd better be careful not to spike up his repressed feelings.

"Thank you Yuuto. I appreciate the thought but what about you? How are you feeling? "

" Honestly, i feel awful because of what happened. Despite having experienced the horrors myself, i let another one experience it again. I can't forgive myself for acting like that,it's not right. Even though we're devils there is a line that we must not cross,after all i still wonder how much humanity i have left in me. " he tightened his arms and his expression became serious and remorseful. He was a victim as well, he was sensitive to matters like that.

" It's my fault, i made you do it without even considering his mental state. I'm the one to blame for his alienation from us. He is probably alone and suffering, i don't even believe he'll come back at all. After everything we did to him... I wonder what it's like to be a human...i was never one myself but still... Even though i was born a devil, i still search for the meaning of what is that... What makes you human... I really envy you..."

" That is a question i cannot answer. Everyone at least once in their life has pondered on this eternal question like _" why was i born?",_ _" just what makes us human when we're doing inhuman acts of cruelty with silly justifications to hide our ugly side "._

"It's not just you President, everyone has thoughts on these matters beyond our reach. But never stop searching, who knows... You might find it one day, even if it's fake or nonexistent... As long as you're content with it- it doesn't matter where you were born or what you are. Because it's the inside that matters... "

I'm really glad that i have people like Yuuto around me. I think I'll be able to fulfill my dreams if I'm surrounded by people of such exquisite understanding. Who knows, i might achieve even more...

"Kiba, we have work to do. Did you find anything on Issei - family register,business, reports. Any useful data is essential because i can't let Sona beat it to us. This is something we must reign above - so any luck with it?"

As he readjusted his position, he took a seat and elaborated on what he found. " Nothing in particular, just that his family was a ordinary one, both parents were corporate workers and lived a normal life. No other relatives could be traced to them. I tried asking around people about him but got no response . Just nothing. No reports or any data suggesting his activities and life pre his reincarnated. It must have been erased - no records of it exist. But i did find a medical examination board from a hospital - but it didn't say much aside he suffered from severe depression and panic attacks. But nothing else... " his tone was quite disheartening. If anything i could sense a deep dissatisfaction from him. You shouldn't feel down because you did your best,you know.

" Do you think he's home currently? "

" I doubt so. If i were him,gladly I'm not i wouldn't even stay there. I'd run away far enough for no one to find me until i feel I'm ready to be. It's a baseless assumption that he would be home if not a really stupid reason. "

" Call the others. We'll go on a search - i can't let him become a Stray due to my horrendous mistake. I won't allow it. Do you understand Yuuto?"

"Yes, President. Everything will be done in a few hours. So please wait patiently for the call. If you would excuse me,i would like to take a breather now. I'm still a bit awkward from what happened. " he stood up and shoved his chair in its place. I'd say he was quite agitated and in good condition despite the situation. So is that what they call not losing hope? I guess so...i still have a lot to learn. But till then... Let's have some fun ourselves.

" Have you noticed anything entering the barrier i put up over the city? Has anything snuck in in these past weeks? Or any angels that tried to enter?"

" The barrier picked up a small signal. It wasn't a demonic one or a Angel. .. It's a human... A servant of the church to be exact. I don't know how she got in but if she did, she's a dangerous existence to us Devils.I don't know if it's a exorcist or some paladin sent to slaughter us. " he showed signs of uneasiness in his voice. It was vibrating with doubt as much as i could tell. There was a unexpected contempt in his eyes, with his eyebrows twitching violently. He hated those affiliated with the church and it's branches. It was personal and traced back to Germany 5 years go. He still hasn't forgiven them for what they did. I don't even know how could he even forget what happened there.

" Let's assess the danger this church servant poses and see if she's in some use to us. She might be useful like him...if not let's eradicate her existence from the face of the earth.. "

It brings me back to those times before Yuuto entered my was 6 years ago. Back when i had another Pawn in my possession, i miss those days. It was just like yesterday... Until i lost him that night due to my carelessness... I'll never forget it,i won't make the same mistake... But until then, it's time to get things going... It's going to be fun...

XXXXXX

The same day,22:16 pm

A hard knocking was heard on the large,metal door separating the corridor from the interior and the sound was getting stronger. As the old barman opened the door to his surprise - Azazel had arrived again for a drink, but this time with him was company.

" Good evening gentlemen, how is your day going? " he courteously asked the figures sitting on the table opposite of the exit. It was a rather large table for 3 people to have but it surely had a lax atmosphere around it.

" Good evening to you too, Azazel. And who's this charming lady behind your back? " was the response of the ever so laid back doctor MonBlanc. He was leisurely drinking a red martini garnered with a lemon slice on top.

" Oh,her? She's just a kid i take care off. A troublemaker if you will. Come on now,introduce yourself to these fine gentlemen. Don't be shy" he urged the young girl behind him to be courteous. She was pretty stressed from the aura they exuded but nevertheless stood in front of Azazel and declared nonchalantly - " It's Vali,nice to meet you too." She was really enthusiastic all of a sudden and aimed at the doctor with a white gauntlet clad punch.

He didn't even turn back, he just stood there and continued drinking his martini without any care that he was being assaulted so suddenly. The clang of metal filled the air as if a avalanche had fallen. She was surprised - the doctor had blocked and deflected her fist with just a small scalpel in his left arm and had even severed a few tendons in her hand all up to the shoulder area. And he was still drinking on top of it.

" This isn't a place to fight little miss Vali. I'm not in a mood for some reason so you better leave it at just that. If you want something - come sit and have a drink with us. " he didn't even react much to her attack . He was rather bored with her attempt to harm him. If not it might have been his unwillingness to beat her pretty face and rip apart the bar- it was the only place where he could indulge in his own waters like a shark. It was something like a home for him to return to.

" Ah,sorry for her rude behavior. She's prone to challenge powerful beings for which i owe you an apology. I haven't been able to restrain her impulsiveness. Please forgive me." Azazel was a bit embarrassed by her actions and he tried to get a grip on Vali. But she was pretty hard to control these days as she still didn't know her rival or what he was underneath the armor and it made her impatient and erratic at times.

" There is no problem to be concerned with. Youngsters these days are so lively... It reminds me of my youth back when i was living in Ireland. Those were good days before everything fell apart..." Arthur had approached the table Chesare was sitting on and with a simple gesture invited the two new clients to share their table. But still his expression expressed sadness and nostalgia, he was intent on keeping it under wraps but it would occasionally resurface along with the memories he had of his homeland.

The bar changed its scenery to a beautiful velvet room with black curtains and violet lamps lightened the place up, creating a beautiful yet melancholy atmosphere all over the place. The florescent lampshades poured their lights onto the bar plate with a dazzling glitter that was like from a fairy tale for children. Every chair became a comfy black sofa, garnered with purple cushions of silk that glistened in the light like snowflakes. This time it was a representation of tranquility.

Everything was going as usual. There were other customers there who were busy with their own conversations and the soothing music of the Sugar plum Fairy was seeping into the air.

" What shall you drink today,sir? And what would the young lady like to have? "

" An Irish Scotch double and for her a small margarita please. And come back - i want to talk to you about something. " Azazel expressed his interest on the matter as he had yet to hear anything from Issei since he left that night suddenly. He was close to finding the snake in his group but couldn't do anything about the young nun he met as she was already in the hands of the Fallen and if he did- it would cause a mutiny over the fact to pass her to a devil.

" So this is the first time we meet. Please forgive me for my rudeness as i didn't introduce myself properly. I am Chesare MonBlanc and it's a pleasure to meet you. And this is Castor Zeble here." he pointed towards the man sitting next to him. It was a tall man of African descent with a massive body frame and with harsh but masculine features. He had no hair and wore a simple dark suit with a african amulet and silver dogtags.

" Likewise. I've heard good things about you from Arthur. You're a doctor right? In what sphere are you specialized in?"

" I'd say in a lot as a matter of fact. You're here under a alias, is that correct?  
So what brings you here today? " Chesare made a surprised look and his eyes were focused on the young girl sitting besides Azazel. He offered a cigarette to both but only Azazel took the invitation. He took out his silver skull shaped lighter and assisted the doctor in lighting up his cigarette.

" Mostly work... I go by Adolf K. Mayer and act as a professor at Issei's school for the meantime. And on your other question - Issei's disappearance. Arthur has told you the details so i just want to help the young lad and your work. I know what you people are and why you were chosen - i wish to survive as well and not just me. " Azazel finished his speech as he puffed smoke from his mouth and stretched his arm to Vali. She was sitting quietly and didn't participate much in the discussion. She was just there for company and to be able to see a glimpse of the Red Dragon Emperor's face but wasn't given this opportunity.

" I understand. I'm worried too about him and his involvement in the Gremory's clan affairs. It's just too convenient for him to end up there. There's a good reason she took a hold of him and it makes my blood boil because he's nothing more than a tool to her and her cause. Those pieces that returned him to the living - i tried to remove them but he would die if we forcibly extract them."

 _"* Hey doc, am i alright?"_

 _"Um yes,yes. You're fine... "_

 _" Then why are you making that face then?. Just be honest, i don't want any wish wash, i want the truth and nothing else. Don't sugar coat it.. " he jumped on his feet with diligence but he was losing hope. He wasn't afraid of the ugly truth, he wanted it no matter what._

 _" I'll be honest with you Issei- I can't remove them! I can't! If i try to forcibly remove them you'll die from triggering a failsafe function that will kill you on spot. I don't know if you'll survive that... What if you lose your power suddenly in the middle of the operation? Have you thought about that?"_

 _" I have thought so many times about it... I've waited for death to take me ... I wouldn't have any problem if that is the road i must follow... Even i can't stand it..."_

 _" I may not be able to remove them yet but i can do something about it. Just trust me on this one. Ok?_

 _Just do it*"_

" That is truly troublesome. If only i were faster, this wouldn't have happened... " Azazel cried out again in anguish over his failure. His right hand was shaking as he gripped one of the soft pillows behind him. He was upset..

" For now, let's just wait for him to return. He's way smarter and collected than you give him credit for. If he's away,he's probably doing something of importance. So in his stead,let's just plan ahead and wait for him to come back stronger than ever. " It was the first time Castor spoke in this conversation. His voice showed no doubt but firm conviction in his beliefs. It wouldn't be expected of a man of his stature to have such a soothing voice for he was, despite his intimidating appearance, a gentle soul that had suffered through the terror of war.

" Has anyone of you tried to contact Issei in any way possible? " voiced out his opinion Azazel. He had dropped the laid back attitude only to be replaced by a more befitting one of a Governor. His eyes showed seriousness as his previously lively tone had turned to a more monotonous one with his gaze cold as ice. " Even though he wanted to be alone,don't you think it's time we took the initiative to bring him back on his feet? "

" He called me to send him some pills but didn't say anything. "

" Well of course he wouldn't. He doesn't want to be a nuisance to you. But he has to plant his legs firmly into the ground and stand up. Otherwise it wouldn't be fun to defeat him,wouldn't it?" Vali couldn't contain herself from expressing her opinion on the matter. She wanted to defeat her rival fair and square to finally prove the supremacy of the Vanishing Dragon over the Welsh. Though battle hungry she had enough patience and understanding to let him grow stronger and beat him in a fair fight. Even if it meant killing Rias Gremory but she wasn't sure if it would work due to her limited knowledge on their relationship.

" But what if she's not a problem to him? What if she was actually concerned about him? It's not out of the picture, you know. As long as she's not a threat, she'll live. But if she's not good then I'll have to take action..." - Castor was as passionate as always when speaking of his student. He knew the despair, known as the battlefield better than anyone else so did everything in his power to guide him away from making the wrong choices he made. His tone intensified as it even made Vali more engrossed into this matter.

" For now let's just keep waiting. Trying to force things would only make them worsen overall. I'd say that the approach of understanding your enemy is the path we must take. And - barely had Arthur finished his sentence a vibrating sensation coming from his pocket interrupted his speech.

" Could it be Issei? Pick up the phone Arthur! "

Calmly reaching towards his pockets, Arthur took out a leather case phone and checked the number. It was Issei's. He brought it up to his right ear after calling back the secret number Issei used for communicating with his fellow club members. " It's me. I just called to tell you I'm at Cecilia's place and to make sure you're okay. How's the doctor doing?, his voice was rather peaceful and full of calmness and not a shred of mental torment was woven in his words, " Tell him and the others that I'll be back tomorrow. I've found some interesting stuff you might be interested in. "

" Everyone was worried about you. Atleast tell me where you're going, it's not right to just leave without a trace like that. There's this girl who called for you, i ran into her while walking around in the park. I think her name was Sona or something like that. Well we were about to- and Vali grabbed the phone suddenly. She made the shush sign and started talking with a demanding voice over the speaker.

" Get your ass right here so i can finally defeat you, Red Dragon Emperor's current host. Do you know how many times i had to chase you through the globe only to find you already left. So get on your feet and wipe of that crappy excuse of being alone. " she was enthralled into speaking wisdom to get through his skull only to receive...

" What the f- Don't tell me you're the white one that I've been seeing a lot recently. And to think it was really a girl- thank you god for this most delightful surprise. " Issei's happiness would probably flow like a river through the phone if it could. Judging by his intonation, it could likely be concluded that his wish was heard by the gods.

" This is certainly most interesting. Maybe they'd make a good couple. Hey professor Mayer, do you think it would be interesting what offspring they'd produce if they got together. I'm certainly looking forward to that." Chesare made a happy grin that would put to shame even the greatest toothpaste commercial produced. His smile radiated like the sun and was only matched by the overpowering approval of Azazel's expression. He had thought of the same but hadn't voiced this to the rest. That way he could have more things to research and more Sacred Gears to create.

Vali's face reddened a bit as she stopped talking to direct her eyes straight towards her legal guardian. She was flustered a bit by this bold proposal but nonetheless ended the call- she completed what she wanted.  
And for a second she thought - _"Maybe it wouldn't be so bad... No,wait... If Albion was awake and heard that he'd eat me alive. Just why am i thinking of hooking up with my rival when i have to defeat him?! Fuck you damn old man and your stupid research ploys."_ She went back to her seat and returned the phone she took from the old barman and apologized politely despite her ego.

" So, should we wait for him? Oh,i almost forgot about something - i met the nun i believe you're informed by yours truly. She entered the city 2 days ago and is nowhere to be found... " Azazel was a bit interested in this matter as his sources were always correct. If anything - he had a sharp mind. He did teach humanity warfare and vanity for which he was imprisoned in Dudael.

" Are you sure she's not in the hands of those Fallen Angels around. They are under your command after all. Or she's in the hands of a 3rd party? "

" Most likely."

" She's probably after something here. It's swarming with the supernatural so it's a given . I've noticed a barrier erected over all of the town to keep out any unwanted intruders from entering. That nun shouldn't have been able to pass through unless she was let in by the creator of this barrier. " Arthur locked his brows and crossed his legs in a lax position. He was a bit baffled by this barrier and it was easy to notice his change in demeanor. What lurked through his mind wasn't easy to guess...

" But it seems we're not affected by it. Only powerful and high level beings can pass through it as they wish, the maker doesn't seem to be experienced in making barriers. It looks really complex on first glance but it is far from being such, it's rather crude and hastily made. If they wanted to keep up us in,they've failed miserably. " Castor clasped together his hands and leaned forward. He elaborated on it - he was walking around the park before he got here. Something irked his instincts and goosebumps rose up from his skin. He could feel this presence trying to shove him out like a dirty kitten on a rainy day but it was futile for he was just slightly ticked off and pushed only a few millimeters.

" But have you thought that let's say... What if this barrier isn't just to keep people out but to hide them from the rest of the world? Isn't it a safe haven for persecuted devils and individuals to outrun the authorities and Angels?. It rejects Angels and weak Fallen but not us. But you say she passed and you lost her tracks - she's definitely something. If you did your job better, we wouldn't even be in this position in the first place. " Vali pouted at her stupid old man smacking him on the shoulders. She wore a smug grin while teasingly wincing her eyelashes. She appeared to have a somewhat boisterous straight personage to counter Azazel's laid back and collected persona. They defined each other pretty well judging by their quirks.

23:56 pm

" Well we'll be going now. I've got work to do so I'll be in touch with you. Thank you for the time and goodnight gentlemen. "

Vali stood up and followed, but before that she grabbed the hems of her black dress and with the grace of a aristocratic maiden gave a lovely smile as goodbye.

Azazel waved back and took Vali with him by the hand or lest she would cause some trouble and get her ass handed to her by them. He clearly knew that should she go against anyone of them,she'll die a horrible gruesome death. He knew her intentions of trying to get a match with one atleast, judging by her warm smile. She gave that to people she liked - strong enough to fight her and pose a challenge to the might of the Vanishing Dragon. And the door shut close.

" I'll be going ahead as well. I got a call from the hospital - an emergency meeting of the board of directors. So see ya later. " and he left soon as he finished his drink. The door shut close and he went out.

" Well, that leaves just the two of us then. I'm wondering... should we take down that barrier or just leave it be? It doesn't concern us but I'm pondering on it. I don't know what it will cause. What do you think? " Castor was the only one left from the merry company. He traced the metal chain of his dogtags with his fingers and gripped them tightly. They were full of memories, his time and experience as a soldier was soaked into these pieces of metal denoting rank and identity.

" Well... I don't know. If we take it down it would alert the angels and it would cause a bloodbath all over the place. Civilians might be dragged in this so i believe that we should leave it be for a while. " Arthur grabbed the empty bottles and glass cups and straight to the bar plate.

" Yeah, you're right. There's no point in revealing our existence to the world. It's too early, not yet. But there will be a time in the future when we will have to fight for the continued existence of humanity and this world. We still have time before the Apocalypse starts... But it's not in our power to guess exactly when it will start... And i feel it will happen soon...

" Seconded. And we'll still need to fully awaken and understand the powers granted onto our newest members. Time is of the essence my humble friend, we must persevere over this incoming threat. Not just for ourselves but for the rest of humanity. So we have to be prepared, some of us might die. Just like in the great Flood, where a maiden with a pure, compassionate heart sacrificed her life in saving a part of humanity on Noah's Arc. So we'll have to be this arc for humanity to survive the Apocalypse before the final Day arrives. Are you prepared to risk your life for this, Major Castor Zeble of Cape Town? "

" I am. But for the rest i don't have the authority to guarantee - even in the cruelest of times, a traitor is always born. Just like the son of God was betrayed by one of his own for 30 silver pieces... " Castor sighed heavily. With all of this ambivalence of the future, anyone would be anxious for what the future holds in for them. He was showing signs of fatigue and was barely hanging from falling asleep - he wasn't good with alcohol and his work was tiring, even more than Hilda's. Let it be known she was the drunkard of the group with the least tolerance to alcohol.

Arthur finished with cleaning the cups behind the bar plate," But things are different nowadays. And we have allies, for now, we're better than anyone in what we do. And you're falling asleep - you should go home now. ", and with a mighty push, he lifted over the former soldier - current mercenary and opened a large door directly onto the wall with a flick of his index finger. He threw off the heavy man right into his room and returned back to his work place. The door dissappeared into the nothingness and he continued with his work. It sure was handy to use it as a gateway to other places.

 _"* I'll go outside tomorrow afternoon, it's going to be a sunny day so a light stroll through the park won't hurt a bit. Well i better get back to work, there are other people here waiting *"_ as he took a step forward, his phone violently vibrated in his pocket and he had to answer, even if it meant for the clients to wait a min. He picked up the phone and checked who called. No info listed on his call register like there was no such thing as a missed phone call. It was off,he waited a bit for the next call and as suddenly as it started vibrating he picked it up with the speed of light and pressed it to his ear.

" Who is this? How did you get this private number? "

Nothing was said on the other side. It was static... He repeated his questions once again to no avail. But just as he was about to hang up, he heard something.

" I need your help with something important. Pick a time and day to meet. I'm not a foe,in fact we're most likely allies so I'll ask for your assistance in something. Remember that pentagram you analyzed a while ago?" the voice was husky and whispered like it was being followed by something to make it sound like that.

" Yes, i do. It was of demonic origin but i couldn't trace it back to its maker. Pretty neat work with the craft but who are you? What do you want? "

" As i said - i need your help. Let's meet up on the 30th of July. I'll give you the rest these days. I gotta hang up,they'll notice me... Till then."

And the conversation ended abruptly...

XXXXXX

24th July, Mar del Plata beach, Before Sunset

We are always stuck in a neverending circle of revenge, retribution and death. It's just our nature - we kill and kill other beings just to continue our own survival even for a little bit,even if it means devouring the lives of others and destroying things just for it to be useful for us. The same is with relationships - you fall prey to the "bond " you have with others, you become a usable tool or a overdependant fool who can't even imagine not relying on others to get what they want. Human bonds are truly like a drug- once you get hooked on it,you'll have a hard time getting off. That's what you're required to do- fall prey to the need to socialize and be part of the flock or to fail miserably and be excluded from it,leading to be ostracized and rejected from the world of human communication.

It is surely a vile world - but you may believe you have a choice between 2 options, it's what you are being deceived to put your trust in. In the first place you never really had much of a choice in what you're dragged in,you don't even have the luxury of deciding what will happen to you as it is beyond your reach. But what will you do when you have nothing but 2 choices and both are not even choices?

We're stuck in this endless cage ... We can't escape from it no matter what...  
Some are content with being in a cage,deluding themselves with a false sense of happiness and safety and to believe nothing bad would happen to them. But it's just wishful thinking - no matter what belief you may hold,it's just superficial - everything can happen and get worse really fast and with out a reason.

The past is just the past as most would say but is it really so? No matter what you think or try to do- no matter how much you would divulge in denial over events that have already transpired, you couldn't change the outcome. So it's pointless to ponder on it. The past is full of regret and the future is uncertain, full of anxiety that makes you either wish to die from either reason . So the present is the only time we have as every moment will turn into the past...

Even now i don't feel safe at all... Believing that being a part of society,being a slave to the demands of this system would grant you security and protection is delusional. In this cold world you're alone even amongst people, friendship and bonds aren't gonna last forever so it's useless to expect a happy ending. It's a cage you can't escape from...

XXXXXX

" Hey, you're spacing out again. Are you okay?"

" I'm fine. I was just caught up in dealing with these thoughts. Sorry... "

" Don't worry about it. It happens. What's on your mind Issei?" Cecilia twirled her hair with her fingers while drinking some coffee she bought from a nearby convenience store. Her dark brown hair swirled by the current of the summer breeze.

" Nothing much. Just thoughts on society and life. " Issei calmly raised his shoulders while staring at the vast mass of water before them. They were sitting on a lone coast that no one visited.

The sun was soon going to set down, it was around that time of day where a lot of confessions were handled in this coast,far away from the eyes of the crowd. It was a rather soothing view to the soul,the sky was bathed in the shades of yellow, orange and red. Pinkish spots could be seen bursting through the clouds illuminating the goldenlike sand of the beach with it's tiniest specs of sand glistening by the warm rays of the July sun. It was just so peaceful, so beautiful one could gaze and see the everlasting beauty of nature and think about life. Swimmers could be seen in the distance, kids playing and thousands of beautiful girls walking on the scorching sand in their flip flops while having fun.

" By the way, aren't you feeling hot in that undershirt? It's 38 degrees so you must be dying of heat,right? Plus it's weird to go to the beach with that thing on..." Cecilia directed her gaze onto the black fabric wrapped around his upper body. Her curiosity was boundless and despite probably knowing why he did,she would still ask just to rile him up a bit.

" It's hot alright but i can't help it. I can't even go to the beach to- not having finished his sentence, he was abruptly interrupted by the ever so teasing brunette.

" To ogle at girls in swimsuits, right? " she was awfully jolly while making that remark. Her smile was what you could say the epitome of sly cheerfulness. " While you're standing here with a beautiful lady like me. So gluttonous you are!" she burst into laughter while still trying to hold the big sister act she had tried to keep up.

" I already saw enough today. So many girls but they're not for me. I don't have a chance with anyone of those,I'm at the bottom of the desirability scale... I belong in the sewers if i actually had a place to belong. And i can't exactly go to the beach with this scarred body" his eyes twitched at first but then he just yielded to the bitter truth and leaned backwards onto the green towel under the umbrella.

Cecilia leaned over to the beach bag she carried. It was opposite of her direction, just next to the young man so she had to arch over him to get could see through the white shirt she wore over her black and blue stripped swimsuit as she reached the handbag and took out a small bottle of water. But she noticed his eyes locked on her chest and gave off a pleased expression with a silent heheh glare.

 _"* What the fuck are you? Enjoying my reactions like some middleschooler stuck to the tv. What are you? Umaru or something? *"_

" You know, i actually enjoyed the time we spent these past 2 weeks together. I'd never thought you'd actually come see me", her tone changed from her usual one as she lifted up the sunglasses covering her face for him to see her dazzling emerald green eyes," I know I'm an awful person who just annoyed you a lot with my BS and antics. It's just that i don't really have people who would just spend time and come to see me just for the sake of seeing me. Yeah,i know I'm a lousy bitch who can't get a boyfriend for some reason. It's probably pitiful of me to ask you to come to the beach together given your situation.. "

 _"* Hey, don't you go spewing realizations like that. You'll mess up my head and heart you know. I might fall for you if this keeps up. I'm seriously going to get fucked up by this situation... *"_

" I don't think there's something wrong with you. Even though i really find it annoying as hell and everything, it's not so bad when you think about it. To be alone is better for the heart - no one will trample your feelings and crush your heart with fake pleasantries and sophistry. At first it may seem bad for a while, but as time passes by, a second by second with the arms of the clock, you'll fully comprehend that being a loner is the most comfortable thing in the world. There is no friendship, it's just superficial bonding over shared interests and hobbies into it's core. Or rather a way to get together and tend to each others wounds and reaffirm yourself that it's real..."

" Like hell it would be. You're just saying that to make me feel a bit better but you suck at comforting someone. It's painful being alone and unwanted - don't you just feel like that once in a while. Not being able to share the tears and joy together, just being like a sign to be passed in the eyes of be just seen as an nothing more than a distant memory, no rather to be unable to leave a impression on anyone in your life. Just why are we so miserable like that? Why do we have to suffer so much, being unable to change how we are? To be alone... "

She had quickly turned from the teasing big sister to her genuine self- the fragile and emotional girl known as Cecilia Elizade. The echoing sound of distress and melancholy expression of her's shone on her pretty face as she was struggling to hold in what she felt.

 _"* Many times had she relapsed into emotional outbursts, someone had to act as an emotional trash bin for her to press her feelings upon. I wasn't really expecting to see this emotional side of her at a time like this, even with the corners of her eyes reddening she was still beautiful no matter what. But even so i was stunned by her words, i was paralyzed. I didn't even know how to comfort someone as there wasn't anyone to comfort me... Why am i even thinking about that? Sometimes i wonder... How did i turn out so emotionally distant that I'd question myself.?*"_

" It's beyond our reach, we're just going around life like a car that never stops. I still believe that we're meant to be like that as it is in our nature to suffer. It might be crude but we are born to suffer through life as it could be said that living is suffering, suffering is being alive. So we are defined by our suffering as it's just what makes us human. Therefore we are bound to suffer due to our desires, causing us turmoil as we just can't deny our nature and desire as that is what makes us. We exist to suffer again and again just for the sake of living... "

" You seriously suck at times like these! No wonder you're a damn shitty virgin.  
That's what i hate in you- you can't even imagine a happy moment in this life. It's not so black and white as you see it... It's more than that... Why can't you just try to see it?" she gripped his leg with both arms and her posture changed. It was spelling disillusionment from his response as even a idiot would notice she just wanted to be accepted. Comforted,gripped tightly and never to let go.

But he was at a loss of words. His face froze in place with the confused look on it stretching out wide. What was going through his mind, nobody knew. Or rather couldn't clearly think of as no regret or anxiety was present, just awkwardness and confusion.

" Sorry... " he averted his eyes to the left in a attempt to look away so their eyes wouldn't meet. His arms trembled as he dropped his wrists onto the soft fabric below them. He didn't want to see her like that,he couldn't even do what was expected of him in this moment.

 _"* I have to do something about it. I don't want to see this view again. I don't care if she hits me or something, i have to do it even when i don't know how to do it right *"_ He turned around slowly with his eyes locked to the ground and with a simple move of his arms- she was in his gentle embrace. Her eyes widened in confusion as he had never done so before, he was totally inept at human communication and relationships. They didn't speak,it was just the sound of the splashing waves filling up the silence that had taken place in this moment of embrace. It was getting closer to sunset as the reddish sky casted shadows onto the rocks, deeply rooted in the golden sand across the coast. Just like from a fairy tale, the scenery slowly changed with the red- pinkish clouds soaring into the color bathed sky with the horizon blurring the lines between them...

 _" * now..i did it. I don't care if she hates me, i couldn't stand this sadness of her's. Maybe i shouldn't have done it...*"_ he tried releasing his grip on her with his arms slowly moving away from her back only to be stopped midway.

" Let's... Let's just stay like this for a while... " Cecilia's arms twitched around him and with the strength of a giant, she grasped his sides tightly with no intention to let go. She pressed her face on his shoulders like a little puppy waiting to be caressed.

 _"* This is really awkward. I don't believe i could think of anything pervy at this moment. Despite this situation being like a dream i don't even have the desire to take advantage of this. I just wanna go home already, she'll bust my ribs if i she doesn't let go of me soon. I don't wanna die like Clementine in the hug of a Overlord *"_

" Could you let go... I feel awkward really... "

" Sorry... ", she bit her lips in the rush of removing her hands off his sides and taking distance from him, " I didn't want to cause you embarrassment, i know how you are under pressure. I didn't want you to see me like this", she wiped off her eyes with the handkerchief Issei handed her. She was still close... Really close.

Something in her told Issei what to expect, it was her gentle expression that made him go closer despite his awkwardness. It was still weird but he couldn't stop...

" Wait! Wait! I didn't mean it this way. " she tilted her head back with the speed of light. Her arms were crossed expressing her brazen rejection of intimacy in this spur of the moment.

He leaned back awkwardly, he was unsure what to do with this. But he knew he had acted rashly - maybe it was the desire to reenact the iconic kiss under the umbrella scene in the games he played. But it was surely a wrong choice if this was a romcom game of the standard, leading to one of the premature endings of the VN.

He closed his eyes to hide his embarrassment and went back to his spot to get away before the wrong choice took effect. It was surely gone already...

" You know what,fuck it!" a pair of slender arms pushed him down on the towel with the umbrella covering the fabric in shadows as it tilted a bit.

 _"* What the hell!? *"_ Before he had finished his usual way of addressing weird stuff, he was already lying down under the umbrella with the girl who rejected him a minute ago on top of him. He could clearly see the glistening lips of his female companion pressing on his face with her eyes closed as they made contact...

XXXXXX

 _"*That was really awkward... *"_ with his cheeks reddened, Issei was walking down the coast alone with the waves hitting his bare feet. The view had changed to a marvelous piece of art painted by the hands of mother nature- it was at moments like this that you'd stand back and watch the skies while thinking about yourself and everything. The seagulls were soaring in the air without a care in the world while most of the people who were far away had started packing their stuff. So it was soon to be deserted leaving him the only one there.

 _"* Dying here wouldn't be so bad, would it? To lie down here... Damn you stupid sun,i got mushy all of a sudden. This is why i hate going out.. It's probably time i got back - Sona will beat the shit out of me if i don't call her soon. But i don't plan to go back to that girl any time. Even if i get targeted as a Stray... But i need to know, i want to know, because being in the dark is terrifying.*"_

And just as he was deep in thought, his phone rang again... Quickly taking out the annoying gadget, he checked out his notification - nothing!  
He was sure that it rang a minute ago. It was weird, really weird. As it was a phone tampered with magic to guarantee that it couldn't be traced or being a means of eavesdropping. It could only mean one thing - something has breached past that wall.

Nothing happened in the past 5 minutes... It was just peaceful and yet still, something inside told him it was just unsettling. It was unnatural for it to be so normal - it was only one thing possible - the calm before the storm.

To take some rest, Issei went over to a nearby rock and sat down - his back hurt from earlier and not even his natural regeneration rate could deplete fatigue at such a rate. It was time for his pills.

 _"* These are the last ones,I'm running out fast. I'll go back today. *"_

Dog barking was heard in the distance. It switched to howling like someone died or a apparition had resurfaced to terrorize people. But something in it's howl was clearly different than usual, it was the utmost contempt one could have for something, the bane of their existence. And he knew what it was - dogs acted like that in the presence of demons. Dogs were known to be used by demons for possession, reconnaissance or curses made from the tails and ashes of 3 different dogs,sacrificed on a oltar with blood runes. And could smell and see when one was nearby just like a cat did.

This signature was familiar: his Evil Pieces heated up from the inside out to signify the arrival of a Gremory clan member.

"Just show yourself already. I know you're there so come out anyway. No point in peeping when i know you're there. " the sound of metal,monotonous speech filled the space around him causing a slight echoing reverb to stretch out in every direction. The voice of someone who didn't have an ounce of emotion left intact.

Calmly stepped ahead Rias Gremory with her regal posture, belying her royal birth, her stare looked distressed and in a somewhat awkward way- 2 weeks had passed after all so she was nervous and jumpy when she met his eyes.

She was garbed in a summer buttoned up white dress with a straw hat, decorated with a white ribbon and wore sandals. Her presence was accompanied by the sound of splashing waves, her teleportation cicle evaporating into thin air.

He looked tired, sitting on the rock but nonetheless rather peaceful in total contrast from 2 weeks ago. Rias kept her distance from him due to the cross dangling on his neck, otherwise she'll suffer from it in close proximity. He didn't move, he just kept staring with blank eyes at the unending horizon which made her feel guilty, rather perplexed on the fact that he didn't acknowledge her the least. She was nothing more than a shadow in his eyes...

" Took you long enough, eh? Not that i mind. You did leave at peace for 14 days, i am grateful for that...But i don't have any desire to be your play toy like the rest... So don't expect me to hop back like some rabbit to its mama so easily. As i said before - you have nothing to offer me for me to return back! I don't wanna see anyone of your servants... Especially her."

" Well... " Rias nervously tried to answer and justify her actions. It was really rare for her to drop her mask in front of anyone. While usually boastful and a bit arrogant at most, she was the opposite now- meek and everything in her screamed of her intention to beg and plead him to come back.

" Well?" he didn't turn back at all. He was giving her the cold shoulder treatment while still maintaining the air of calmness.

" I'm sorry for everything... I didn't have to go through such lengths... I'm sorry... "

"Oh? You are sorry? It won't be be fixed with just a little sorry, you know. And drop the nice girl act! It disgusts me - you won't win me over with sweet talk and begging. " he had seen through her like a glass box. It didn't work if she thought it would, " You don't even know what it's like... So don't go thinking you know a damn about me. You may know me but you don't have any idea who i am."

He turned his face around. The sun rays illuminated his face just enough for her to see the side of his face. There it was again, this pressuring aura she had witnessed on their first meeting that day. He had a creepy smile across his face that would intimidate anyone under normal circumstances. If not, the scales and the wiggling movement under his skin was sure to creep out anyone who saw it. Rias stood there frightened, she didn't have the strength to mutter a single syllable. The roles had changed, she was the inferior while he the superior at this moment. Despite trying to run away she couldn't budge a finger nor to turn away. Instinctively blinking, she tried to erase what she saw in her mind to no avail... It was etched in her core without any hope to forget it...

" You alright? You were about to say something, weren't you? " he spitefully asked the disturbed girl. No smile was present on his face, just the usual face she had grown to love.

" I-i don't know what to say... Could you please come back home.?" she stuttered, violently shaking behind his back.

" I won't forgive you that easily. Count on it."

After she calmed down she gave a proposal he couldn't refuse.

" So as you're saying, if i reach High Class under your peerage i could get my own Evil Pieces and peerage? Let me think about it."

 _"* I could use those in my plan for Operation Harem Time while still being under her "rule". If i can reach High Class i could use that to gather intel and find the killer. 2 rabbits with one shot.*"_

" I accept your proposal... But. "

"But?"

" I'll just do it to pay you back and nothing else. I won't do things like stealing souls and when im needed somewhere I'll leave. And don't drag anyone i know into this."

She nodded in agreement. Tears started flowing down her cheeks as he could hear the beat of her heart pulsing and immediately Rias closed on him and embraced him, catching him totally unprepared. She even burned herself from his cross as devils hated religious objects.

" Now, now don't cry please. You'll make me feel uncomfortable. It's alright, it's ok. " despite his dislike for her, he tried to console her. She was his type appearance wise but as a person she was too far away from him. The difference in personality was large like a gaping hole,incompatible with his world view and persona. Despite the awkward atmosphere and not knowing what to do exactly he still tried his best.

She whispered gently to his ear- " Don't go off like that to somewhere i can't reach you. Stay with me, Issei... ", she pressed her upper body on his back tightly grasping his chest.

He was paralyzed and probably aroused...

" I just wanted to know you the same way as Sona does. I am your King, i want us to be close just as you are with her. Don't leave me...i don't want to lose you like i lost my previous Pawn."

"You won't... So could you let go now. I'm not used to this type of closeness. "

"Oh,sorry. I didn't know that. I tried many times to call Sona but she was away for 9 days,i think she should arrive today. " she released her grip on him and took a step to the right.

" You've probably checked out everything about me, i suppose. It's what i would do so it's safe to assume you have as well. " his tone became serious, it was livelier than before. She finally caught his interest. Till now he had mostly ignored her or acted rebelious.

" There's almost zero information about you. The only thing i have is a medical carton from a nearby hospital. You're like a ghost, it's like everything was erased from the face of the Earth. Just who the hell are you, Issei? If that is your real name?"

" It's private. It's too early for you to know. But you'll hear about it when it's time. " finally on his feet something in him had changed. Rias could feel it. And he started walking away.

The sun was about to set down, the shadows grew larger by the minute. She mustered the courage to catch up to him and ran. Her hands dug into his shirt gently and both stopped. Even the seagulls had stopped their joyful clattering just to make room for them.  
It was getting darker and darker,the pinkish purple flares of the sun were glistening with a magnanimous luster as their rays were slowly subsiding on the horizon. A wave suddenly pushed the two over so in that moment they were lying down onto the wet sand with their feet full of sand.

 _"* I feel nostalgic... What is this long forgotten feeling that's creeping into my soul and mind? Is it love at first sign? No way, ain't happening so why do i feel so drawn to her? Just why?*"_

" We should get back now. People are waiting "

He tried to stand up only to be stopped. " You fool... Do you not like me?"

Perplexed by her bold statement he froze. She was on top of him with her arms on his sides. He couldn't resist her seductive gaze anymore. Lowering herself, she came closer... He did the same - both getting closer as the sun finally set down and night came.

And thus the sun rose down... And the night took place. ..

XXXXXX

25th July, Rome,Italy 23:59 pm , Pope Residence

" We must go your Highness, the car is waiting. "

" I'll be right there in a minute, please wait for me a bit"

It was night time already, the clock about to hit midnight. It was a rather normal day for the pope with a stary sky to gaze into from his spacious room. And it was occasional for the figurehead of the Vatican to go to meetings for the future of Christianity. Exorcism included...

There were rumors of the current pope's rise to power fluctuating between a myriad of conspiracies and far fetched theories concerning the sudden death of the previous head of the church, Pope Francis I.  
The current one was said to have been with minimal chances of succeeding the position as the Cardinal of Finland was leading in the majority votes. Some took it as a sign from God, others believed in counterfeit being involved. But nevertheless he was chosen, deceit or not...

" Rudgard,is the car ready? "

" It is sir. It's waiting outside. Shall we go then?" he was a young man attending to the current pope after being chosen from a large amount of candidates despite his rank,he was trained as professional bodyguard and house attendant.

Rudgard carried down the luggage downstairs with his benefactor tailing right behind him. And so they were on the street with a car waiting for them. The young servant placed the luggage in the trunk at took the driver's seat after helping the pope enter the spacious backside. And they took off...

A few minutes had passed since they left the residence, until they reached a crossroad.

"Keep driving and don't stop. We're in a hurry. " the old man commanded. A man with a strict schedule and a clean consciousness - that's what the current pope was like. Or so it was believed.

Rudgard switched his eyes towards the front mirror and saw 2 figures, clothed in dark garbs and shadows. Fear took a hold of him tightly, he was like paralyzed until the Vatican leader reassured him nothing was there and to lift up the sound isolated,black window block to give him some privacy.

" Good day, Your Highness. How is your day going? " an unidentifiable voice spoke. It couldn't be defined whether it was a woman or a man but it was apparent that the pope knew who it was.

" I-im fine. And how are you? " he tried to keep his cool and referred his guest with respect, hesitantly asking how was the day.

The second figure remained silent, watching through the windows for any threat that might arise and jeopardize this meeting.

" It's a lovely night,isn't it? I hope you haven't forgotten our deal, have you? "

" I did what you wanted. How much more would i have to do. Isn't it enough already?" the old man locked his arms in frustration to this blackmail. What went through his head that moment couldn't be exactly defined due to his sour expression.

" Enough, until you payed off your debt to me. Don't you forget how you succeeded the title of pope from the previous one. It was due to my influence you managed to win over the cardinal of Finland, Hannes the Lion. If it wasn't for my little assistance, your dream of leading the Vatican would have never happened. Such irony, people believe you're a serene and holy man while you are but a measly man who cheated to get there... Such irony,indeed. "

" What more do you want me to? Wasn't it enough that the Twilight Maiden was excommunicated and sent in exile and now more? I did what you wanted so just let me go already."

" Send the wielder of Durandal and her fellow Holy Sword accomplice- your highest level Executors to Kuoh,Japan. We need to retrieve the stolen Excalibur fragments from those Fallen no matter the cost. Do you understand that, Jorge? "

" I understand well. I'll make the arrangements soon. " with a rather displeased grimace he personally called a unknown number and gave the official start of the mission to retrieve the stolen property and to fulfill their other objective - Bring down the barrier and decimate every criminal who has sinned and plagued innocent people.

" So anything else? " he turned to the right but there was no one. Just him sitting in the back all alone. Like no one was there.

 _ **"* I don't wish to send out Xenovia there,i**_ _ **can't even think of**_ _ **what might happen to her. I raised her since the day i took her in from the orphanage, not just her, Asia as well. I hope she's ok**_ _ **,**_ _ **there in that demon infested nest,God protect her from any peril that may befall that city. Amen.*"**_

Meanwhile in Kuoh, Japan...

Issei rose up from his bed and slouching, tried to jump out of the bed and straight to the computer to check out the news. On the first try he failed miserably but on the second he finally reached it. He took a seat and started scrolling down for anything unusual until his phone rang and dropped off from the edge of the table. He had to kneel down to grab it from the corner it lodged in, luckily with no damage as he had grown to like the black E1, it was a present from Arthur for God's sake.

No message, no call registered. It had happened yet again with no apparent cause or some defect. It was perfectly fine - everything worked with out a hunch so just why did it happen?

He placed it to the side and continued scrolling, not before having went to the kitchen for some coffee, atleast that he enjoyed. Sweet and scorching...

He was engrossed into reading articles on various sites and watching some anime before going to school... Until it caught his intention. A message was delivered to him and at first he didn't wish to open it, it wouldn't go away so he followed and clicked on it, it wasn't a virus as a hacker friend made it hard enough to be hacked and installed some special rootkits on it.

 **-DO YOU WANT TO KNOW?**

That appeared on the monitor with a Y/N button and some text under each.

He tried to shut it down to no avail. His phone rang again - a message notification. It said:

 **\- If you want to know, click Y. You'll get what you seek but it's not something you will like. If you do,it will change everything.**

 **\- Click N and you'll return to your somewhat normal life in a cage. You'll forget about that this ever happened and you will continue as you are.**

 **\- Choose Wisely. It might change something, change the world.**

And Sona called - Issei, are you on the computer? " her voice sounded worrisome.

" Yes i am. What is it StuCo President? "

" You got that message as well, haven't you? What to do?"

" I'm conflicted about this... I don't know if i should choose Yes or No..." he hesitantly explained this. It was a time to make a choice that could change the status quo in a second.

" Just follow your heart. Let's wait a bit and click the same thing, okay?"

 _ **"* Something in me was telling me it wasn't safe,it was something i didn't want to know, yet i wanted. To find out and regret or to let it go and regret even more. Just what was it,what was pulling me to return to the old days i miss so much? But they'll never come back, it's delusional to think i could get back what i lost... Yet i want to know. Not to be left in the dark. It's now or never! *"**_

" Let's click Y on the count of 3. 1...2...3!" the hitting sound of the keyboard filled the space around. He even heard Sona's keyboard through the phone. The screen blanked out for a second and finally what was inside the message showed up.

" Oh dear God... Sona, you have to see this…"

XXXXXXX


	5. Act5 Scotch and Bourbon P2

Thank you again for actually having given a chance to this small fanfic.I actually expected tons of negative comments but I was pleasantly surprised .I know I suck at writing stuff and all,I try to improve as it is actually quite fun writing about characters you by that- honestly, I think Rias is overused in a lot of fanfics which is a personal choice of the authors to build upon so I atleast wanted to show Rias in a bit more human light as well as her flaws and faults being actually acknowledged and not shrugged of because she's hot and all.

On other matters,I plan to develop the Gremory Peerage as individuals more: including monologues(I really love that stuff),memorandums and inner thoughts while trying to form various bonds with other and Asia are rather missed out in most cases but they'll have their spotlight as the story let's make Asia more of a person ,she's a good base for a tragic heroine or why not something more?

Other points to address: In this chapter you will notice that Issei doesn't fully rely on his Sacred Gear and Brand- he is using firearms and meele weapons as well as magic due to the fact that his powers might give out due to the curse of Ddraig and leave him learned his lesson after the first let's think about it- a Devil sharpshooter isn't quite a bad idea,right?

Issei and Sona's relationship exploration: I like Sona, as a smart female character is my type and she wears her sister comes in a bundle with her.

I like to reference various media and literature- you'll find a symbolic reference in this chapter of about Dante's Inferno and other ones.

Sayaka won't die-she's to bring out the long buried traits of Issei and a human "friend of sorts "his around his age .I have different plans for her,she'll play a crucial role in future events

OP Issei is best Issei.

A bit of a angst ridden chapter,more drama and piles of dead Fallen Angels."Edgy"violence scenes on some of the fights- because none of them are heroes,just a bunch of fucked up anti-heroes..Asia's resurrection is canonical but the other one- I'd play a bit with what I've got in store.

I really appreciate any comments and etc- even the negatives as I learn from them on how to do if bashing is to commence- please make it by using constructive criticism:

-,which parts you don't like and in which areas I should put more emphasis on,address on plot points and etc .So help me make this a enjoyable piece .And not just by bashing with the usual "sucks,I hate it,you're horrible and etc." as it doesn't clearly give me a direction in which to follow and improve.

Please ask anything that might be of interest in this probably horrible story of mine.

P.S;Writing about an LSD trip sounds really cool and interesting .Maybe a drug addict character to spice things up. Thanks for the idea,I appreciate it a lot

XXX

Act.5. Scotch and Bourbon Part 2: Wild Nun in The City

31 July, Kuoh Academy, 12:30 am, The roof

" You should have atleast called. We promised each other not to hide anything from the other. Don't you trust me?"

Sona Sitri was leaning on the metal chain fence with her bag lumped down on the cold ground. The weather was a bit windy so her skirt flapped back and forth - she did put effort to stop it in it's tracks and preventing him from seeing. She looked a bit pissed off,not so much as solemn was the right definition to apply.

" I trust you, you know that. I just didn't feel like talking... It's not like you'd enjoy my company anyway so it's a win-win for both of us. " he made a casual remark. He was just sitting on the opposite side of Sona,ravenously drinking from a big coffee cup with some food to act as a appetizer.

" Nevermind that... What should we do about this? " she was a bit sour,bitting her lips while trying to maintain her cool wasn't easy. She wasn't a good actor,he knew her real feelings on the matter that lay before them.

" I don't know. But if we have to act, it must be at utmost discretion and with no witnesses. And you look weird when you make that face. "

She just nodded. Fixing her glasses she continued elaborating on her own thoughts and bicker with him. She enjoyed it.

" I never asked you about something . I never once thought how you really felt, what you really liked. Things i believe that would make us really friends, we may be unlikely comrades due to our history together but i feel it's lacking. It's like we're strangers and nothing more. Don't you feel that way?"

" I don't have friends... I believe i shouldn't annoy people with my personal life and likes. It's not nice - i just want some peace and quiet and not be a nuisance to others. So i didn't think you should be burdened with my mental health issues,it wouldn't be fair to you, would it?"

" But still... I know you never wanted this in the first place. Tell me honestly, what did you think of being brought back to life as a devil? And are you content with it?" Sona stood up. Her stone cold face showed emotion other than being like a marble floor. There was something like concern,an eager curiosity burning in her eyes like a flame. It was the rare event of her showing a nicer expression, one with some warmth to it.

 _"* Honestly, i hate it.. *"_

" Well to be precise, i didn't think I'd get this lucky to have a second chance in life. Is it of matter when you could continue to live? Certainly not, to be chained down to someone you barely know... To someone who likely has ulterior motives concerning my presence... I don't like that at all. So no, I'm not really content with being bound to her. " he gave a defeated look and avoided Sona's eyes, he didn't wish to make to eye contact all of a sudden. He finished his coffee and cleaned off his black jeans from any dust that may have stuck.

" And what i received from that message... It's not safe for you either. And i fear it's just the beginning. " he reached for his pocket and lit up a cigarette from his favorite brand with a flick of his finger, " Maybe you should cover up for a while. If you want i could call my contacts to help with that."

" You must be referring to one of your fellow club members, sir Arthur, isn't it. He must have told you that we accidentally met at the park awhile ago. But sadly even if i try to persuade my sister, it won't be of any help. She's too cooped up with managing the truce in effect and maintaining order."

" So what's your sister like? Some demon lord or a high ranked member of your council? " he puffed out smoke from his cigarette and maintained an unassuming disposition while having asked his wild guess on her sister.

" She's one of the 4 current Satans that lead the devil world and a... She's a self appointed Magical Girl with her own tokusatsu show broadcast on the tv... S-she's such a pain to deal with when she goes trigger happy and excited... " she closed her eyes and sighed heavily. Her frustration and wariness of her sister were like dark miasma swirling around her very being, she was really embarrassed by her older sister and her childish interest,more the fact that she was too clingy and infantile when around Sona.

" I see. Don't call her then... It's too much for you to handle. "

" You're really considerate,aren't you? Behind that cynical shell of yours hides a really nice guy. But you're still creepy at times.. " she had returned to her Ice Queen facade and crossed her arms behind her back. Her tone was like that of a cold hearted machine, devoid of emotion with the impression of being like a void.

" Not really, I'm not a good guy at all. I just act like i usually do. It's simple so don't get any wrong interpretations on whether I'm considerate or not. It's just a matter of one's perception and inherent like. Nothing else. " he finished the cigarette and within his hand. It burst into flames leaving nothing but the ashes behind. Slowly moving towards the exit he said - " Let's meet up after my meeting with Rias. I think we need to stay together since we chose the Yes option, there's no turning back now. "

" Fine by me. Let's rendezvous at the nearby 7/11 around 17:00 pm. I'll give you a call if i can't attend. Till then... And please be careful "

" I will. You can count on it, President. " he gave off a small smile and went down the stairs.

XXX

There are times i wondered how did i end up in this mess... There's nothing i could do to turn back time and change it- it would be pointless to cry over spoiled milk. Let's say hypothetically, what if you could go back in time to a specific moment of your life and prevent yourself from making the choices that led you to what is the future currently. To try to change things... But could you really do that? I don't think so- because you would make the same mistakes and choices no matter what. People don't just change so easily like that and since you'll return to that moment, even with knowledge from the future, you'd still do the same course of action because that's who you are. What is bound to happen will happen even if you curve a bit to avoid it,it will happen a bit different but would still happen anyway. So let's go back to that moment...

XXX

" Hey,long time no see tiger!" a cheerful face showed up in his peripheral vision. She was wearing white capri pants and a black sleeveless t-shirt with a berrett hat on her head.

" Yeah, it's been a while " Issei muttered back with a slight hesitation. He was sitting on a nearby bench, leisurely leaning back onto the wooden utility. He was dressed with a dark green dress shirt and under it his usual undershirt, this time green and a pair of black jeans with a side chain attached to his left side.

" So how are you? I haven't seen you for awhile around here. It's pretty ironic to meet on the same place where we first got to know each other, isn't it?"

" Things came up so i didn't have time to go out. I wasn't really in the mood. By the way you never told me your full name and how you knew of me." he gave a scrutinizing look at the girl sitting next to him. He didn't mask his intention, neither his curiosity as it took over his mind. He wasn't the type to express his emotions clearly but it wasn't so hard to understand that in this situation.

" Can we talk about this in private? It's a bit crowded here,don't you think? Oh,and I'm Sayaka if you didn't remember, Sayaka Takeyama. " she smiled gleefully.

" Sure, i remember you. So where do you wanna go then?" he was surprised a bit,but as always returned to his usual calm countenance.

" Um,my house. It's not so far away, so it should be alright, no?"

He was frazzled. Trying to hide his embarrassment and contemplating on what response to give, he tensed up. He was never invited to a girl's house before - it came down like thunder to his ears. There was no way it could happen, could it _? "* Fate's messing with me again. This won't end well, should i decline this offer? *"_

" Hey,my eyes are up here, you know?"

She had noticed his eyes locked on her chest despite his superb observational skills, utilizing only his peripheral vision to trace down every curve in her body. She was something way above that." Not that i mind, let's get going then, shall we?" and both headed towards her house.

10 minutes later...

" Come on in. Make yourself at home. " she gave a rather dull look at him, questioning his hesitation, " There's nothing to be afraid of,i don't bite... Much."

Hesitantly Issei started to take off his shoes with his mind being in another place. She was right in front of him searching for a pair of slippers to put on, he was gazing intently at her while maintaining a distance.

 _"* You're parents should have named you Shiori, it would've definitely suited you more. *"_ in his mind he made the association of Shiori with her by rearranging the letters in it producing the word for buttocks. Despite his love for the great mounds of the opposite sex,he was about to awaken a respect for the hidden eros of the shapely behind that lay before him.

It was a rather big house she lived in. And well maintained as well. They headed towards the hall and soon were in a spacious living room,colored in a peachy pastel color with a large Victorian style chandelier and a lot of carpets covering the shiny wooden floor. It was a room that gave off the air of tranquility, peace and home. He felt like he was back at his deceased grandma's place back in the days,awakening a subtle feeling of nostalgia. But he somehow knew it was empty, the scenery despite appearing welcoming on first glance was cold and he could sense the loneliness of its inhabitants seeping through the peachy walls.

" Take a seat where you want. I'll be back in a minute so wait here. There's some manga on the shelf if you'd like." and she ran upstairs with the speed of a antelope.

Feeling awkward and trying to control his impulses he went straight to the shelf and grabbed a book to read while waiting. Only to his surprise it was a yaoi manga- one of the nastiest types he had known to dropped it like it was toxic waste, he wanted to forget what he saw that moment. How he knew- Hilda would occasionally bring some to the bar and read out loud while sober. At times he was glad she was drunk- it was way better than listening to passages from one of those books or being coerced to watch something beyond dreadful involving staying up all night to watch soap operas.

 _"* This chick is rotten to the core! Damn social media.*"_

" You can turn back now. " the sweet, tender voice of Sayaka flew through the air.

Slowly turning back while trying to hide his shock, he picked up the book and placed it back in it's place.

" I thought you were into girls,lad? Didn't expect you to swing that way. " her face was showing signs of boredom, frozen in a static glare with her sleepy eyes blinking wildly.

Issei was starting to sweat. He pleaded to Fate not to mix him up in weird misunderstandings but Fate was a bitch. Everything that could happen to him had to have a brutal twist to finish the job.

" I'm just messing around with you. There's no way one of the Trinity of Perversion to be into dudes... Still your reaction was fun to watch. " she smirked victoriously." Nevermind that. Take a seat, we have work to do."

 _"* This girl is weird... Why does it always have to be the weird ones. Atleast it's not a giant, crossdressing as a magical girl. Mil-tan is seriously weird... *"_

They took a seat on the big sofa and had some snacks. There was this awkward silence between the two of them and it stayed that way for a while.

She had changed into a pair of cut off denim shorts and a loose shirt with cats on it. She was probably a cat person counting some of her accessories.

 _"* should i wait for her to start or should i go first? I'm kinda nervous since it's the first time im in a girl's house. It's weird. We just had one encounter and we barely know each other, nothing but names and such.*"_

" You might be wondering why i brought you here when we don't know each other well. I get that. But there is something i desire and i believe you could grant that wish."

" I don't think i could grant wishes or anything like that. I'm just a kid like you. "

" Are you? I know that you're a Devil so don't try to get out of this. That's why i brought you here to grant me my wish." she stated it like it was nothing with her green eyes peering deep into him.

" There's no point in hiding it. So how did you know i was a Devil? " he gave a quizzical look straight to her with a tint of curiosity brimming in his voice.

But then her razor sharp gaze went back to him," one of those pamphlets that we're handed around to people. I requested a hot blonde devil companion for my desire but instead they gave me your coordinates. It seems he was busy so you'll have to do. The pamphlet glowed red in your presence that moment but you were in a really bad condition back then. And now you're here."

" So what do you want exactly. I can offer you wealth and power but not something out of reach. I'm new to this stuff, it's about a month since i started so don't pin your hopes too high. "

" You don't look like a Devil actually. You look kinda average for it. " she gave off a weird but smug expression.

" Well sorry for not being up to your expectations. It's not my fault you didn't get Kiba." he batted an eye. He continued to eat his snacks undisturbed. He was used to being underestimated all the time so this was rather harmless compared to the harsher words he received all in all.

" But i didn't say anything about you being useless, did i? So what i want is company. Someone to hang around with, go spend time together. Nothing much. I'll pay whatever the price is. I could give you my everything if you want... Anything! " and she wasn't lying about it. Pure conviction was the right definition to describe her. She was earnest.

Issei gave a small smirk before giving his usual calm response, " Sorry but that is something i cannot offer to you. Such twisted irony - to ask someone who nobody would treat as a friend to be your companion. I gotta give it to ya- your request from all the ones i did these days is the most abnormal. I commend you for that." he gave out a stiff declaration, fueled by his years of solitude. He was used to being the butt of the joke and this seemed like a cruel prank or some pity ridden wish of her's to mess with him.

" I see. So you want something as a exchange, compensation? I guess i don't have anything valuable to give other than my soul or virginity. So how about it? You're a virgin, aren't you? " at first put off,she mustered enough resolve to offer something special to him. The blood of a virgin was a prized tool in magic - some used that to replenish energy or for curses. So most would accept.

" Listen here, you don't have to offer me anything like that as i don't want your pity. Most would accept it right away but i believe it is something special you should give to someone worthy. I'm rotten but not that much to take advantage of a lonely girl's feelings. It's not right but what is in this damn world - he was deep in his monologue but was interrupted by the sound of his cup falling.

His legs gave out as he slammed headfirst on the ground shivering, turning over the small sofa backwards. His whole body was shaking violently, kicking and rolling around till he assumed the fetal position.

Sayaka panicked immediately and jumped from the other sofa in a flash, right next to the shivering youth. She tried to hold him but he was struggling with such ferocious tenacity that she barely could handle it and avoid a brutal kick from one of his legs.

A small pill case rolled out of his back pocket and she quickly grabbed it while avoiding the draconian enhanced kicks he swinged left and right. Two large spiked protrusions ripped through the back of his shirt with the undershirt's restriction seals barely able to contain them. And soon the spikes pierced through the manifested pentacles, ripping them appart with large mouths with red veins around them pulsing and talking utmost evil and contempt from under the surface.

He was struggling with his visions and the voices of the dead whispering seductive offers to let them out and have fun.

 _ **"** Give it to us... We want more. We hate, we despise you. Let me free...Free...rise..the dead shall... Mommy... I'm scared...**"**_

Something within his skin started moving, he was changing again. With the utmost of his strength left he moved his index finger towards the bottle of prescription pills near her legs. Horns were growing from the ridge of his nose with his skin cracking down, the worms wiggling through the bloody wounds as they turned to spikes with his eyes bleeding.

Sayaka panicked. Her mind went blank from the sight, she wanted to puke out everything she had but couldn't. Not even a step back could she make from the terror sprawling through her spine like millions of vermin were devouring the very flesh of her body. Despite the fear having taken over every fiber of her being, the sense of duty overcame fear and she snapped the bottle into the ground, grabbed a heap of pills and lunged towards Issei, rolling him over and shoving the pills down his throat and preventing him from spitting them out.

XXX

30 min passed since the pills started to kick. The symptoms started dissapearing steadily until he was back to his normal appearance and was unconscious. She had tugged him tightly to a sofa,waiting patiently for him to regain consciousness while she was sitting in the corner for half an hour so far.

He was showing no signs of waking up anytime soon. So she just waited and waited...

A shrieking like noise was heard from the direction where the devil was laying down. It suddenly died out so she didn't contemplate on what to do and went to see what it was. Hesitation  
was written all over her usually distant expression. She could die if she went there - that she wasn't exactly sure but it did cross her mind a few times..

 _"* I don't care if i died. Nobody would miss me anyway so why should i even care about it. I'll die trying... *"_

And she did that. She ran up closer to him - he was slowly regaining consciousness and saw her terrified face leaning over him. Even with his blurred vision he could make out the colors and some vague shapes,his hearing was atleast decent as he could hear the heartbeat of this young girl next to him, her blood was rushing wildly through every vessel in her body, her heart was pounding like crazy...

" What just happened? " with a puzzled, no rather terrified look she asked. She was pale like she had seen the dead rise back from the grave to haunt the living. Her eyes twitched in different directions while she was trying to keep it together, just barely but not enough to fool his seasoned eyes from noticing every small readjustment in her movement, every reflex. Humans revealed their true faces when cornered or placed in a unfavorable situation by their involuntarily body language, breathing, posture that gave off what they really meant or wanted to do.

" Now do you understand? I don't have friends, i don't want anyone to suffer from this, so sorry. I can't fulfill your request... " he was deeply distraught and in cold sweat. The pills had suppressed his symptoms enough for him to regain some equilibrium and stand up without assistance. But he was far from calm...

"Even so... I want you to be my friend... My parents abandoned me when i was little. I was never liked by anyone in my life, always underestimated. I don't have any memories of the thing, called family. I just want someone to talk with... To be happy... " she gave a heartfelt outburst of her true feeling. Her dull expression fell off like it was a mask,being replaced with a face full of sadness. There was just brutal honesty in her words, no sophistry or sweet talk.

He knew better than anyone what it was like to be alone, to be stuck between 4 walls with no hope for a change. There was a state of silence echoing through the walls which was beyond familiar. It was way too quiet,her lack of etiquette and her weird personality, hidden between the mask of cold indifference. She wasn't really so different than he was, she was cut from the same cloth as he was. She was just like him, a wandering soul with no place to belong.

Her head turned back towards him. Her green eyes bore into his deep and he didn't avert his gaze from hers. He felt that he could once in his life trust someone. He opened himself to her for her to peer into his being. Her reddened face showed signs like she was barely clinging to not cry in front of him. As he regained full clarity she was clinging to him like glue. She whispered gently to his ear - " I don't want anyone else. I want you to be my friend and no one else. So will you grant me my deepest desire? I'll give you my everything in exchange- that should amount to it, right? "

" Your request is registered and therefore accepted. I'll try to make it through this till the end. But don't expect so much from me." he said faintly, his voice was low but audible.

6 minutes later...

" It's getting late. I have to go now. Duty calls so just give me a call,you have my number. By the way how old are you? "

" A girl never reveals her true age but since it's you, consider it as an act of good will. I'm 16. "

"What the f- he couldn't believe what he heard. She looked like atleast 18 in his eyes and he had gazed intently with lustful eyes her figure and every curve, especially her behind. A new fetish had engendered deeply into his mind that night.

" So when do you want the compensation for your services? I could do it right now,my room or your bed? " she made it sound like a casual remark,like it was nothing of matter.

" No need to. It's okay. "

" Were you put off because I'm younger than you or you would rather have a sexy onee-sama girl than me? " she raised her brows while she gave off a pleased look of dominance.

" I don't mind but it's rather weird - you're my client and i don't want you to give it away so lightly. " he protested strongly against her proposal. She was grade A jailbait and he didn't want to go to prison in any circumstances.

" So you are into younger girls, huh senpai? Wanna cop a feel? " she lowered her head while slowly she pulled down her kitty shirt while offering him something irresistible.

 _"* Forgive me but i won't let go of this opportunity, jailbait or not. Nooo,she's hurt and I'm not some scumbag to take advantage of a sad girl's heart*"_

" I'll pass. Well ill be going then. "

" Such a turn off " she pouted.

And thus due to the same circumstances, two loners banded together in a weird but honest bond,spending time for many days to come...

XXX

30th July, 21:04 pm, Tokyo, Akihabara district, North

The streets were brimming with people all around the place, the surroundings were all decorated with various anime characters and neon lights lightened up the overcrowded streets with commercials, cosplayers and maid cafés to visit. Nothing less from the sacred place for anime fans all around the world.

" It should be around here somewhere " Arthur pondered while holding his chin with his fingers.

He was dressed in a black, long trench coat with a white dress shirt underneath, a black fedora was covering his head and he carried his wolf head cane with him.

He was walking around aimlessly through the streets, hidden by the vast masses of bystanders in the main street. He was well versed in stealth and avoided attention.

 _"* 5 more minutes to the underground subway. Let's get going then*"_

10 minutes later...

Arthur took the subway on the first stop for the rendezvous with his with his mysterious client and find out what is required from him to do. He was sitting on a seat with his legs crossed comfortably while holding his cane tightly to his right side, leisurely leaning back on the hard seat while watching what was around him. People minded their business and didn't pay attention to others as most were immersed in reading their newspaper or were calmly sleeping with headphones plugged in.

It was the usual scenery - tired corporate workers were preparing to go home after a hard time at work,girls chatting loudly without a care in the world, some were just sleeping on the seats, leaning on someone's shoulder for support. It was just so ordinary and quiet... Too quiet for a place like this...

The lights went off in a flash as something like a earthquake shaked the bullet train violently, it became chaotic but not so much due to the Japanese discipline of not panicking in the heat of the moment. Some people were on the ground, some had grabbed something to hold on at the last moment. The train had stopped... It was pitch black and only the light from the smartphones of the passengers illuminated the dark prison that the train had become.

Arthur kept his cool during the whole ordeal, not a shred of worry was present in his mind. He was used to it but tensed up and readjusted his position slightly ready to retaliate at any moment.

A man's voice proposed they should just wait for someone to fix this and stay calm while another urged everyone to try to open the door forcefully and get out fast. Arguments were thrown at each side on whether to take their chances of getting out or waiting for help.

" Did you hear that?"

" I didn't hear a thing. Are you sure you're not imagining things? "

There was a pounding sound in the back of the door, loud enough for the people inside to hear. Then it stopped..  
An elderly lady reached towards the window to see if someone was coming to save them,there was a light coming from a nearby source, it appeared to be a rail worker with a flashlight closing by.

In the darkness, cooped up together with strangers it looked really normal,people were used to this situation beforehand so it felt reassuring to the rest. And after a minute,the worker entered the cabin and assured everyone inside that it was some malfunction and they should stay put till the problem is solved.

Arthur was a bit peeved because he was going to be late - he was very taciturn but strict,even with himself as he viewed arriving late to a occasion, demanding his presence, unacceptable. It was hard to see in the darkness, he could only hear noise coming from all over the place. Still it was unsettling, this feeling of ominous convenience that had befallen this unnatural malfunction.

In the darkness the silhouette of a man illuminated by the lights of the smartphone screens was walking around aimlessly through the cabin. His actions were believed to be due to stress or so it seemed.

" I need to get off quickly. My wife is in a hospital, she's about to give birth so let me pass. It's really important.. "

" I would like to ask you to stay in your place, i understand but it's too dangerous for anyone to let anyone on the rails before the train provided for escorting the passengers has arrived. " the worker tried to reason with the man to no avail. The passenger protested strongly at his attempts to keep him from barging outside and walk on the railway.

" Get down on the ground! Something's coming this way ! " a deep voice urged the people to duck and stay quiet. A shrieking sound was heard in the cabin, like from a dying animal taking it's last breath.

The sound of a clacking mechanism filled the air, followed by a gunshot noise deafening everyone for a while. The flash from the shot had lightened up the space for a second, enough for the old man to see a burning gap in the skull of the worker with his black blood dripping on the floor. He was still to regain his senses from this sporadic assault but quickly grabbed his cane and unsheathed it- revealing a silver blade with glowing rune marks etched on the surface of the cane sword.

The windows burst into smithereens, dark shadowy hands started entangling the passengers in their chaos and it became mass panic. Screams were the only thing that could be heard...

Another gunshot pierced the space,again and again with the bullets sizzling in the air with grace. The hands were withdrawing, releasing the passengers from their grip and dissappeared soon after.

The shooter kicked through the door with a unrivaled speed, providing themselves a passage to escape fast. Arthur tried to tail him but his senses were still haywire.

15 minutes later...

" I'm late now. God, damn it!"

A dark scenery of the night was the only thing around him. He took a drawing stance and unsheathed his blade from its sheeth and closed his eyes for a moment. It was quiet as graveyard - not a single soul was in sight, it was just the silence to acompany his senses...

 _*"To the left! You're fucked! *"_

He opened his eyes, took a step back and jumped up in the air by the power of a magic seal to use as a step. He had immersed into the vast darkness of the night and dissappeared into thin air.

A shrieking scream echoed into the surroundings, resonating and deflecting back.

A pinned to the ground devil was trying to break free from the enchanted with blood Bowee knives that pierced it's back and legs and it was screaming a cry for help in a unnatural, appalling tongue, unknown to any man or beast that walked the face of the Earth.

" Such a unsightly sound you're making! Just bear with the fruits of your endeavor , it is what you had brought upon yourself for underestimating a proud bar owner , you wretched beast. Don't detest me for this,it's what you deserve for your rudeness and lack of manners. So now please keep quiet for me while i deal with the rest of your companions ".

He was acting courteously even to the mindless creature that had marked him as it's dinner time snack - he was well mannered to everyone and rarely did act rashly. What he was on top was a black and tall being with with crooked wings,a horned head with a armored back like that of a armadillo. It reeked of blood- it had devoured someone really recently as the stains were still fresh and patches of skin were on its arms.

His feet had pressed the Bowee knives deep into it's limbs with their seals engulfing and slowly burning the foul beast in a fiery blaze of holy light, enough to buy some time to prepare foe the ones hiding in the darkness. He looked tired from this cat and mouse game, he was late already and it greatly displeased him.

Another beast glared at him with blood red eyes glowing in the dark, charging straight at him like a berserk in the battlefield with a choppy footpace. Quickly jumping in the air, Arthur threw another set of daggers at the rampaging monster only for it to deflect them with its armored arms. But they did their job- it was a feint to throw them, he had intended to stop it in it's tracks and finish it quickly.

The seal,generated from the daggers tripped the berserk, ripping through it's legs at a amazing rate before it knelt to the ground. With a fast roundhouse kick,the old barman ripped off the head of this foolish creature. With a second one, he burst open its torso, it was a bloody scene- intestines were flying everywhere, blood hit his face and clothes as the ribcage had exploded from the pressure of his iron plated boots,what was left was a holowed out carcass with it's arms and legs shoved where it's head used to reside forming a bizzare flower, tied up with the hanging intestines of the Stray.

He turned back to spot another one going his way,only to be shot down moments later by a unknown shooter in the head. The middle aged gentleman used a Caunnan rune to burn down what was left of the unfortunate Stray Devils that had crossed his path. They burned out for a fraction of the second, leaving the charred bones to the ground and a small pentagram formed where they stood.

" You actually came. I didn't expect you to respond even in my wildest dreams, even more to actually see you in the flesh. Thank you for coming all the way here, Sir Arthur . " in the distance a murky silhouette was closing by from the shadows, the sounds of pounding metal struck his ears as the shadow removed it's hood and baseball cap to reveal someone he knew - it was a friend he thought he had lost during the great earthquake 4 years ago.

" How is it possible? You were supposed to be dead, the building collapsed with you inside it. Just what is the meaning of this?" Arthur was fazed by this abnormal reunion, his voice trembled with confusion and a feeling of disbelief. He sheathed the sword he used into it's cane and walked slowly towards this friend of his with a careful step,prepared to decimate on sight. His face was contorted in a uneasy half-assed smile that expressed more disbelief than happiness from the sight of his good acquaintance being alive and right before him.

" I thought the same thing... I woke up covered in blood with my whole body healed up and back to normal... Normal is a bit far fetched as you can see", he pointed out the reddish devil wings on his lower back while reloading his modified Berreta pistols before placing them back in his belt," The things i remembered after the earthquake had passed were that i was alive despite the fact that i outright died in it, the sudden feeling of pain through my body as i stood up. And there was it- i was revived as devil by this man called Shalba Belzeebub. "

He elaborated more on the situation and what he did for the past 3 years - he had found his master's affiliation in the Khaos Brigade and his radical ideals of purging every reincarnated devil due to his views of them. It wasn't just that, he found the one who caused the earthquake that had taken his wife and child. He was regarded as a Stray Devil for running away and hid from them for the past 3 years in all around the world while recovering from the wounds he received during his tenure.

" I couldn't meet you in person all this time so i had waited for a opportunity to call you to meet up. I never thought you were a battle mage but given how you took those Strays you've been doing this for long,haven't you? "

Did you really now, Wilson? How can i be sure that what you're saying is credible? " Arthur switched his position slightly and reaching for his sword on the left. He didn't even sense an ounce of sincerity coming from the mouth of his presumably deceased acquaintance. Nothing in his eyes gave out what he was contemplating on doing, his expression had become like stone- unmoving,cold and logical without any emotional semantics present.

" Because it's the truth. Otherwise why would i have killed these Strays that were tailing you? If not for the sake of seeing you? "

" I don't think i could give you a satisfactory answer to any of this. "

"Have you forgotten what happened 18 years ago? The day your sister Catherine was used as a sacrifice by the Devils? My mother died there and i couldn't do anything about it. I can't even get back at them - i lack the strength to kill the one who caused this. So will you help me with this,uncle?" he gave a pleading look to shake up the gentleman emotionally by reminding him of their relationship. The eyes he was casting were seeped with the helpless plea of a lost soul.

" What do you want me to do?"

"Help me kill Sirzechs Lucifer! " it struck down like thunder. The pure conviction coming from the echo of his voice resonated with what had left of Arthur's heart in that moment. It was a chance to settle the score once and for all.

" I will help you in this endeavor. You have my word so let's make the deal,shall we?" he nodded in agreement with a slight tilt of his head as he removed his fedora for a second to show his manners and etiquette. His posture had become relaxed despite them being in the night in an open space,he wasn't worried in the least as he reached out his hand to the devil sharpshooter.

Wilson went along and both men shaked hands in effect of their unified alliance against the demon that had caused them suffering," So...When do we start, then?" the young shooter asked eagerly.

" Right now." with a frightening smile Arthur gripped his hand tightly, the sounds of cracking bones echoed all over the place. Blood dripped on his sleeve as he pulled out the bones in his right hand with remarkable speed and shanked them in his legs and neck.

" Why are you doing this? How could you do this to your family? " Wilson spat blood - he was barely holding on his legs from the damage he received from that unexpected strike. His neck was like burning from the fragments lodged deep into his neck,his voice was raspy and struggled for air.

Arthur walked away slowly, turning his back on the wounded Stray wide open. He was giving it a chance to either run away or die a stupid death, leaving it with a choice to make. The enraged Stray, not wasting another second, ripped out its holster to take out a Berrett and aim at the older man.

"What the hell - his arm was severed up to the shoulder area with a large gushing wound pouring blood profusely on the ground,Flesh and skin was dangling uselessly on the severed stump.

"Are you perhaps looking for this old toy,young lad?" In his hands was the severed limb of the unfortunate soul,wiggling and swirling like demon wailed in anguish and pain by the sight of its crushed limb,it uttered curses and such with utmost rage at him. Finally breaking free from it's place it ran up towards Arthur's way with a sloppy footpace. The space around it distorted, several dark orbs ripped through reality before it managed to come close to him.

" You fuckin piece of shit, I'll have your head crushed and body scattered "

With a snap of his finger the dark orbs stuck to its remaining limb and snapped violently causing the monstrosity masquerading as his friend to slam back on the ground.  
The demon screamed with unbearable pain- the dark orbs had devoured it's limbs with ease,the pressure of them closing ripped off its limbs and sent it pummeling down the cold pavement head on.

" Who sent you! If you value your life talk! " he had lifted the limbless corpse with a ferocious grip and lifted it up in the air with his sword to it's neck,ready to slice open.

" You cannot stop them. They're coming... What you're trying to do will fail... The shadows within the darkness will rise and this world will end. I'll see you in hell.. Kekehe..." with what was left of its strength it laughed with a sickening giggle.

" You're right.I never had a sister to begin with. There's no point in leaving you alive, is there? " and he cleaved its head off with the swing of his saber.

" Such a waste of time. I should've just stayed home and save me the worry. "

"Not exactly. You saved my life back there at the subway. So let me repay you the favor. " a man's voice was heard behind his back. It was a bit raspy but strong.

" You? " a surprised look placed it's self over the cold face of the swordsman. He was caught off guard this instant but prepared his sword to defend.

"As i told you. I need a favor from you."

XXX

1st August,, Hyoudou Residence, 16:49 pm

Rias and Issei were comfortably sitting in a big room drinking coffee and discussing some matters on his contract fulfillment. It was a lax atmosphere, the lemon colored walls were full of pictures of his parents and him from their various trips around the country. Despite the cozy and relaxing atmosphere, Rias felt unnerved by this lack of presence, no signs of life were present as she could put it together that it was nothing more than a den of solitude. The way they sat reflected their relationship - Issei was sitting on the higher placed sofa while Rias sat on a shorter one,the difference in height and the overal emptiness of the room made her feel significantly threatened and inferior. It was a psychological technique Issei used to mentally predispose his guest in a way they would feel the vast difference between them and get crushed by the overwhelming presence the room produced.

Deep inside he was feeling awkward - the things that happened on the coast at sunset had etched deep into his mind with the shapely mounds of his "King" enrouted in his mind. He could never forget that moment in his life and so did Rias.

Things between them were awkward as both had acted on their instincts to fill their void - Issei knew it was too sudden, there was no way she did it with him without any ulterior motives but he didn't mind. It was a one of a lifetime chance that most would die for. He was angered but never showed it, he was regretting his decision to act upon her advance but not the act. If it was someone he liked it would've been the best but instead he didn't have the opportunity to be picky.

 _"* It was a mistake... If it only wasn't her and someone else... Now comes the part where she actually has a fiance and i was used as a scapegoat. On top of everything, this pushy bitch just snuck behind me to get inside. Talk about rude.I should say something *"_

"U-um President ", he was trying to act courteous and hide his  
embarrassment, " Are you by any chance engaged to someone. It's common sense to believe that as you're a Pureblood Devil."

" Well - before she even finished she was interrupted by a slamming noise coming from the corridor.

" Wait here. I'll check if the coast is clear." with a reassuring face he stood up and headed towards the corridor.

Rias didn't just walk around the room aimlessly without any intention of going through the pictures on the wall. She didn't really care( **she cared a lot actually** ) until a certain photograph caught her attention. She went a bit closer to scrutinize the questionable photo.

 _"* This can't be right. That child... A holy sword... Just what and who are you, Issei? *"_

15 minutes ago...

Hyoudou Residence, Front door

Grayfia, the Queen of the current Satan, was effortlessly trying to enter the house with effort but it didn't pay off. She tried to enter sneakily but was thwarted by the house's anti-teleportation barrier and burned by a anti-magic mine. She had spent 15 minutes in her futile attempts to crack open its defenses.

 _"* Nothing works. What's with this house, anyway? It has come down to that...*"_ she sighed deeply. She was about to do something she never did- knock on the door. It was the last resort she was going to lean on,hoping that it would work since none of her methods gave any result. She was a bit peeved as she was known as a great lock cracker and this was going to ruin her prestige if someone found out.

She knocked on the door continuously, embarrassed or not, it was her job to retrieve the little Gremory heiress even if it meant using force to drag her back home.

Unknowingly why, Grayfia felt uncomfortable in front of the door - she could feel what was coming her way on the other side of the door and she was ready to act if it was needed. Secretly preparing a ice spell, she eagerly waited for the arrival of the host..

To her surprise the door opened by it's own accord.. There was no one inside so with the first step she took (she took it as an invitation) , she was in the middle of an endless corridor leading to nowhere.

 _"* It's so cold... Just what is this place? It's not an illusion neither a bounded field. It's something else.*"_

She was lost,if she took a step to the left door she would end up in the end of it, she went through all of the door and ended up at different places and yet again in the beginning of the corridor, there was no exit behind her. But she still kept her cool no matter what.

" Good evening. How could i help you miss?"

Grayfia blinked twice, her eyes weren't lying. She was at the front door right before Issei, stuck in a momentary shock but nevertheless got out of it fast.

" You're probably here because of President Rias,i believe so? Please come on in." he invited her with a simple gesture of welcome, his face was rather dull and bored with the situation.

Grayfia didn't say much and just entered being led by the young Pawn to the room where Rias was stationed. And the first thing Grayfia did was to run towards Rias,slap her hard and then comfort her with a hug,uttering heartfelt apologies and expressing her worry over her mental health.

" You had enough time to show up and reply to the message your father sent but you didn't. Your brother sent me here to Check on your wellbeing as he's worried sick. "

Issei just watched from the sidelines, uninterested in their family shenanigans and such of the likes. It would just make him feel sick so he went to the kitchen to grab some water while they bickered.

" Lady Rias... In what state of mind could you have done this? Just how...how could you do this to your father? "

" Because i did it. Has anyone of you, my dear father and older brother think of what i wanted to begin with? Of course not,keeping the bloodline of the Gremory is the most important thing in the world compared to the happiness of someone... "

Rias frowned... She finally gave in and vented out her repressed true feelings on the matters of her couldn't stand still anymore - she was tired of being the one who never gets to choose in her life.

" It is a family tradition that has been in practice for centuries. Your mother,your great-grandfather and many more have honored this custom to marry into a family with royal blood. So you must uphold the tradition for the future generations as well, Lady Rias. " Grayfia tried to reason with her and calm her down but it was for naught. Rias had a pre made argument to counter any conservative tradition and principle the silver haired woman would use.

" You have it so easy for you to say that,don't you Grayfia. You were never coerced to marry someone you never even knew. Well you are of noble blood and by some luck you and my brother fell in love and it didn't break the tradition, no rather you did it on your own volition. But you're not me so don't go and try to beat nonsense in my head. I refuse to get married to someone i don't even have a remote liking to. " Rias sat back on her chair and pouted a lot at the benevolent Queen. But in her eyes she was just the same as her family, heck she was her family as a matter of fact.

The somewhat peaceful solitude was superceded by the growing uneasiness of the emotionally distraught King and her brother's wife's pleads,Issei had returned from the kitchen but acted as a innocent bystander in the escalating quarrel between the two.

" Nevermind that. Why him? Why him of all the men possible you would choose? What does a low born reincarnated Devil have for you to give your chastity so recklessly? Do you know how much trouble we're in if Lord Phenex broke off the betrothal? "

" Grayfia, atleast once in my life i had the opportunity to choose what i wanted. This is what i feel - i want to choose my own happiness, not what you have decided for me. He doesn't see me as just the Crimson Ruin Princess like everyone does. He sees me as a person,not just a stupid item. Even if he acts rebelious, he's the only one to have stood up to me as a person no matter how much he would hate me. There's something irresistible in him that draws me to his being... "

Grayfia turned towards Issei's way and with a quick look analyzed him from head to toe. Even hidden underneath all of those garbs,flexible and well toned muscles bulged from under his clothes. His disposition, the way he moved and carried himself were drilled into his being from experience. He looked unassuming but it was far from the truth - at a second glance she saw his skin cracking, scales manifesting over his face and those piercing green eyes. She had the impression she would drown in the vastness of his gaze if she continued to peer into them much longer. She had seen those eyes a few times before during the war but never like these had she seen.

" So do you love him? Is he the one you want? " with her ever so robotic voice she expressed a earnest curiosity, brimmed within her chiding tone. She took a moment to switch her position from Issei's to Rias, giving off a commanding aura over the young Gremory.

" I came to love him despite his dislike of me. He might avoid me with such passion but it makes feel even more motivated,voracious to have him to myself. I want him,he's the only one that makes me feel like a person. He might be a sore loser and really cold but deep underneath i know he's a man worthy of respect and good virtue. "

 _"* This girl just screwed me over. And to say out such a blatant lie is so like you. Don't go attaching false epithets... Oh,who am i kidding. I'm a loser anyway *"_

" There's only one way to settle this dispute. Come on in Riser"

No one came. Grayfia was irked.

" Lady Grayfia, i can't enter this damn house. Help me out a bit." Riser's voice came out from the front door.

 _"* And here comes the jerkass fiancé. My daily life is becoming like a generic VN it seems. I don't want to deal with annoying people anymore. Let's just end it.*"_

Issei ran to the door and opened up to let Riser in. Before him was a young man of considerable height, dressed in fancy clothing with a dignified face, filled with flamboyance.

" Pardon the intrusion. " he quickly snuck in with haste and headed straight to the room.

" Hello, sweet Rias. Did you forget about me and our engagement? " he greeted her with a chiding tone.

" I told you before. I won't be marrying you no matter what. I'd rather kill myself than become your newest acquisition. " with a chilling defiance she refuted his previous statement.

" Now, now don't say that. We're a good match and you can't deny that. Our families are long engaged with each other so let's continue this alliance. "

" NO! I told you didn't i? I have someone else i like "

" And where is the low born scum that stole my wife to be? I'd like to see his face. " with a demanding tone he requested to see the face of the one who took his prized Rias.

" That would be me", without any hesitation in his voice, Issei stood up from the sidelines and took the central stage," But to make it exactly clear - just as you were being taken as a nuisance, i was just some leeway escapism for this girl to break off her engagement and nothing more. So in so- we were both screwed over. "

" You might as well be right... But it doesn't change the fact that she violated the engagement decree, she just cheated on me like it was nothing. And on top with someone like you... It's not fair neither correct", he raised up the decibels by a lot, " i just want her to atleast show me something that she's feeling sorry about it."

 _"* This bitch screwed us over. Nothing good happens from things like these,though he might seem like a fancy douche but atleast he's got some back bone to listen and deal things out. *"_

 _"* How could you do this to me,Rias. Despite everything i did for you, i even tried to act more gallant and you still didn't even give me a chance. But you surely gave it to that low life scum... I'll make you pay for degrading my reputation... *"_

Grayfia turned towards the flamboyant Phenex heir with the question - " How do you plan to settle this? "

He didn't waste any time at all. " I'll make you pay for the disgrace you had brought upon me. Let's get it over with a good ol' classic - the Rating Games. "

" Fine then. I'll take you up on that offer and beat up your sleazy ass back to the Underworld. Because Rias Gremory isn't some plaything to add to your peerage collectibles. " Rias shot him down with a cold stare. Everything she said - it was condescending and probably outright impossible as Issei had read through Phenex like a book. He was way above Rias in experience and fighting ability.

" But due to the unsufficient number of Evil Pieces in possession of lady Rias it would automatically count as a loss. So are you sure you want to do this, Rias?" Grayfia objected,she didn't find the current situation favorable. In her mind it was pointless nevertheless she would allow it to cure Rias's headstrong personality.

" Yes. I don't see any problem with it. Even with such limited numbers, I'll persevere over him in the rating games no matter what." she gave a cocky smile. Her very position and solemn face expressed arrogance and immeasurable confidence in her ability.

" So arrogant! When you suffer from the humiliating defeat you will receive, you'd be begging me to take you back. I'm looking forward to this. " Riser was boastful with his hand gestures belying his intentions . He even summoned his all female peerage out of the house to express his superiority. " Hey boy,how about we make a wager? " his attention shifted to Issei," If i win, I'll have Rias back and you will leave, you'll be treated as a Stray Devil and hunted down . "

Issei looked through the window where he spotted Riser's peerage waiting patiently for him to return. He made a crooked smile and casually remarked - " If i win, you'll leave Rias alone,never to bother her again and I'll take one of your peerage members and it will be a fight with our pride and lives on stake. "

Riser chuckled," If you win, take another one to your liking if you can beat me,that is. Except for my Queen, the others are free for you to pick. " he casually made that remark like it was nothing. He could always replace one or two with some new pieces to fill the blank spaces in his collection.

" Fine by me" he nodded in agreement. He was ready to accept anything just to make sure they won't bug him anymore. Strangely Riser extended his right hand rather hesitantly but still proceeded to do so. It was one of those rare moments where he would actually swallow his pride for a moment and both men shook hands. Riser had noticed his monstrous strength from the grip he had used while shaking hands.

" Don't do this,Issei. You don't have to do this for my sake- her tone softened as a gentle concern took a hold of her.

" What makes you believe it's for you? Don't get the wrong idea about me- I'm doing this for myself so just shut the fuck up before you make things worse. " he gave her a cold stare like never before. In his eyes she saw the emotionless, cold void that lay inside his soul. It was empty, devoid of emotion and humanity, no pity or sympathy could be traced back to him.

" _* Apply cold water to burned guy has balls to call her on her bullshit like that*"_

Grayfia approved this wager casually and made sure that the deal would be respected by both sides. She finished what she had to say and left with Riser through the front door,not before saying they had 2 weeks to prepare for the Rating Games. And it was just Rias and Issei now...

The silence had taken over the empty room like a shroud made from the inifite anguish of humanity. This dreadful silence that Rias Gremory hated with every fiber of her arrogant nature.

" Issei..." she gave of a faint, almost unbearable noise, she tried to speak but something in her prevented any attempt at continuing what she wanted to say. Issei didn't let that slide, he knew exactly what she was trying to say.

" Save your breath, i know what you're going to say anyway so save yourself the humiliation. Sweet talk won't get you anywhere near me... "

" No... I was.. Trying to.."

" I was trying to what? Isn't it enough that you just used me as some escape route to from your marriage.. I know it's awful to be coerced into marrying someone like him but what you did was way worse than you could imagine. Did you ever consider how would i feel? Spewing all that crap left a bad taste in my mouth. "

" What could I've done in that moment? Have you ever thought how I'd feel once atleast. Nobody sees me as a person, I'm just the Gremory heiress, everyone sees me as the perfect figure to look up to, shoving all of their expectations on how Rias Gremory should be in their eyes. I hate it... It's not me"

" Because you always complied with what they thought of you. Honestly, you always expect everything to go down your way, to be always revolving around your being, always demanding so much from others while you yourself can't even do the same. It ain't always roses and sunshine as you want it- you just wanted to be seen as a person but do you really think of others that way as much as you expect us to do everything for you, while you're sitting on your damn ass all the time. But it's not always about you, don't think that because everyone does i would think so 's pretty ironic considering how the loser you never gave much thought was the only one to see you as you... " his cold voice echoed through her ears like a drum,resonating deep within her very soul, if she had one that is. Both were standing still until Rias broke off her calm disposition.

She stretched out and roughly grabbed his shirt colar and slammed him to the wall. She was breathing heavily, tears were about to stretch down from her reddened eyes as she leaned over.

" You're awful! Why do you always have to say such brutal words? Why can't you understand me,i don't want to feel this way... "

" The truth is ugly and it hurts, isn't it?  
Always trying to fulfill the perfect image of what others want you to be. I can't understand you neither you could me because we're too different, you always had everything while i never did. It's futile to try to understand each other - im not you. It's not like you'd understand how it feels like to be back from the dead only to be made a slave to someone's ego and pride. I never wanted this but it happened, it was beyond my reach of control. It was a mistake, that night... But I'll deal with this mess my way so don't interfere. But just to make sure-I'm doing this out of obligation, not to defend your silly pride. After all i don't trust you much - i don't like you one bit."

His last words hit deep into her heart just like a flaming arrow a haystack pile, it was what made her to let go of his colar and take a step back . She was shaking a bit, her eyes were wet as she was almost close to relapse in a crying fit of misery, her face was red and every involuntarily movement of her body screamed of her awkwardness.

Rias walked away fast through the corridor and shut the door hard with a slam.

Issei sat there still and emotionless, it hadn't affected him much. He wasn't ashamed or felt any guilt for saying what was on his mind that moment, he just felt the way he usually did.

And a crooked smile stretched out on his stone cold face...

XXX

1st August, Hyoudou Residence, 19:33 pm

" Just what is this? I can't even remember... Ughh.." his head was aching as he went through the message he received, the result of his choice back then had revealed some things he didn't know how would affect others.

" Let's go through this again. I've brought mine as well. " Sona took out her phone from the back side of her blue denim jeans. Her face expressed mild confusion but more so a pertaining feeling uneasiness.

Some time passed since Rias ran away teary eyed from Issei's house. She didn't say anything else not that it would change things in any way possible. Issei had just told her the truth and nothing more,no sugarcoating or with a hint of malice. And he didn't plan to check on her because deep down he knew she was using him and hurt him bad. He could apologize but he crossed it out of his options not because of his pride but for the reason that he knew she needed some time.

And Sona came to visit him secretly due to her peerage's polarizing outlook on their affiliation. When one of them was in trouble or in need of counseling, the other would go out of their way to comfort them and help in any way possible. Issei didn't think much of Sona as a friend because he was used to getting stabbed in the back and there was this emphatically devoid lack of intimacy between them. It was just nothing more so than mutual benefit and unlikely circumstances that brought them together by a strange twist of fate.

" Just who are these people? I've never seen them before in my life. So how is this connected to everything? " Issei clicked on the keyboard and scrolled down on his message. It was with a few attached files of the likes of:  
A picture of him with several individuals whom he had no recollection of ever meeting with. His parents by his side,Two older men and a young girl were sitting besides him with a looming shadow by his back, stretching to the corners of the room it was taken - it was no ordinary shadow that is. A vile,wicked presence was emanating from it the picture,a formless wickedness with no definite form or features was creeping from his back,tightly gripping his shoulders in a tight clutch. It was from when he was younger with his parents.

The other one was a small symbol with sigils, etched into a unnatural,inhuman language that no one could understand. There was this description of it pointing out to run away if you see this mark on anyone. ****This mark renders anyone insane and under the effects of unconscious mind control that turns the victim into a sleeper agent and under total dominion of the user. Proceed with caution when faced against anyone with this mark and avoid getting branded no matter the cost. Those who fall under its influence shall suffer a fate worse than death.****

And lastly a riddle with numbers and the date of **09.10.2013**. Coincidentally it was exactly the date of his parents death, two years ago on that dreadful night. There was this riddle - it was just random numbers at first glance, anyone would have thought so but it was a key to the future.

Sona fixed her glasses and leaned over to the monitor and with a calculating gaze tried to come up with a possible explanation to this riddle. She knew what it wasn't a coincidence, she had this nagging feeling in the back of her head telling her that it was much more, it was clearly a marker. Someone was trying to tell them something important but couldn't figure out what exactly it entailed other than her and Issei's involvement in this. The rest was vague like a fog...

" Do you have any memories of the time this photograph was taken exactly? "

" Not even a dime about it. I can't even remember if i did. It's messing with my head." he scratched the back side of his head and pushed the chair closer." This date,it's not something I'd just use to rile up someone.. There has to be something more to it than that. "

" It has to. Otherwise would would it be a riddle if it's not something. Mine is a bit different. Here- take a look." Sona shoved her phone a few inches away from his face and so he took it gently not bust it up in a involuntary act of strength.

 **** You,who are reading this - pay close attention to everything in this message for it won't be the last. I hope it has reached you as i may be dead by the time you're reading this. My identity is of no concern to you as it is redundant to the information. So listen carefully - there is a mass culling among the Devils. Every pureblooded House ,every reincarnated devil is a target for extermination. Top Priority are the House of Sitri,Gremory, Astaroth, Bael.****

Issei became a bit frightened, his hand stiffened up from what he saw again. As he went down the list he noticed the names Sona Sitri and Issei Hyoudou as top priorities among the names of the 4 current Satans just below them.

A few days ago when they received these messages, they skimmed through them fast and didn't pay attention as the message didn't include this information. It was recent, they checked for the IP address of the sender but couldn't find any leads, it was like it never had existed. No magic or hacking skills could track down the sender of these ominous messages. And they were sure that it was just the beginning...

Sona's phone suddenly gave out. Just as suddenly as it locked, it went back up to reveal a picture of her peerage and 2 a countdown of 2 minutes ticking by,coordinates- The Hangar Site where Issei released the Stray from it's suffering. She was utterly horrified, her ice queen persona melted down like a glacier, violently and ruthless as the wind. She turned towards Issei with her phone faced up for him to see. With a immeasurable speed he rushed down to the bookshelf and slammed hard on it to reveal a small compartment, fully loaded with various firearms,bullet belts,a wide variety of bladed weapons and such. He grabbed a sleek black body armor and a pair of gloves, donning them as fast as he could by utilizing the Boosted Gear's BOOST capability to enhance his speed.

20 seconds passed as he went down, Sona had lost any measure of time and was wondering what to do. Her legs were shaking haphazardly as Issei stormed his room, opened the window and grabbed Sona in his hands princess carry style and jumped straight out of the window, using a Latin sigil formula to soften the fall and give him enough time to switch to his Balance Breaker.

Not knowing what exactly was happening, Sona could only cling on his neck with all of her strength fearing if she involuntarily let go, she would suffer gravely from the friction of the cold pavement. Fighting off her natural instincts to let go, she pressed forward to the red metal of his armor and gripped even tighter than before. Her sense of gravity and weight were non-existent while flying being in his arms,no sound could be traced from his wings as he wasn't flying so as much more distorting the space around himself to move faster and faster. The friction would have killed anything else if it wasn't for his draconian armor.

Hangar Site, Kuoh City, 19 :35 pm.

" Come on. We don't have any time to lose. "

Both ran up as fast as they could towards the entrance, each being rendered to their natural state after they dropped off near the hangar. She quickly checked her phone- 30 seconds remained and with a final push of willpower she stormed through the metal doors of the building.

Issei was right behind her,sighing and trying to catch his breath as before flying he was tired both physically and mentally from the events that transpired earlier that day. But Sona was not moving... Standing in one place like a frozen figurine carved into the outer layer of a iceberg, no sound or motion could be spotted from her. It was quiet, too quiet for it to be good. And through his mind went the possibility of her peerage being already dead.

"Sona..."

Something in her broke. It was beyond her greatest nightmares of possibilities. What was ahead of her was none other than the lifeless cadavers of her dear peerage hanging on the wall by a hook. Their bodies were dripping with blood all over, enough to fill up a medium sized pool with the red liquid as what she spotted made her fall on her knees. Their whole bodies were riddled with unnatural sigils carved into their flesh deep from head to toe, some were even missing limbs from struggling with their assailant in a futile game of resistance. Signs of torture were easy to spot on them- they were extensively tortured for hours non stop, some didn't have any semblance to what they looked like usually- torn flesh, missing chunks of meet in various places, hanging viscera and what not. But the sight of their eyes and mouths sewn shut made her puke as she curled into a ball on the flour with tears streaming down her delicate face. It was just a indescribable sound of anguish coming from her mouth with no coherent speech to back it up.

Issei had to cover her eyes and press her to his chest as he was unsure if the bodies were riddled with curses, transmitted by touch. In his head he only knew that he had to take Sona somewhere safe and run fast.

 _"* It's a fuckin trap of course. It was obvious but if i had let her go she'd be in the same spot as them. *_

Lifting her again from the ground and throwing her on his back, he strained himself to run as fast as he could due to his Sacred Gear having to charge up to boost again. Not even a second to spare, he was out of the hangar zone and off to a street nearby with his legs hurting even if he used a speed spell to run faster than usual.

" I need a favor. Are you at the bar currently? " he was speaking on the phone.

After a short reply he brought his phone to his pocket and stood up to a nearby wall,using the method to reveal the entrance of the 7th Daze and dragged Sona inside the corridor.

2 minutes later...

" Please keep her safe for a while. I'll pay you back for this favor, i promise "

XXX

 **"** I know where the nun you seek is being held. Head to the west side of the city - the old abandoned church of Saint Peter. Proceed with caution as the place is swarming with Fallen Angels and stray exorcists. Good luck.****

And a minute later Azazel called him to confirm this anonymous message correct. He elaborated on the situation and that he was heading towards his way to rendezvous.

A few minutes later...

" So we're going to raid the Church head on with a bang?"

" Yes. Is there a problem with it?" Azazel inquired. It was rather strange as he was the type to do things off the radar and secretly.

" Not at all. Just let's get this done already. I have to visit Sayaka after this. " Issei expressed his opinion rather nonchalantly as he liked to do things quickly and efficiently," And who is this guy anyway?" pointing his eyes towards the stout,bulky man standing by Azazel's left side.

" This is Barakiel,a dear friend of mine. He tagged along to help us with this mission. " Azazel introduced his Fallen Angel companion with laconia as they had work to do and no time to spare for iddle dilly dally chat.

Barakiel was rather on his defensive as he knew Issei was a devil from the Gremory Household. He had a certain disdain for them as they took his daughter in and she wouldn't even want to see him ever again. But he didn't tell him her name or anything about it.

" We're 3 men against a small legion of Fallen and exorcists. Do you have any plan how to beat them? I know we are enough to finish the job but are you sure we can do it without suffering any damage and blowing our cover?"

" Don't worry over small stuff. I've got everything covered. " Azazel gave an reassuring smile on his worries as he laid out the strategy on how to take over the abandoned church. Issei would enter through the front gate to lure in their attention while Barakiel would handle the rearguard.

" Oh,i almost forgot. There is someone that wants to meet you so much but i left her at home cause you know,she'd get in the way and mess things up. She's pretty eager to meet you and the only thing I'd say is that she's quite intent on fighting you fair and square." he laughed by the realization of the young boy that he meant the white one that's been chasing him like crazy. Issei smiled with a cheerful face to the sound of this bit of info. It was true that the white was a girl,she had a really cute voice when he heard her over the phone.

Barakiel broke off from his reserved nature and finally spoke-" When this is over,I'd like to speak with you about something, young lad. " he projected a weird aura around his being that made Issei flinch a bit,this man was too calm and unpredictable even by his standards so he accepted reluctantly on this offer to chat.

" So let's get going, shall we?"

XXX

Crashing through the barrier head on alerted everyone inside the building of a incoming threat. On the entrance of the Church was scars started to burn violently as he could sense the presence of something supernatural ahead of him,namely a Fallen Angel with a tipped fedora on the other side of the corridor. He sensed the open hostility of the stray exorcists surrounding him on all sides radiate like a volcano about to erupt. He recognized a familiar voice coming from the sea of malicious heretics- it belonged to the Fallen with the fedora,the one who landed a crippling blow to his legs and sides.

" So you survived,it seems. Only to become a shitty Devil,my my what a tragic development. It seems Raynare didn't do her job right as always. " the fedora clad Angel taunted Issei, " Do you honestly believe you have any chance of beating us here while you're all alone? Why didn't you call your readheaded master?" in a ridiculing tone he laughed at the lone fighter at the entrance.

He wanted to spite him more about his ludicrous situation, taunting and taunting him to charge recklessly and get killed.

" You know what?"

" What?"

" Who said that I'm alone?" he retorted calmly.

As fast as light he crossed the distance of the 200 meters in a mere fraction of 2 seconds straight ahead of Donahseek. Smoke and dust filled the air as the sound of metal echoed in the vast cavities of the church ground.

Donahseek pounced back in a rushed attempt to avoid the impact only to notice his ribcage was missing, leaving on display his innards for the armed troops of exorcists to see. Donahseek gasped for air as he came down on his knees and tried to utter a single word only to be silenced forever by the swift stroke of Issei's machete. Blood sprinkled in every direction like rain, falling on the faces of his lackluster lackeys.

" Right back at ya."

Two figures danced around the battlefield with grace and precision, cutting down the wretched servants one by one in a game of attrition. Coming from the back were Azazel and Barakiel, slicing apart exorcists with their sharp wings and arms, made an opening for Issei to tackle the Fallen Angel that appeared. It was one of the three Fallen that had murdered him in cold blood and he was ready to return the favor doubled.

The Fallen Angel paled. Her eyes widened when Issei ran his machete through her abdomen as she screamed in agony while trying to get him off her. Another one screamed in rage" Kalawarmer! Get away from her you piece of shit."

Kalawarmer used this moment to stab him in the shoulder with a large light spear, piercing the fabric that made his hoodie sleeve only for him to thrust his weapon into her deeper and use her as a shield against the incoming light spear the blonde haired Fallen threw at him. The spear pierced her back and he snapped her head backwards as he dropped the lifeless shield on the ground.

Blood dripped from his shoulder as he took out the burning spear, the light was something he hadn't grown used to yet unlike other religious objects that could hurt him. His blood splashed on the sizzling spear and evaporated at a amazing rate with his wound healing a bit slower than usual due to it's intensity.

Another spear was lunged towards Issei. He managed to deflect it with the spear in his right hand and with a step forward he jumped in midair towards her.

"N-No way!" screamed the blonde gothic girl.

Her face paled as he sliced off her hands with the spear,a devastating kick to her jaw sent her flying only to be stabbed in the side by a spear Barakiel hurled at her. She was downed on the ground wailing in horror as the dragon came closer. His eyes were green with slits - she saw the madness and hate of the past possessors of the Boosted Gear inside,screaming and lustfuly craving for her demise. "What's your name?"

" Mitt-Mittelt..." she was utterly terrified at the sight of his eyes. He had let her experience terror incarnate for a second to engrave it deep into her mind till the end. And it was the last thing she saw ever...

As he quickly turned around he saw Azazel had downed a Fallen before it could have struck him down. " I've got your back, young lad. I'll cover you. There are more incoming. " Azazel manifested two pentagrams from his hands and shot a pair of chained spears at the incoming Fallen.

" GO!" he urged Issei to run. He didn't waste any time and deflected a blow coming up his alley while retorting with covering fire for the young devil to rush forward.

The ground below his feet erupted as he kicked off faster than anyone could perceive. He was nothing but a mere shadow in the eyes of the dying traitors, his movements were dealing a devastating blow to their comrades,as the draconian scales under his metal plated gloves strengthened his blows even more as he bashed the skull of another and stabbed one with the spear he used on Mittelt,driving it directly through it's skull.

He quickly turned midair around and with his peripheral vision spotted the blind spot of Barakiel as 4 Fallen were going against him. Not a second to waste, he threw his machete straight for the head of one, impaling it with such ferocity that it anchored another one to the wall by the strength of the impact.

Issei finally reached the door to the vast room used for praying and ripped it apart only to see a young man with pure white hair like that of an old man pointing a gun at his face.

" Oh,hiiii!" a perverted smile stretched his face out as he greeted the draconian boy with a naughty voice and hail of gunfire ensued afterwards.

He was laughing maniacally as he switched to dual wield, his swords crossed in a X as he accelerated at Issei's direction with him dodging it easily only to be hit by a unknown fire spell. It didn't do any damage as fire was his element but the shockwave slammed him on the ground and the mad priest utilized this moment to stab him in the gut.

" How do you do,Devil-chan? I hope you liked the little surprise i made for ya. It was so fun gouging out their eyes, you know. Just the thought of it makes me wanna cum from excitement. Ohhhhhhhhh my god, i feel so pent up from the waiting. I can't wait to get to that ass of your friend's, I'll make her feel so good that she'll scream."

The wicked priest's smile grew with excitement over the thought of using her as his plaything. He squirmed in ectasy over the things he was going to do to her.

Issei roared in anger. The sheer thought of someone hurting the one who had gone out of her way for him,wanted to know him despite lying about not caring for him. Someone that unconsciously wanted him to be with her... He had realized how much Sona Sitri meant to his being.

His tail sprouted from his pelvis, stretching and twisting violently causing the wild monstrosity to take a step back only for his barbed tail to stab him through the stomach and slam him into the benches that pilgrims used to sit on.

Before he could attack the white haired priest again, the shockwave of a violent spell ruptured through the space, burst his eardrums and brought him to his knees. A shrieking sound he couldn't hear erupted from the hands of the shrouded figure, readying it's fire attack to burn him to a crisp. His senses tingling from the damage he received shocked him as he tried to escape but it was futile as the attack was coming and he couldn't put up a barrier in time. He closed his eyes and resigned to his fate...

And the miraculous providence happened - a blue pentagram covered his front and back, containing the black fires barely but enough to leave him almost unscathed. His senses were returning to him as he opened his eyes only to see Sona crying right before him. She turned her head towards his direction - her reddened eyes from crying were telling him to finish this and not a single soul to be spared this instant.

Freed stepped out of the benches as he dusted the debris off his black blazer and laughed uncontrollably.

" So you did like my present for ya,didn't you? You've got no idea how much they struggled and struggled while i sewed their eyes with these two hands, that glasses bitch struggled the most. She was so fun and easy to screw over, as a matter of fact i did enjoy that pretty face of hers. I never thought she was a virgin... Oh my, I'm getting hard again. Can ya help me with that,eh devil bitch?" his eyes were full of sickening madness, his glare, voice and everything expressed his enjoyment of their suffering, he even hugged himself in joyful glee and started to sing a obscene verse,detailing his various good deeds.

Sona couldn't hold her tears back anymore as she shoved her hand in the back of Issei's hoodie and pulled out a modified, black Desert Eagle from it's holster and used a two versed chant of utter malice and transformed the gun into a sleek, black and blue automatic gun with ice runes on the bevels.

" YOU FUCKIN PIECE OF SHIT. I'LL FUCKIN KILL YOU! " she aimed the gun at him and a large pentacle emerged from the muzzle of the Eagle with a giant Ice arrow forming on it and shot rapidly. She continued shooting at the priest with everything she got,ridding him from head to toe with iced arrows and bullets.

Issei was already back to his previous state with his ruptured eardrums and wound healed by this moment.

From the dust and smoke Freed arised and put his finger to his lips in a simple gesture

" Shhhh,no sound. Only sleep and dreams now", he was a bit pissed off but he didn't appear insane as much as irked by her boldness." You kinda piss me off...Oh,wait. I forgot to introduce myself. Ladies and gentlemen here i present you Freed Sellzen, exorcist and a really good boy."Freed took in a deep breath of air. His high-pitch voice trembled within the air as he made his grand entrance with a flamboyant interpretation.

Issei didn't ask her how she got here or why. It didn't matter to him anymore. All he wanted to was see her usually stone cold face - he couldn't bear the sight of her crying.

He took a stance and dig his hands into the ground, ready to pounce any second at the wild sociopath. He was trying to keep it in,his sanity was slipping to oblivion as the voices of the dead whispered in his ears to unleash it. And then it began. the nightmares and visions filled his mind with endless agony that made him wish to die this instant but it pushed him to fight,to kill and live on. His armor ripped as two spiked appendages emerged from his back, covered in blood and sickening smiles appeared all over them, eyes of bestiary origin glared at Freed with the thirst of blood. His body was morphing fast - scales appeared on his face rapidly, his teeth lengthened and his stance was becoming more like that of a beast than a sentient being. The mouths were whispering of all the evils in the world, that could drive anyone insane just by listening to their voices.

Freed smiled wider than before, he was feeling the chills going down his spine which encited him even more into attacking , he wanted this to happen. Both charged at each other and put their all in what they had- Freed in his swords, Issei in this curse,letting the possessors within the Sacred Gear to lead him.

A bright light flashed in an instant. Blood flew in directions, the scene was that of the crazed Issei having pinned the priest to a wall with his spiked appendages running through his chest and the mouths devouring the wretched soul slowly and painfully. He couldn't move, his arms dropped lifelessly the bloodied swords he carried on his person. His eyes were now full of clarity like never before for he had lost everything and this was the aftermath of his actions.

 _" Mommy... I'm so fucked up... Don't you worry, papa will get home... Tonight..._ _"_ he was rambling erratically all kinds of stuff. In one final moment of sanity, at the end of his life he pleaded " End... this... already, i can't take thi...s madness... any...more. " he was spewing blood. And he returned to his former madness as it clouded his vision once more.

" You devil fuck, I'll kill you f- he couldn't finish his rant for he was dead now. His head fell off to the ground as Issei drove out his body away from the spikes on his back and noticed a familiar mark he had seen- the brand of Dominion faded off his skin, releasing him from it's shackles but not before it did one last thing. To shoot Sona in the chest with a silver bullet, dipped in holy water.

The shrouded figure had dissappeared unnoticed by the eyes of Sona as she was taken aback from everything that happened until she found herself lying on the floor and bleeding. What she saw that moment would continue to haunt her as long as she lived...

" Hang in there. Don't you dare die on me" he tried to use a healing spell but it rejected to undo the damage dealt to her body. If he didn't do something she was going to die in his hands. Trying desperately only for his methods to fail...

" Go already, you have a world to save, dummy. Leave me her and save that nun you had to rescue. " with her throat burning, she gathered strength to mutter a few sentences before being stopped by Issei.

He didn't know what to do anymore. She was going to die at this rate and there was no hope for him in saving her. Despair had locked him in it's cage and wouldn't let him out. Things were looking bleak until a far fetched idea came to his mind as he pulled out the bullet from her chest. A last resort he had remembered when he spoke with the doctor before.

Standing up he slit his wrist and started drawing blood runes over her skin with his pentagram appearing over her dying body in a flash. He poured his blood into her mouth and began his chant of resurrection. It was a spell that utulized his essence and life force to reanimate a person on the brink of death by sacrificing a portion of the caster's lifespan in order to do it. And he had many years ahead of him so it was a worthy price for her life.

6 minutes later...

Rias Gremory and co walked into the church with a fast step in their attempts to find Issei. She did notice the amount of corpses on the ground but didn't pay them any heed for she had no time for that.

 _"* Where are you, damn Issei. Making me feel like that. How the hell would i go on with my life if i left you to die here?*_

XXX

Walking down on a dark passageway with the unconscious Sona in his arms, Issei wandered around being led by the burning sensations his scars produced, telling him to follow down the stairs despite the darkness but he was able to see just fine. A dragon's sight could peer in a wide range of specters so the darkness was like a child's play before the vision of these mighty creatures. And so he reached a giant door, riddled with a intricate barrier that he just tore down with his arm at the price of 3rd degree burns but he didn't care at all. His mind was recovering from what happened earlier, everything else was marginal in his eyes. He put up a multi-layered barrier across Sona with his magic and some optical camouflage to hide her before the entrance. He was expecting resistance as he heard the chant of a dark ritual so he casted a **Presence Concealment** spell and **Generate: Clothing** to automatically shift his apparel to what was worn there and mix with the crowd.

The room constituted a spacious ceremonial chamber he used to visit with his mother whe he was little, the once covered in iconography walls were now painted black, a large red cloth stretched out to the marble altar with its golden accents being highlighted by the lights of a uncountable number of torches of blue fire. The smell of blood and incense was brimming in every corner of the once beautiful chandelier,so vivid in his memories was gone now. Only the evil intentions of the heretics were present in this once prosperous holy ground for the suffering. It was all destroyed by a fire a few years ago.

He mixed in with the crowds of wicked nuns and exorcists as his presence concealment rendered him invisible to the senses unless directly seen. He was fast enough not get in the field of view of anyone else as they were deeply into a trance.

He looked up only to see a large cross made of marble and on it was bound the nun he was tasked to save.  
Bound by chains across her waist and neck, he realized that all of her limbs were cut off and even if he brought her down she couldn't escape in that state. With skin pale as death,she was hanging on the cross by the chains that bound her limbless body to it,but he didn't notice if she was bleeding due to the ritual preventing her from dying of blood loss. There was nothing in her eyes beyond her imminent death,no life sparkled in them like she was a lifeless doll with no trace of her previous state.

 _"* If i tried to save her - she'll be killed in the squeamish by the time i reach her. But if i don't do something, she'll die in any case. I need a distraction... But they would notice me casting a dummy spell even with presence concealment. What should i do?*"_

The ritual was becoming more and more atrocious - two servants took ceremonial daggers with obsidian preparing to cut her open, while from the air descended the Fallen Angel that tricked him,crushed his hopes and killed him in cold blood. She was the catalyst for his reincarnation into a devil,she turned his life upside down.

Raynare sprang up to the chained nun and moved over her black hand on her deathly pale face, with her nail she pricked her cheeck to draw out blood and draw a inverted cross on her forehead. She was delighted -" Just a bit more and I'll have it. I can't wait. "

 _"* Something. Just something. *"_ he was hidden in the masses, masquerading as a priest with his face hidden by the large hem of his ceremonial robes. He was hoping for a miracle to happen, just a small opening to break down the marble cross and save the nun. But miracles didn't happen.

A large pounding was heard. Someone ripped the door apart and stormed in the room filled with servants.

" The cavalry has arrived! " it was Kiba's voice echoing through the room. He was holding a pair of swords and by his side were Rias,Akeno and Koneko with her fists raised, acting as a vanguard to Rias's side.

" My, my what a merry bunch of dirty folks." Akeno giggled at the black robed servants. She raised her hand with swirling lightning, ready to smite every last being in the room.

Rias remained silent but with a simple gesture gave permission to her servants to attack.

" If it's war you want, it's war you ! " Raynare took some distance and affixed her legs next to the cross to watch the issuing bloodbath. She was rather bored with it so she just waited for it end quickly and get on with her work.

Stray servants charged at the Gremory heiress only to be sliced apart in midair by the sharp blades of the blonde Knight. Koneko took a step forward and brought both of her fists up to her face and charged straight at the center, she started breaking bones back and forth while Akeno electrocuted everything in sight.

Raynare just sat back and continued forth with the ritual while under the cover of the nuns and priests acting as a decoy to the devils attention. In her sheer confidence she turned her back to the fight and made an opening, leaving her back vulnerable for was fluttering in the air.

Something grabbed her by the ankles and threw her off to the torches with blue fire. Regaining her composure quickly she saw a garbed priest before her, she noticed the scaled fingertips coming from beneath the hooded robes and looked up to his face.

"You should've been dead! But nevermind, she's on the brink of death anyway so she won't see the day. " she snarled back at him with rage, it was Issei underneath the black robes with his eyes screaming of horror and madness.

He removed his hood and jumped at her,he would have severed her head off if she hadn't dodged by a hair's length.

" Oh my, now i get to kill you again. Oh the wonder, this time should i lump off your head for the score or should i just burn you alive? You know, i let that priest have his way with her before the final stages of the ritual - we needed her pure and untainted at the beginning but tainting her brought out the result just fine. I had her limbs removed to make it easier, not exactly needed but still fun"

Issei didn't talk,he just charged recklessly as he left all reason and strategy to the back seat of his mind,only fighting on instinct. He was about to relapse into the nightmarish curse of the Ddraig Y Goch, the past possessors tried to subjugate his mind and aid him in his fight but the scream of Rias stopped it midway.

Kiba threw his swords at Raynare to fend her off and give the advantage to Issei. He grabbed the black swords and slit his wrist to pour blood on them- the swords absorbed the red liquid as it evaporated, changing their nature into blood red swords. He slashed at Raynare, cutting her lightly as she didn't underestimate him this time around for she had nearly died in their fateful encounter. But the wound she received started burning like acid and she screamed in agony.

She took a safe distance only to show him the rings she forcefully took out of the unlucky nun by breaking her fingers and mind.

" Don't they suit me well,eh Issei?" she made a crooked smile in pure ecstasy while her wounds started healing by the green glow of Twilight Healing.

She readied a large light spear to to counter his incoming swords. He swung the swords like a berserk with no finnese or strategy what's so ever. She was dancing around the air,fending off his attacks just enough not to die from the pressure of his cuts. And she kicked him to the head after she blocked his attacks, pummeling him down the ground with a mighty kick. He didn't stay down for long - he was there for a mere second, he was behind her back and hit her with the blunt edges of his swords. She hadn't noticed when he got behind her,he was like a shadow in her senses.

" How'd ya like that,you little pig. Did you like our first date, Ise? I still have that plushie you won me at the arcade,you looked so terrified when you were dying back then. That face...Ughh i want to see it even more. And look- She's dead already "

Issei rose to his feet again from his semi berserk state only to see the lifeless body of the poor nun. Her face was contorted by the suffering she had endured by the hands of the Fallen, her eyes had shed a single tear as she lifelessly hanged down the chains. Mutilated, broken,raped. She had suffered all that and still clung to hope that someone might save her till the end. It was the last straw,he had seen that hopeless scenery before - his parents suffered,he suffered as well. To die alone on the cold ground with no one to comfort you in your last moments of life... He was not devoid of emotion fully for it had brought upon a feeling he had forgotten - sympathy.

He threw the swords at two goons behind Kiba's back and ripped off the black robes he had used. Raynare stopped in her tracks. She enjoyed his reactions so much that she taunted him even more to push him to his limits. But he was unnaturally calm - he was one second in her field of sight, the next he was holding the nun in his arms. She looked around only to see the multitude of corpses stacked on the cold floor as a mountain. Rias and co were hurt but relatively safe. Issei turned to Rias and handed her the blonde girl.

Akeno prepared a lightning bolt to strike the wicked angel but Azazel's hand stopped her. She didn't notice when he arrived. " Let it go. It was his fight to begin with so respect a man's wish. "

Raynare looked at Issei's direction - he wasn't there. No being registered as Issei Hyoudou was present. What was in his wake was the murky shadow with no eyes that he was seeing not so long ago. Raynare saw his featureless face sprout a sinister grin of lunacy,despite it having no eyes she could see their stone cold glare within her mind's eye. It was one of the forms that terrorized his mind for so long that it had ingrained it's self deep in his consciousness. Ghastly mouths sprouted from his whole body with evil tongues twisting and swirling,seeking the cease of every living.

He was coming closer and closer...

XXX

He was consciously tormenting Raynare in every corner of the church. She was running erratically, trying to escape the clutches of this faceless monstrosity. But she had nowhere to run- in every direction she saw the wretched shadow incoming no matter how much she turned.  
No one could say what happened or how he had done it. He was in every corner of the building, constantly changing his position as he was warping space it's self.  
It had been so instant that Raynare couldn't differentiate between what was real and what illusion but she had been fully conscious while he was breaking her in his game of hide and delved into the land of fantasy and nightmarish phantasms as eldritch abominations crawled inside her skin,she started tearing at her flesh with her nails only for more to appear.

They were in the room where he fought Freed Sellzen a while ago - everything was trashed, all of the stained glass was in smithereens as the shockwave from one of the attacks shattered everything. The moon was finally glistening on the dark blue sky at this hour - the room was engulfed with the blueish moonlight of the night sky,painting a dark picture of two silhouettes standing under the black shroud of the church, tucked in from the shadows of the everlasting darkness of the night.

" Did you enjoy this game of tag?" he gave a quizzical look straight to her face with his cold,dead eyes. She finally returned to normal by the treble of his voice. She was petrified as she looked up to see his face - it was normal, mundane and nothing like he had projected earlier.

Her fear and rage took over her whole being as she was wailing and cursing at him with every language she knew.

He was standing there calmly and retorted - " You're not worth it. I still remember what you said back then when you killed me. Those words I'd never forget. It's just as you said " he turned his back to her and started walking away without even considering a look at her pitiful face.

Rias and everyone were just coming inside the entrance. She had noticed the female Fallen on her knees- she was so terrified of Issei to the point of being nothing more than a shell of her former self. She was totally broken in mind and soul. But she had overhead his speech.

"Ise…" Rias shouted at him.

He didn't say anything. Raynare,with just enough sanity left in her twisted soul rose up from her knees and stretched out her hands in hatred and fear with a light spear aimed at his back.

He didn't flicker, it was what he was prepared for - his tail ripped through his clothes yet again and with a singular spin in which he placed all of his strength, he slit her throat just as he finished, " Don't blame me for this. Blame God for having met me!", and she fell to the ground with her rolled up eyes, locked in terror forever.

Rias ran up to him and threw herself at his neck. He wasn't in the mood for it as his memories of Raynare resurfaced. He removed her hands of his torn clothes and ran towards the nun. He placed her on a flat surface and urged Rias to do what she did for him- resurrect her while the window within the window of 15 minutes before her soul had left this plane as he couldn't do it himself, his magic worked only for people on the brink of death and he could only use it once on every 6 months.

Rias began the procedure. Starting with a suitable piece to use and the preparations while Issei ran up to where he hid Sona and brought her back to the room. The piece entered through her chest and started sizzling but nothing more- it was rejecting her for she had acquired too much holiness for the Bishop Piece to accept her as it's host. They tried again...

XXX

 _"* Where am i? What is this place*"_ were the first thoughts i had as i looked around the space where i appeared to be situated. Trying to calm down myself, i took a deep breath and exhaled heavily as i felt a strange feeling in my legs. It felt unnaturally strange for the last thing i remember was me going to the church to help around the nuns who took me in after my excommunication by the Cardinals due to my mistake in healing a what turned out to be a devil. Despite everything i didn't resent them foe their actions - they did what was best in their minds for i had sinned in my desire to help someone in need for it was a devil. I would still miss my papa- the only one i could ever call family for he was the man that took me and Xenovia from that orphanage and gave us a place we could call home. Even though others disapproved,he never gave us up and always treated us with kindness and compassion. He was a man of virtue - helped the poor and suffering with everything he had, he even sold some of his land to help the orphanage that he took us from. I feel unworthy of such a good man, i had thought since we are all God's children i should help but it was not right.

 _"Why am i even thinking this?"_ i wondered. As i took another glance everything around me was pitch black with nothing else besides a chilling cold. Am i here to stay forever in this black room... I don't know anymore...

So i continued walking despite not knowing where to go as there was nothing to follow. Maybe i was in Hell already for my grave sins?

" You're not in Hell, my sweet sister." i heard a voice in the darkness. It was that of a gentle child with it's high pitched childish voice echoing through the emptiness.

" What is your name,miss? Would you like an apple? " a small blonde girl was sitting besides me as the darkness faded away to reveal a large velvet room with black curtains.

I didn't feel scared at all. I could only feel freedom and warmth coming from this girl. She was dressed in a black dress with a pink ribbon tying her hair in a singular braid as she wore black shoes and offered me an apple.

" Who are you exactly, m-miss? " i flubbed in my anxiety, even if i could feel the radiating warmness of her smile. I still didn't know where i was. I didn't take up her offer…

" I'll let you decide what i am. I'm just like you. " she took a bite of her apple and sat down on a chair.

" Are you religious? Christian,Muslim, Buddhist or you don't believe in any religion? It's fine as it is as everyone is free to believe in what they desire. " she continued on as she started asking me about myself. It felt like time was slowing down.

" I'm a nun of the Church of Jesus Christ,our savior, Asia Argento and what is this room anyway? " the words streaked down from my lips as i couldn't possibly contain my curiosity of this unknown place.

" Are you sure you're not asking the wrong question, Asia? Don't you feel betrayed by your comrades - they branded you a heretic, scorned you with such contempt and tried to hunt you down. Don't you feel like they don't deserve your love and compassion for what they did to you? "

I didn't think even for a second as i had always given one answer - " Even so, God teaches us to forgive and love even the ones who hurt us. "

" So... You're going to say that as your excuse.. Hmm,quite interesting and pure. But you know deep down, you hated them for hurting you, driving you off your home and made you suffer so much in your quest to earn their adoration and love, things you never even knew. Be honest with yourself. " she remained calm and with such pure eyes full of serenity she directed her questions at me.

I didn't know exactly what to say...

" You lack _knowledge_ , the power of _wisdom_ to see the other side of things for what they are. What you need is knowledge",she pointed to the nearest object in my sight - a large picture of a tree. " You probably know the story of Genesis in which Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge at the center of Eden. But have you ever asked yourself- " What if God placed the tree there for man to taste it's wonders only to be punished by him for their insolence? But what about you, those are probably just tales. "

" Tell me, do you believe in God? What's he like to you?"

" I do with all of my heart and spirit. He, the father that created us, is the all seeing benevolence in the world. " is what i answered.

" How naive. Even through so much suffering you still believe in God? Haven't you suffered enough already? How many restless night did you spent alone, praying to a God that didn't even care about your situation?. Where was he when you needed him the most?" she swung her legs on the chair in a lackadaisical manner as she took another bite of her apple.

" In my opinion God is a deceitful child, a trickster with enormous power with the world as his own playground to play in. There is no such thing as a perfect being...", she took a pause again and looked at me with solemn eyes, " if he was portrayed as such, he would have rendered all injustice and suffering obsolete. I'll tell you the truth - you've been dead for six minutes already, you're on the threshold between life and death and with every single second ticking away you're drifting further into the other side. "

At this moment i had realized the cruel truth …

" There is no meaning in hoping for a God,who doesn't care for his creation, to place your trust in. After all you don't even remember."

I gulped down in stress as my throat was burning up. I could feel some warmth in me but why? I was dead already it seemed. " Remember what?"

" Look deeper,look into yourself and you'll find the answer. I'll show you. " she grabbed my arm and took me on a short journey through my mind.

It felt like forever, this seeking of the truth. It was at this moment that i finally understood the truth in it's fully ugliness - i was always used,betrayed and tossed aside as a unwanted nuisance. Nothing more than a tool to cast aside when i wasn't of any use anymore. The hard truth was shoved down my throat even if i never wanted to know...

" Please just make it stop. I can't bear to look at this anymore. "

" Why are you rejecting your nature? This is who you are, isn't it? It's hard to accept the other side of our existence but we have to if we want to live. You were never seen as a person, Asia. You were just a tool for the ambitions of the Church and those Fallen Angels that hurt you so much. But are you content with it?" her green eyes pierced through my soul like she knew exactly what i felt. Even when i rejected the truth, it was always there with it's signs to remind me of it's presence.

" N-No, not anymore... I want to live,to be happy and free from these chains i wore so long. I want to know, i need to know because I'm not a tool anymore... I'm a person."

" I won't abandon you like those Angels, i won't scorn you as those priests. And I'll never forsake you as God did. Because you're not a tool anymore, you are you. " she offered me a shiny red apple,the key to my salvation." Take it,this is your fruit of Knowledge as I'll never betray you. You have no obligation a God who doesn't love you, I'll become your God...because i am..." she closed her eyes and so did i.

" I-i am...I am..I am…."

XXX

" Look! She's waking up. It really worked. " Rias expressed her newfound hope as she shed a tear for the sake of the former nun. Her eyes were full of utmost care as she saw the blonde girl rise back to life.

The Bishop Piece finally accepted her as it's host and jump started her heart anew, anchoring her soul back to her lifeless body. It submerged into her chest as her arms and legs started regenerating slowly while she emerged from the debris of her broken mind.

Everyone fell down in relief as their attempts proved fruitful over the unfavorable odds of success. It was possible that she was too far away to be brought back to the living but nevertheless it worked perfectly as the Piece attuned it's self just right with no rejection or backlash. Rias synchronized the Bishop Piece to her King Piece and a link was established as demonic wings sprouted from her shoulder blades.

Yuuto looked at the girl with concern as she was naked and cold, Koneko took off her coat and placed it on her shoulders to cover up the exposed flesh. Akeno smiled mirthfully and held up the injured girl.

While Issei... He was standing at the sidelines with Azazel not to interrupt their happy moment as he was considerate and didn't want to be a nuisance at this point. Nor ever.

" These are your's, i believe " Sona had woken up and knelt down towards her with Twilight Healing in her palms. She empathized the most with this girl not because she was a servant of the church but a victim of the circumstances.

Asia's limbs regenerated completely as she stretched her arm and slowly took the Sacred Gear from Sona's palms. But what puzzled the group was the black color of her limbs, black as the night up to her scapula joints for her arms and up to the knees for the legs. It was unheard of - no reincarnated devil regenerated it's limbs like that, especially fully black as it was expected for them to return to their previous state as ever.

" What is this? I've never seen anything like that before... " Akeno analyzed the structure of her limbs and yelled in awe.

Finally within her arms, Asia placed the metal rings of Twilight Healing on her index fingers and they vanished for a second only to return to her fingers stronger and better. As a side effect of her reintegration with the Sacred Gear, a pair of small blue diamonds grew on the back side of her arms with a small circular pattern adorning them each.

Sona looked at Issei with quizzical eyes as in " What the hell are you standing there alone. Come over here.",but he shrugged her off subtly as he didn't want to interfere.

" What's your name dear?"

" It's Asia Argento miss...miss?" she didn't know what to call her as she stuttered from embarrassment. She woke up with a bunch unknown faces surrounding her for God's sake. She was clearly frightened.

"Mission accomplished. Good job Issei." Azazel patted him on his shoulder, " It's high time we left, my boy. Let us take our leave Barakiel. " he prompted his comrade to go home.

Barakiel had remained hidden from sight as he didn't like devils much. He gripped the young devil's hand in a tight handshake, showing his gratitude for earlier. His opinion of him changed drastically: he didn't view him as devil anymore but as the mighty dragon that he was.

Regrettably, Akeno spotted them as they shook hands and left. A sour expression appeared on her otherwise beautiful face,her brows creased downwards in a frown. And she asked Rias if she could leave right now. She gave her approval and let her go to their base.

In a hurried pace Akeno went through the exit but not before giving Issei a nasty smile. He was a bit dumbfounded but easily predicted what was on her mind: she was really pissed off all of a sudden by the gaze she gave him when he shook hands with the Fallen. He had found a weak spot in the sadist's otherwise impregnable defenses. She left with a sour face through the exit, vanished in the darkness ahead.

 _" *Wait... Could it be? Nah,it's too easy to be true. But it's still possible. *"_

Rias turned towards him with Asia by her side and said:" We need to talk."

XXX

" It's seems everything is going just fine" a mysterious voice asked for confirmation. It was raspy and heavy.

" Just exactly as i want it to be. Phase One is complete, now it's time for Phase Two to begin", another voice echoed through the darkness, " But sadly we lost that exorcist. He was a really good enforcer and I'll miss him. It was fun around him." it gave a audible laugh.

" We should make our appearance soon,shouldn't we? It's time to start brewing things on Wallstreet, in this case the Devil Slum, known as Kuoh City. "

It was a dark room with no illumination. A perfect Faraday's cage where no electromagnetic signals or radar could track this summit. Only by the direction of their voices coming couls they recognize each other as most likely they never knew how they looked like in outside world. A strange munching sound was heard from the back.

" Have you executed what was necessary for this task?" a forth voice inquired insistently to the first voice. It sounded a bit weary surprisingly.

" Everything is as you requested. I've recovered the bodies as ordered. "

The munching sound intensified, cracking bones were heard from behind a door.

" Go see how it's going. Must be hungry, don't you think?" the 5th voice finally spoke. Chairs were pushed and a door was unlocked., " She's quite the binge eater. She ate a few devils already so give her some of the Angels we hunted down. She was hurt so bad: just look at her neck! Slit surgically clean, it was a bit off a hassle to fix her up but oh well. "

"Good. Now all of the pieces are gathered, the stage is set for it's stars to shine upon it. In this small play a new actor must make their entrance. Let's see what chaos would unfold, Satan Sirzechs Lucifer. I hope you're ready for it..."

XXX


	6. Act6

Act.6 Kahlua and Jin: Crosses and Masques

There was a time where i wondered what was right in this cruel world, why did we always have to suffer so much for the whim of some higher force with no understanding or value of humanity's struggles. Maybe because we were made to suffer all our lives only to see our dreams getting crushed all the time.  
But what is a dream exactly, you'd wonder? A dream is a self perceived delusion of wanting to get the things you yearn so much for only to be betrayed by the expectations you hold for them. After all, dreams are free - sometimes no matter how much you want something, your hard work is never appreciated by anyone, even deep down as you would delude yourself in thinking " If there is a will,there is a way". But have you ever thought about the possibilities that just by wishing and willing something you would still fail and hurt yourself even more? It's what i did in the past- pushing my expectations on someone's shoulders and wanted to be friends with them only to fail miserably. It was as i grew colder and colder from all of the rejection that i was subjected to.

But hard work never betrays anyone, right? You struggle, writhe and ponder about things out of your reach but for what? Is there a reason why should we hope for something as our hard work in the end was never enough for someone, yet the sensation it's self is quite nice I'd say due to it's satisfactory feeling of having given your best. But it's still just console and a excuse of being not good enough to make it through the ocean of life.

I knew i wasn't right. I never was the one correct in the matters of the heart. Because in the end I'm just the same as others - nasty,disgusting and a hypocrite all in all just as i was always told of being that way. Yet i rejected it and still developed a streak of hypocrisy. Let's be honest - there's no way for us to be good as we're all greedy hypocritical pigs in a mudslide alleyway. How i know - i look for the bad in people, that's how i understand it. Yet consciously in my ways i hurt people - i freely took part in that moment with Rias on the beach due to my lust and own insecurities and yet she wasn't right at all. But neither was i- i did what i wanted to her and still blamed her for everything while trying to maintain the image of a victim. I'm so disgusting, i know, a fucked up hypocrite that enjoys reading books and playing Kancolle. But that's who i am- i never was a saint even once in my life but it's no use complaining over spilled milk. Because if it was so easy to change with a couple of words and phrases, then would that be me at any rate? No,because i didn't change anything - i just found my my real self two years the first impression is set,it always sticks to us like glue,never to wear off or erode. Even being wrong if looked through the lense of morality - i didn't feel bad at all for Rias, she chose to be that way even if it was a ego suicide. But what does God think, I've wonder?

We're pawns in a game of chess with the world as a playing board for a higher power to mingle and toy with fate. Because that was one side of God,an all powerful jester that enjoys making us suffer in any possibility. For example on how we are manipulated by the crippling emotions such as hope and love. Attachments - such a thing i couldn't possibly wish for because relying on others was like a drug, you'd lose yourself in it and you couldn't get off it even if you wanted so badly. I was alone so i did things alone in my own ways,i didn't need anyone anymore since my world turned upside down. People rejected me just for being born, with so much rejection and loneliness i grew to love it's peaceful and serene atmosphere. As they say- once you accepted the fate of a loner,you wouldn't trade it for anything in the world as it was more than comfortable. And i lost any ability and desire for communication...

After all i wonder how did i end up being such a asshole. Maybe because it was required by this crapsack world of God- and God was cruel, just like us.

I realize that I'm alone. I realize that i pushed Rias over the edge but that was necessary for her to finally find her true self and stop trying to keep up to others expectations. She wasn't as perfect as she was idealized for- me,i had my brutal flaws as well, i knew that and i did it. Because being perfect is disgusting. Back then i didn't give a shit if it was wrong or right, hypocritical or not - in that moment i just lost any inhibitors and was led by unrestrained emotions. I blurted out things that i outright thought were logical and would benefit her. She was too nice for her own good. And being nice is a lie,i didn't want niceness, it would only hurt me more but i was used to being hurt. I never liked torturing people, what i saw in her was my old, false self of arrogance and pride. I wanted to be the center of everything, to be liked just like her but it changed as i grew up- it was pointless to try to be like someone.

After we saved Asia it reaffirmed my belief - this world was devoid of anything good since the beginning as much as it would hurt an innocent soul and drive them to a spiral of suffering. I now fully believed it, I wasn't wrong, it's this world that's wrong...

If there was something else to say- it was that i should give them a chance because i never had one and i should make a difference. Who knows, it might be fun after all but i anticipate disaster to befall us once again...

XXX

4th August, Kuoh Academy rooftop, 14:50 pm,Monday

3 days had passed since the battle of Saint Peter's Church on August the 1st, resulting in a small scale conflict between Devils and Fallen but luckily it didn't escalate as Azazel covered up all traces of combat in the church, all information was deleted.

Things were slowly returning back to normal as normal as it could in their world. They just had 10 days to prepare for the Rating Games but the reintegration of normalcy in Asia Argento's life took priority as she enrolled into Kuoh Academy, Class 3A, precisely Issei's class under Azazel's handle for convenience due to Rias's pulling strings at the principal's office. She had unmatchable charisma and coupled with the natural ability of pureblooded Devils to use Glamour, she achieved it with no effort whatsoever.

Issei. Well he tried to act as usual, staying at the sidelines doing his usual things with his pals Matsuda and Motohama in the school locker room. But it was still in his mind, the memories of Raynare haunted his consciousness even now but he managed to mask it well enough for everyone to shrugg it off. His memory of Sona's dying face were still vivid as day and that feeling of not having been there at time ate at him. He knew that it was beyond his reach but still this frustrating feeling wouldn't leave him at peace. Well nobody cared actually which was a relief.

" You know, i kinda missed these days we spent together Issei. " Motohama fixed his glasses and leaned over to the metal fence of the rooftop. He was munching down on a ham and bacon sandwich in a flashy manner as he offered Issei and Matsuda cans of cola.

" I agree. You've grown kinda distant from us,haven't you? Something surely happened to you these few weeks. You know you can tell us,we'll support you as much as we can." Matsuda raised his voice as he cracked the cola can and gulped down audibly. " So tell me,what's on your mind Issei?" he scratched his head in hesitation. He was sitting next to Issei, leaning back leisurely while he watched the blue sky.

" Things just happened. It was beyond my reach to cope with it. Even after it ended i still feel weird about everything. You wouldn't even believe me if i told you.. " Issei dropped his hands on his lap slowly as he readjusted his position slightly and stretched his arms out wide. He had his dull expression on for some reason.

" Try us. We won't bite.. Unless it's a girl that is.." they voiced out their question in unison.

Issei had the feeling he would've suffered a tragic fate like being thrown from the roof of the building if mentioned his night with Rias.  
He was feeling down but despite his efforts, his companions noticed happened with Sona,his memories of Raynare were eating away at his consciousness . Yet in his mind resurfaced Rias's gentle face and her aluring body under the waning rays of the sunset. Even though he regretted his decision and labeled it as rash and hasty, he enjoyed the act for it was what he had been longing for- intimacy at it's finest.

 _"*But was it actually right to blame everything on her? She's smug,bitchy and pushed me a few times more than i could handle. She even used me as a leeway but in the end i went overboard and she took the hit. She deserved it. But who am i lying - i enjoyed it every min. I should've apologized back then when it was needed but I'm an ass and did it later.*"_

" You were about to say something,weren't you? " Matsuda raised his can as he turned towards Issei. He looked a bit concerned about him so he tried to predispose him in a comfortable environment to help him loosen up a bit.

" Sorry, i was just lost in thought again. Where were we? Oh,yeah.." he placed the coca cola can next to his legs and raised his head towards the sky," I'll be honest with you ", his body tensed up," I am a Devil. "

Motohama choked on his sandwich , Matsuda's face showed surprise and disbelief with the "What?" written all over his face.

" Don't you go bullshiting us dude. If you were a Devil, we'd be drowning in girls! Did you read too much Shinmai Maou that it busted your head or something? " he made a crooked face when this declaration hit his ears. It was just absurd for him to hear such fantasies coming from Issei's mouth - dreaming about a hot succubus was totally fine but to state such utter bullshit was not.

" It's just as he said. Even if you were one, you'd still be the same as us. After all we can't change. " Matsuda cracked his can and threw it at the side. He was actually smart as well as Motohama but they were preoccupied with peeping at girls.

" I'm just kidding, man. Don't take it so hard, okay? Though it wouldn't be so bad if i were... " Issei protested while trying to put his claims under the rag. _"* Perfect, just as expected. There's no way they'd believe me so using something so ludicrous statement in this situation actually made it better. But it's the truth. *"_

" Never mind that. We're just a bunch of losers anyway so it's impossible for anything good to happen to us. I've wondered - why is it so bad for someone to be true to their desires and self,not to hide behind dishonest behavior and trying to be someone different? Maybe if we were all honest with ourselves and what we wanted it would've been a bit more bearable in this unwelcoming reality. " Motohama closed his eyes and tilted his head to the left. When it was just the three of them, he would voice out all of the right questions at the right time. Matsuda didn't fall back either.

" If there was only something like mercy for the unlucky gentlemen out there in the world, things would've been a bit easier. But life is a ceaseless suffering, some just get everything on a silver plate while others would just try and try only to receive nothing of what they deserve. It's not a matter of wanting to touch boobs or being a pervert - it's about how we are never given a chance, people like us who don't hide behind a mask, aren't rejecting their real feelings and persona just because it's required in this world. What do you think about this, Issei? "

" People like us don't even know the meaning of having a chance to be happy. Always having to hide your self,to restrain what you feel just for the sake of living as everyone else in this flawed society while people are preaching about things of the sort like "be yourself and someone will love you ", " tell me how you really feel", i want the real you". While rejecting people who are true to themselves because they don't fit in. Definitely a large contradiction on this matter. " he took a deep breath and continued " I'd rather be myself and lonely than to be a fake mask of a person just to meet up to everyone's standards of what's healthy. So I'd take the the path of a lone wolf,undisturbed by others, relying on my own way to make it through another day. "

Matsuda and Motohama clapped slowly and painfully nodded in agreement to this small speech of his. It was what they thought and reaffirmed with their shared experience through life. And one of them proposed.

" Why don't we just hire a girl if we wanted to touch boobs? We could spare some money from anime and hentai to do it?

" It's not a bad idea but let's be honest - do you want something fake,an act of such importance in life to be with someone who does it for the money and doesn't even like you. And most likely unwillingly due to unknown circumstances. Because in the end it's not worth it if there is no feeling or deeper meaning to it, is there?" Motohama fixed his glasses and a intense glare emanated from the behind of his glasses. It was serious and full of conviction like never before.

" It's just as you said it. Love doesn't exist but passion and lust do. And love only exists between a child and it's parents, that's the only love that exists. But it's not always the case as some parents even despise their progeny. " Isse spoke up again while reading on his phone. Regret appeared on his face.

"But let's say,hypothetically, that love does exist. What would you do if it actually did? We all want the same thing, everyone does even if they deny this fact but in reality it's just their ego preventing them from seeing it." Motohama asked the right questions in a rather solemn ideal but even so he knew that there was no possibility in someone to ever love he still felt a need to voice out his thoughts on the subject.

Matsuda remained quiet and just standed still in this argument about the importance of love. He had an answer of his own but didn't say it as he wasn't in the mood.

" Possibly. But honestly - do you think that there is someone in this cold world that would love someone like us? Just tell me how many times were we used as penalties in games between the girls,only to be hurt and hurt and taken unsightly pictures of? Only being the object of ridicule,and how many times was your heart broken? Is there any chance of us ever being loved and desired - i doubt so, we're just nobodies, losers... " Issei sighed heavily, his eyes lost their glimmer and became dull and empty. His reactions spelled the crushing acceptance of this fact- it was their point of view, reflected through the vague glass of life, fueled by their rejection in society for being truthful to their nature,disgusting and unrestrained to others while honest and longing for something more.

Both boys lowered their heads in reaffirmation of this undeniable truth. A bit sad at first until Matsuda spoke up and offered a aluring proposal to his crestfallen friends- " Not a red light district girl. Let's go to a strip club in Tokyo. Just for the sight of it,no love or anything pitiful . Or maybe one with some cosplayers in it at Akihabara ? What do you say guys?" he scratched the back of his head and was a bit unsure how would they react to this sudden offer of his.

He was the glue to this company of 3, acting as a mediator between the calm and pessimistic Issei and the sad and accepting Motohama. Even though it wasn't friendship really, just mutual interests and hobbies, something in their hearts told them that it was much more than just a superficial bonding over hobbies but still at the threshold between the circumstances of forced friendship and the genuine interest in spending time together. They would've been okay by themselves as each of them was more than capable in surviving on their own. It was just the works of fate that brought them together.

" You're right. We're not going to stay down forever. There are things we must do while we still have time because it's now or never. The present is before us so let's have a bit of fun and then we could die with some fulfillment in this world. " Issei finally rose up,stretching his legs and arms as his face was filled with sudden enthusiasm over this wonderful idea. Finally it was something he wanted to see so it was welcomed with open hands.

" You're totally right. Even if the world is a unwelcoming place for us and wouldn't give us a chance, then we shall take it by our own volition. It's time for the scorned souls at the bottom of society to rise up and have some fun. Let's go to that strip club you mentioned at Akihabara, i hope they have catgirls in there." Motohama agreed with everything he had. After all he wanted to see a skimpy clad catgirl dance around a pole in a dimly lit room with scene lights.

" But how are we to get in? We're not of legal age,our ID's won't get us through security. "

" But we could get in with a escort. If it's with a older person we'd have no problem in sneaking in legaly. I happen to know just the right guy for the job." Issei had an idea of whom he would call for this to work. It was allowed to enter with someone of legal age so he was intending to capitalize on this chance with all means necessary.

" So when are leaving? " Matsuda raised a question.

" Tonight. We're going out tonight. Let's have some fun,shall we?"

" That's the spirit guys! Let us forge our friendship with this occasion. Because i honestly enjoyed our time together. So let's make it count... " the bald boy was cheerful. A smile had appeared on his face as they drifted away from the sad reality for a moment, worth everything...

XXX

August the 1nd…

The night of the church incident, everyone went to their respective homes as the night was long. Asia was brought back with Rias and co while Issei took the emotionally destroyed Sona. Rias wanted to bring back Sona with herself but Issei answered Sona's phone before she could even propose her idea. But before it happened...

Rias wanted to talk. Right here, right now on the minute. She pouted a bit but still had her dominating expression but it wasn't the same - she was tired and what she saw didn't slip through her mind for a second.

" We need to talk. Right now." she insisted with her kingly posture. She was rather terrified - Issei had payed back what he owned to the sadistic Fallen Angel Raynare with a vengeance tripled. The faceless monstrosity that she saw that fraction of a minute was nothing like she had ever seen in her entire life. It was an eldritch abomination,terror incarnate with its gaping mouths and miasma. She couldn't fathom in her mind how was the Governor of the Fallen able to keep his sanity in check. Now it was crystal clear by what Sona meant that day- he was something beyond her comprehension - not a devil, not some supernatural threat. An eldritch abomination, a human like monster in body and an asshole by default.

" Alright. Let's talk but not today. You can see why- he was holding the shaking Sona's shoulders,supporting her lest she would be on the floor. She had enough restraint to appear normal in their eyes and greet Asia, she held in her raging emotions like a storm only to break down into a emotionless, devoid od life doll.

Rias remained silent. He was right - even if they talked amidst this mess,it wouldn't lead to anything good for both sides. Only more pain and anger... So she nodded coldly in agreement, her calculating gaze pierced her companions eyes as she gave the signal to roll out and regroup.

And so they left...

30 minutes later, Hyoudou Residence...

Issei gently placed Sona on the big sofa in the living room and went to the kitchen to grab some water.

 _"* Just how awful is this world to cause such suffering to undeserving girl like Sona? To rip away everything you cherish and crush it with such tenacity. To take away everything you've worked for you and cast it into the burning flames of despair. I knew it all along. It's not me who's in the wrong, it's this crapsack world that wrong. *"_

He washed his face on the sink and sighed heavily while his arms shivered. He went to the bathroom mirror and opened the health kit to grab some bandages and pills. Closing the door he saw a murky shadow with a large gushing with blood eye, worms wiggled from it's skin with its eerie smile wincing back at him. It wrote on the mirror - **YOU LIKE IT?**

He quickly turned around and closed the same door with a slam. Something in him gave out, his legs betrayed him as he fell down on the black rag that lay before the door. " I need my pills,for God's sake. I didn't take it "

He busted the red bottle and took a heap of them and chugged them down. Dragging himself to the room he took a clean pair of clothes with difficulty and returned downstairs to Sona. It was beyond a doubt - the atmosphere was beyond depressing. Everything looked bleak compared to what Sona was experiencing this moment. The lights were out, she was sitting catatonic in the darkness of the room with no sound coming from her. Frozen in place,she was too far away from reality for her to notice Issei with a pack of bandages and a pair of clothes at the door.

He couldn't see any signs of life in her eyes, they were just empty,voiceless pits of suffering and catatonia in the dark of the night. She still had her blood soaked uniform on her person,she didn't mind anything at all as she was far too deep in her own shattered mind. The pale face of utter despair filled with self pity and regret became her default visage with no hope of her even turning around.

 _"* It's m-my fault... If i only hadn't be..en so...Late. I c-couldve done something. Why..just wh..y me. I don't.. Wanna die... I don't wanna die *"_ she momentary lapsed into a crying fit of sorrow. She fell down on the sofa headfirst under the pillow, the screams of anguish and hate were now her voice of reason. Erratic, inhuman screams engulfed the dark room in all of it's corners as she cried and screamed to her lungs capacity.

Issei dropped the bandages and ran up to Sona. His mind was blank,he overcame his lack of social skills for this one moment. He didn't care about anything - neither his receding symptoms or his own lack of ability to comfort someone. "* No one was ever there for me, I'll be the one at her side this time. It hurts but even so I'll be there for her...*" She was lost in pain just as he was two years ago. The sight of her mental anguish stirred his remaining emotions into a single directive - support her more than ever.

"It's okay, it's okay. I'm right here,I'm right here" he hugged the sobbing girl tightly with his arms in a tight hug full of motherly embrace. " It hurts so much, i know it. The feeling of losing someone to this cruel world, i know it. Don't hold it in,just let it all out. Cry out your feelings, don't hold it in. I'm here for you... " His voice was faint. He knew what it was like to be in such a state that you'd be clutched between the choice of living and dying. To die but have no reason to do so,to live but have no reason to live. It didn't matter if you wanted to live or die,because in both there was no reason to live and to die.

Nothing went through her. Only the last sentence made her her eyes flicker with life. Her eyes widened as tears were streaking down her reddened, swollen cheeks in confusion.

He tugged her tighter to his chest as he leaned his head on her shoulder with the faint " I'm right here for ya" whisper to her ears. She just stayed there paralyzed in shock... Not a word came from her cold lips...

An hour later...

By some miracle she calmed down a bit, just enough for Issei to help her change her blood stained clothes with a tight black hoodie and clothes he had found in his mother's room. The feeling of duty surpassed his own suffering as he went through that room...

Sona was still emotionless, she wasn't crying as the feeling of emptiness filled her being. She didn't care if he saw her strip, it was superficial in the course of matters. He inspected her body for any other wounds left, bandaged her chest as he turned away his head while holding the white tape with some alcohol applied to it.

And he saw it- the place where the bullet went through her chest was gone only to be replaced by 3 black scales covering the exit wound. It was the result of his ritual of resurrection - the blood he poured into her wound was laced with his draconian attributes but still wasn't enough. The ritual had duplicated a small fraction of his brand to save her life. She had a fraction of the power of a Original Being inside her body.

After having done everything, he removed his clothes and took a stash of painkillers before the mirror in the living room. The lights were up this time. Sona wasn't talking but her sight was locked on the multitude of scars covering Issei's back and front - scars of different magnitude. And what caught her attention was the burning red scars and his swirling, twisting, and constantly changing brand of an Original. It wiggled, abstracts itself was the definition if one could be even thought of. Her eyes were glued to it - she had never seen it befor. It was the first time ever she had a chance to see it. Issei let her do that just to show her that they're were now a bit similar.

She surprised him. She stuck to his back with her hands around his chest, she could feel the radiating warmness of his body seep through the fabric of her clothes. He was puzzled,confused and uncomfortable but kept his mouth shut. He didn't dare look back.

Both remained like this for a moment. From unlikely alies that had just around 8 months of cooperation and nothing more than business, that moment brought them a little bit closer than before.

It was already past midnight. Most were already off to bed in the neighborhood except for one house with it's lights on... Issei's house.

" Maybe we should hit the sheets? You've probably had enough of that." Issei was sitting on a comfy chair with cushions at the terrace under the light of the moonlight. The air was a bit colder as the night entered in it's small hours but still it was hot, it was August for a reason. He directed his question towards the sitting next to him Sona.

She didn't answer at all and just grabbed the bottle of whiskey to pour herself another cup. They were outside for atleast 2 hours, drinking to try to kill the misery they felt but to mixed results.

 _"* Oh,well. I guess there's no school tomorrow for us.*"_ and he poured a large cup of Grants and light up a Dunhill White to relax for a min even if it wasn't quite possible.

" Give me some of that!" she ripped off the cigarette box from his hands, she needed something like that.

" I finally understood what you went through - the feeling of emptiness, the feeling of loneliness. The loss of someone... It's scary... The feeling of dying alone,i only felt the endless darkness and cold enveloping me from every side possible. There was nothing, no one. It was just lonely... " she started talking. She was a bit better than earlier, not so much but a definite change. " I realized what you went through, what you're still going through. It is conceited to believe that we could understand each other but for this...i think i saw a fraction of what it is and how it feels. I even pushed away my sister as a nuisance when she was just thinking of my wellbeing. My family - i understood how precious it was and how lucky I've been to have one..."

" You cherish things of their whole worth after you've just lost them forever. It's the bitter truth... " he chugged down his glass in one gulp and finished his cigarette. He opened the door and prepared to enter. His ears heard something he hadn't heard for so long- " Thank you for being there for me, Issei " with a faint voice coming from the other side of the terrace. Maybe it was just that what he needed. And for the first time in two years, on Issei's face was a genuine smile...

XXX

4th August, Occult Research Club room, Monday, 15:16 pm

Rias and her peerage were waiting in the club room to discuss the details about their first Rating Games match against the peerage of Riser Phenex in the remaining span of one week and 3 days to brainstorm a strategy that would lead them to victory over the seasoned and numerically superior Phenex heir. It was rather peaceful like the church massacre had never happened in the first place. It was as they were rather latecomers in the heat of the battlefield but still this uneasiness was deeply rooted in their hearts. They had witnessed how brutal a dragon could be when "cornered " but it wasn't like any dragon they knew - Neither Vritra,Tiamat or old man Tannin were so threatening as he was. And those dragons were known to be quite the terrifying force to reckon with.

Yuuto was sitting idly drinking his tea with Koneko munching on some snacks besides him. They didn't show it but they were on edge with every second that passed while anticipating the young dragon to arrive. Dragons were known to be wise and enigmatic creatures with unrivaled vitality and magical prowess, referring to the long line of heroes who had used weapons forged from the scales and blood of dragons to defeat their foes. It was just fitting of the title King of the Supernatural to apply to dragons as two of the mightiest even represented the **Dream/Illusion** and **Infinity/Emptiness** aspects, no it was rather a law of Existence itself in the system of Creation. They didn't know what dragon sacred gear user he was or if he was really a dragon to begin with. It was known that some Aspects materialized on the core of existence as sentient embodiments in human form to gain understanding of humanity as it was they that could influence these laws by the power of their collective consciousness.

To the side of the door was the ever teasing Queen Himejima twirling her hair in a spiteful manner. She had calmed down a bit over the past days but that bitterness and contempt she felt hadn't faded at all,just submerged for the sake of her King's mental health. She had made it her goal to avoid Issei and act cold towards him- he was in cahoots with a Fallen Angel she despised so much.

Asia was sitting anxiously on the chair waiting for the arrival of her savior, surrounded by people she was rather intimidated because of her shy personality. She had barely adjusted to the life at school as she was home schooled by her adoptive parent in secret. The approving and cherishing attitude of her classmates eased her worries of fitting in - she fitted just perfectly in the atmosphere of the class and made friends quickly for she was a lovable, naive girl that everyone wanted to protect and cherish.

" He's late. I can't believe how tardy that boy can be. " Rias frowned, her brows twitched in a displeased manner by the lack of consideration on his side. She hated when she was ignored and taken lightly due to her upbringing and pride.

" Well, you should be used to it already. He can't help it it seems. After all what he went through wasn't remotely nice - he killed the girl with whom he had a romantic moment. It hurts... To be betrayed and tossed aside as some useful tool... " Kiba voiced out his thoughts in a rather solemn way as his peripheral vision went towards Asia's direction,he was emphasizing with the blonde former nun in his own way. He was much more considerate of others emotional state and feelings of suffering. He was a fellow victim after all,it changed his world forever...

" But what about Asia? She came ahead of time and patiently waited for the rest to gather. She went through so much suffering but still showed up no matter what... He's just a disgusting asshole... " Akeno's smile faded by the mention of the draconian devil. Her tone was quite cold and ridiculing, " He's even with the Fallen. How can you let that slide- you know that amounts to treason even if the treaty is in effect. I don't think it would be wise to deal with someone who sides with those... "

" It can't be helped, can it? He's a part of my peerage in all case so i just can't coerce him in whom to communicate with. We don't do that thing in my family. " Rias sat down on the desk while drinking tea from a mug adorned with small puppies. She was an avid fan of all breeds of dogs despite their inherent dislike of Devils as dogs were very sensitive to the presence of devils. Sadly she had an allergy to normal cats aside from one.

" H-he'll be here.. Im sure he'll come back. I want to thank him for having went out of his way to save me. No one has ever done that before for someone as pitiful as me. I don't think he's as you describe him, there's more to him than we give him credit for. I'm sure of it. " Asia hesitantly spoke up to rebuke the words of her fellow club members. She was timid but still had to stand up against the unjustified contempt of Akeno towards her savior. She felt it was her obligation to protect his good image.

Everyone sighed at the sight of the clueless nun. She had yet to know that he was nothing more than a loser who nobody acknowledged as a human being. She lowered her head in disappointment by the reactions of the Occult Research Club members - they didn't actually like him as he was bellow them in everything and still he had to enter secretly because of Akeno and Koneko's wish not to be associated with him. And he avoided them anyway so it was a win win situation.

"Anyway let's start, shall we?"

And just as they were about to begin their meeting concerning the showdown between the Gremory and Phenex heirs, Issei went through the door without any care in the world in his typical hunched walk with his eyes looking to the ground.

Awkwardness ensued.

" You're late!" Akeno shouted at him with restraint. He was the cause of their hold up so it was a opportunity to rile him up and enjoy his reactions as she was a vicious youth.

" Sorry about that. Tardiness is justice in it's own way. " he unapologetically answered her claim as he didn't want to waste time on small talk and just get it on with - he was going out tonight with Matsuda and Motohama to a strip club after all. He went in with no expectations aside from getting slack. " So let's begin with it,shall we? I have a special appointment tonight so i would like to do this efficiently. "

" Let's talk. You promised me, didn't you? I want to know the truth." Rias shot a demand at his being for answers. She intently asked,demanding an explanation with her sweet voice.

" Fine,fine. What do you want to know about me exactly? I'd be grateful if you were specific. "

 _"* Honestly, I'm not in the mood for petty talk and explanations. I hate having to talk about myself and that shit. Let's just get it over with *"_

" Why did you act on your own accord and charged in a Fallen Angel den? You could have called us and we would've helped you, you know. Is that the extent of your trust for us?" she raised her tone, filled with lingering feelings of spite and mistrust, her intent blue eyes directing a question he had to answer or else fall in her displeasure.

" Tell me,do you honestly think I'd ask for help and depend on you? It would be delusional to think you'd help me after i said that to you, isn't it? And regarding your questions", he stiffened up and leaned back on the wooden door, expressing that he didn't care much but still had enough courteously to elaborate," I thought it was the logical course of action to take as there was no time to waste neither any need for you to concern yourself with my wellbeing. I don't want to impose so i didn't. And my connection to professor Mayer is a personal matter concerning other people i don't want to bring in this mess. They don't deserve it." his eyes pierced through her mind as he pulled his hands out of his pockets. In reality he didn't want to become dependant of his connection to her as it was just something probably non existent as a relationship.

" What was that thing? Who exactly are you, Issei?! Just what are you? I don't know any Sacred Gear or magic like that to cause such an effect so spill the beans already. I won't harm you just so you know. I trust you so trust me in return. "

"Fine. I'll tell you ", he extended his right hand in the air towards her direction slowly and closed his eyes for a moment. A flashing green luster appeared on the back side of his palm as a pair of green gems manifested on his arm,red metal shifted and arranged upon his fist up to his elbow with gold accents and spiked protrusions extending from the red metal gauntlet that took place of his arm.

 _"* Can't you piece the facts and everything already - scales, tail, clawed appendages and such. Even my damn presence is that of a dragon's. It's just that and nothing else. Seriously! *"_

" I hope this answers your questions about my identity. " he raised his hand to show them a better angle of his Sacred Gear just in case they didn't recognize it," The Boosted Gear of the Ddraig Y Goch, the Welsh Dragon of Supremacy. " nonchalantly spewing the truth about his identity in a bold manner.

" The Red Dragon Emperor's Gear... So it was true that he was imprisoned in a Sacred Gear but to think it was you... What twisted irony... " Akeno's eyes widened in surprise to the sight of his gauntlet clad arm. Her face paled.

" But there's no record of the Boosted Gear having such capabilities of changing it's shape and morphing the body of it's user. Those scales and tail...It's not possible unless... " Kiba pondered on this matter while looking towards him. He didn't have any memory of the Boosted Gear being like that, he knew there was something else as the Balance Breaker for it was quite different.

" It's quite simple actually. The Boosted Gear gauntlet acts as a intermediate, a interface between the host and the entity imprisoned in it, leaving both as two separate beings while still benefiting from each other in a symbiosis. It's basically a restriction code that prevents the user from changing into something else and absorbing it. It's nothing more than a limiter and a failsafe. " he nonchalantly explained. The gauntlet evaporated in the air, return his arm to it's previous state of normalcy. His face was stuck in a dull expression as he didn't enjoy the act of explaining something they probably knew somehow but still wasn't sure.

" You mean you unlocked it's full capabilities and mastered it's Balance Breaker all by yourself? " a dumbfounded Rias asked.

" Pretty much that. I did train for a year with an army man in a remote island in the Pacific. So that's why i don't use it anymore, i prefer strategy and planning before using the Sacred Gear in it's gauntlet form. After all a bullet works just fine as well in dealing with assailants from all essence."

 _"* Do you know how much beating i received while trying to master it, damn it! Don't ask about something so obvious and simple. *"_

" Don't you sneak out of this - what was that thing back there? The things i saw back then took root in my mind deeply and i just can't forget what it was. I can't put my mind to words on how alien it was to me. Just what are you? "

He took a seat next to the blonde nun with enough distance between them and elaborated on what it was. He told them it was nothing more than an elaborate illusion he casted in the small gap the blonde Knight gave him when he threw his swords at Raynare. But they still didn't believe him as they were shocked by the sheer number of revelations they received from the friendless loser ,whom they thought was nothing but some high grade Magician with body modifications.

10 minutes passed as he answered all of their questions one by one with just enough information to keep them occupied and immersed while still avoiding things that might compromise his identity and his goals.  
It was going smoothly as he made sure to take the advantage in the conversation, manipulating the answers to his own benefit while still appearing enough benevolent to answer them. It was annoying as the same questions were directed towards him each time.

" I expected you to ask about Sona first. Aren't the two of you childhood friends, no?" the bored, uncaring tone of his riled them up enough to make Rias squirm in her place.

" We are... But i didn't think it was a good idea to start with. She just lost all of her peerage and i can't even take it that i wasn't there to help her. Even though we are rivals, I'm not so heartless to shrugg it off and claim victory over her misery... I still think she's precious to me. I tried to visit her but she just kicked us out before even having a chance to comfort her over her loss... I feel ashamed of myself " In Rias's eyes swam the deep feeling of regret and sympathy as it reminded her of the loss of her first Pawn those 6 years ago. She hadn't grown out of it ever since then as at times she grieved when there was no one around. He was her childhood love,a love she couldn't forget.

" I see. Thank you... " Issei dropped his hands on the chair in waiting as he proposed to hear what they decided on strategy and tactics against the seasoned champion Riser. " So taking in account his numerical advantage and experience, what do you propose? "  
Silence took the room by storm. They didn't have a good idea to work with as they were just an small unit of 4, now 5 counting Asia in the equation.

" I'd like to see previous data of Riser Phenex's previous Rating Games to review. Do you have any of them in store? "

" Ah,yes. Here you go Issei. " Kiba gave him a small green crystal and it lit up to display a holographic screen with all the data they could get.

Issei took it carefully and quickly read everything on sight while pondering on multiple scenarios to defeat the opposition. Everyone looked at him as he requested a small notepad and a pen to write down his thoughts on the matter. Meticulously scrubbing down his rough draft for strategy 1 he showed them his plan.

" He has advantage in numbers but individually each one of his servants is lacking in a specific category. Take for example the twin catgirls with chainsaws- they're good at combo attacks but when separated they can't coordinate with each other but if they use Promotion they'd be harder to get. " Issei started explaining his draft,  
"while this girl is good in defensive combat, she's a bit slow compared to a Knight Piece so taking her out by dragging out combat and chipping her defense in a multitude of directions is the key to win", he was pointing towards the dark haired rook called Xuellan.

" We'll need to layer the battlefield with anti-magic mines and some optical illusions in the forest to tick them off. The Occult Research Club room is our primary base where Rias will reside since she's the King while the gym will act as a bait. We'll layer the gym with enough seals to lift it up in the air with everything in it. And we'll do a little change in the heat of the battle. They may be superior but individually they're weak against the right opponent. Some of them aren't compatible with each other unlike our team here, but we gotta keep the healer safe. If we lose her it's game over. "

And soon he drew every draft possible to ensure they had a chance of winning. Issei was known to go crazy prepared against any opponent, some might consider it an overkill but not him. A good strategy with a multitude of back up plans was essential in his stratagem. Cheating, fooling the opponent was permitted in his game. No one fought with honor, everyone cared about their lives unless you were some stupid knight with chivalry.

" This will work. It's risky but it will work just fine " begrudgingly Akeno couldn't help but praise his tactical acumen for she was a strategist as well. She even proposed some cheats to add up to his plans just in case. Both were dirty fighters with every trick in the book permitted.

Asia was just sitting there with nothing to say as she was clueless about fighting.

Rias felt a bit peeved. She had to resort to trickery and underhanded methods to if she ever wanted to have a sliver of hope in defeating her betrothed. " I don't like this. To resort to petty trickery is a mockery of honor and valor. I can't allow this to happen, where would our pride as Gremory go?" she waved her hands and made the "huh" pose with them on her waist.

Akeno an Issei turned towards the ticked off King and strangely both started - " What pride do you speak of in a battlefield? There's no pride in horrors of war. Do you honestly think our opponent would fight fair and square? I don't think so."

" It's just nothing but fallacy to use terms as honor and valor- there's nothing but despair on the battlefield " both were complimenting and finishing each of their sentences in a strange unison.

" Those are just reasons for the winning side to declare their cause was justified by concepts such as these- in the end I'm nothing more than a murderer just as you are. Honor or not - we're nothing more than killers for a cause. Do you know how many innocent people died because of this foolishness just for someone's ambitions of wealth and honor. " Issei went on until he was cut off by what Akeno had to say.

" As much as i regret it- he's right. If we want to win, we'll have to use anything up our sleeve no matter if it's right or wrong. In a fight there is no place for morals - we'll take adequate measures in order to win. " Akeno lashed out at Rias's headstrong personality. It wasn't uncommon for them to bicker and clash at times but still worked things out. And this was one of them.

Both looked at each other hastily and just as fast they turned away. In their minds they knew that the other was a opponent not to take lightly. Arguments were being thrown at each other, clashing in a bid of morals until Pretty Boy Kiba smoothly handled the escalating quarrel between them.

" Now,now let's all calm down. Internal strife won't lead to anything good. We have to stick together in this. " Kiba tried to act as the mediator between the prideful Rias and the camp of Issei and Akeno. He was right as a matter of fact - team play was essential to win.

 _"*Smooth. Pretty boy,smooth. If you only didn't steal all of the girls I'd might have commended you for your camaraderie. *"_

"U-um, i think they are right about it. I don't want president Rias to be separated from us so let's give it our all. " Asia broke out from her silence. She didn't understand combat really well but it sounded right to her ears.

Rias begrudgingly agreed to this aggressive approach of their's and let them do it their way.

" But promise me you'll give him a crushing defeat, enough to make him crawl under his bed"

" You know - you don't like me and i don't like you at all but we're in this together because of me. So I'll make things work out in my way. Just let me deal with things my way. I don't expect you to trust me either as i wouldn't. But we have to in order to win. " Issei raised his hand to make this speech of his fast. He really wanted to go home and prepare for the meeting as he didn't want to waste time for this. They were going to train starting tomorrow so he wanted to laze around a bit before it started.

" This meeting is adjourned! Rest a bit and tomorrow we'll be on our way to the training grounds. So don't be late." and thus the meeting ended...

"U-um wait. I wanted to thank you for saving me,Hyoudou-san. " Asia went towards Issei as people were leaving the room. She was rather timid around him and didn't know how to act out of worry but still tried. Earnest gratitude seeped through her lips as her tone softened with innocence when speaking at him.

" No need. I didn't do anything. You should thank her for saving your life. All i did was kill those bastards and nothing else. I don't need your kindness - she deserves it much more. So save it for someone that matters. If you'd excuse me,i have a errand to finish with "

Rias was a bit touched by his humble attitude but he was still a jerk in her eyes. He didn't claim any pretence of saving the poor nun and shrugged off his efforts like it was nothing. She understood a small bit of his personality under all of that cynicism but still not enough. But she wanted to apologize for everything even if she didn't know how to do it properly. She never had anything to apologize for despite being taught on how to do it. If it was left unaddressed it would most certainly be problematic in the future.

" Issei... Sorry...for everything. " her faint voice reached his ears unexpectedly. It was a surprise to his senses that she would go to such lengths to make things right.

"What's broken can hardly be mended. ", he turned around before going out of the door with Asia behind him," you don't have to apologize. I'm used to being used by others for their gains so don't worry. And it's not your fault," taking a deep breath he looked at her, " i screwed up as well so we're even." and he shut the door behind him not wanting to see her smile.

XXX

Kuoh City, Shopping Center, Monday 21:30 pm,Monday

Under the bluish tint of the night sky the city was brimming with life, the street lights illuminated the shopping center as people of different kinds were doing what they came for- shopping, hanging out with friends or just couples going on dates at the mall. Just another day in peaceful at first glance Kuoh City...

Issei was waiting at the nearby benches in front of the center, holding his phone while waiting for his friends to arrive. He came a bit early unlike usual as he was actually looking forward to it instead of it being a obligation to someone. He didn't have any plans other than having fun, home at some time and travel to the training grounds with Rias's peerage the morning.

He was dressed in a black dress shirt with a vest of a lighter shade of black, black shoes and a black leather jacket. He actually enjoyed wearing suits for special occasions and this one called for it. Atleast he wanted to feel a bit better about himself so he carefully selected what to wear with guidance from Arthur but didn't tell him he was going to a club and what kind of club as Castor and the good barman wouldn't have approved much this endeavor fueled by desire. And so he waited...

Two hours ago... Hyoudou Residence.

Issei was sitting in his room going through the message again, trying to remember who were these people in that photo besides him. The men didn't look familiar neither did the girl but it was still puzzling on how were they all related to this. He had questioned himself many times who was this mysterious sender and why did he/she decided to help him. But it surely did help him,he now knew the plot regarding the families and his bounty as well as that of Sona. Someone thought they were an obstacle in the course of matters and was working in the background to bring them down. The massacre of Sona's peerage, the hooded figure with black flames in the church and Freed Sellzen were all connected somehow.

He wasn't sure if it was right to be having some fun despite Sona's plea to just leave her alone for a while and to take it off his mind: he had a Rating Game to win so he should relax a bit. Serafall Leviathan was around her for a reason so it gave him a small reassurance if something were to happen, other than having tested something he hid from Rias.

He was packing his things for tomorrow and some special occasion case for the showdown, better safe than sorry as he cramped in it a whole set of throwing knives, a few cartridges of silver bullets made from a melted cross, a small bottle of holy water to spice it up,a pair of semi automatic guns and a small syringe injector with god knows what. He was preparing for the possibility of his draconian nature shutting down suddenly like last time so he had to avoid any chance of being defenseless - he could still hear the whispers of Ddraig sometimes in the dawn of the night...

 _"* I want to know what that brand of Dominion was actually, i need to find more clues on Sellzen as well. Maybe i could try if my message could reach. *"_

Slowly picking up the pace he rushed to the second floor and straight towards his room. With a fast flip of his fingers the pc started up and he took a seat with a large cola in his left hand. There was a message –

 **" Congratulations on saving the nun,Asia Argento. You might have wanted to ask who i am or why I'm doing this but it doesn't matter - what matters is us against them. Call me X for now. Here is the profile of Freed Sellzen"**

The message was with an attached file named as he went over it fast, it downloaded and he started skimming through it like it was a boring newspaper.

 _"*Freed Sellzen: Age:28_ _  
Occupation: Priest, Exorcist,Serial Killer_ _  
Birthplace: Munich,Germany_ _  
Searched for: Arson, Manslaughter,Mugging,Corruption and human trafficking_ _  
A freelance exorcist for hire, originally from a small church in Munich with a loving wife and a daughter. He was a kind man,known for his charitable work and helping the poor as he was well liked by the populace and had a good renown at the tops. It was said between the townspeople that one night while returning home,he saw his daughter and wife murdered in cold blood by a unknown figure which scarred his body and mind, causing the once benevolent priest to turn rogue and cause the Munich Town Massacre in a delusional fit of rage._ _  
He was presumed deceased 3years ago in what appeared to be an lynch ordered by the top until he resurfaced one year ago in Rome leading to a failed assault against the pope back then. No further information is available regarding his whereabouts or agenda*_

 _"* It must have been that robed figure we saw at the church... But it's stupid to think the orchestrator would reveal himself in plain sight... I need to ask this person if we could meet somewhere. *"_

He started typing down a message. Before then the function of replying was removed only to return back now.  
His message was something like this:

\- " Why are you doing this? There's no benefit in it for you "

\- " Because i want to save the world and you're a instrumental part of it. You're an Apostle of the Apocalypse, that's why you're being targeted by them as you could be detrimental to their schemes. Sona Sitri is a obstacle as well due to her relation to the current Leviathan but as well as other factors. "

\- " Who are they? "

\- " i can't say the name because of the curse i was struck with. If i go out, they'll find me and everything we've worked for so long will crumble. Keep the nun close to you. My time is running out, i don't think I'll be among the living for long... "

And the conversation ended abruptly just as it had started. Issei was starting to feel nervous about everything - he was nowhere in his search for the killer of his parents neither in deciphering the riddles surrounding the picture and code. He felt frustration as he grabbed his head and then slammed hard on the table. The feeling of hopelessness returned once again to haunt him, only to act as a reminder of his failure two years ago...

He kicked his chair in anger and headed towards the wardrobe to prepare the clothes he was going to wear at the meeting. His expression was sour as he was picking and matching various articles of clothing until he left everything and just asked Arthur for his opinion...

Kuoh City, Shopping Center, Monday 21:33 pm

He was patiently waiting for the arrival of his friends at the nearby benches as they set the hour of rendezvous precisely at 21:35 pm to get ready. Mostly due to Motohama's habit of being unable to decide what to wear, he was vane a bit despite not being a looker. People were passing by but he didn't pay them attention as he was immersed in his thoughts and fantasies of what they would see in that club - all what they desired to their hearts content. So he was actually looking forward to it despite his efforts to make it look like there was nothing special about it.

 _"* My parents wouldn't have approved of it but they're not here anymore. Just stop thinking about negative stuff for a moment and get your game together. Seriously, i need this a lot..*"_

A pair of familiar faces was coming up from the other side of the road - Matsuda and Motohama finally arrived and more than everything on time. It was a real achievement for the bespectacled boy to be on time for something. Issei stood up and went to greet them as they shook hands in front of the exit of the shopping center, while waiting for their escort they had the usual chat as always.

" You've upped your game,man! That's how you do stuff right! " they analyzed everything Issei wore from head to toe starting with the shoes to the neck. Maybe it was envy or not...

Issei came a bit closer to take a better look at them. Both had tried their best at picking the best outfits they could and it wasn't actually so bad as he expected. And seriously, Matsuda had awful fashion taste.

" Honestly, i expected something catastrophic from Matsuda but it's a pleasant surprise I'd say- you're quite dandy I'd say." Motohama fixed his glasses as he referred to the bald boy. He was wearing a clean black v-neck shirt with a black blazer on top of it and a pair of blue jeans. It looked normal compared to what they were used to see while they crashed at his place for a marathon or something like that.

 _"* Thank goodness he didn't wear the crocks with white socks. I don't give a damn what i wear but that is just sick. Crocks don't go with socks, damn it!*"_ the image of a flip flop like footwear with white socks clad Matsuda emerged into his mind's eye, scarring him once again as the sight was even more horrifying than the visage of a basilisk he fought yesterday in Greece. And those were quite nasty but compared to his bald companion's taste it paled in hundreds on the horrific scale of weird.

It was a strange coincidence that the 3 wore black jackets - it was like they had planned out everything to seem like some Men in Black squad. But the truth was quite different - they looked a bit older and cooler in their eyes. But still it wasn't so bad at all.

" So, where is the escort you so kindly prepared Issei? " In a puzzled tone the bald boy directed his question towards the sitting Issei. His brows creased upwards in a anticipation of what it was it going to be: would they come or not? His eyes were rolling in every direction as his nervousness took the better of him.

 _" He should be here any moment now. I hope... " his eyes looked tired and worrisome. His breathing was uneven as he was actually worried if they would even come. He walked around in circles while thinking what to say if it didn't work out. "*We placed all of our hopes and spirit for this one night. I can't let it go to waste after everything we talked about earlier. Lords of Eros, give us a green light. *"_

A expensive sports car was driving fast around the shopping center with high speed until it stopped. It was a black Lamborigini Muircelago with flashy red lights and it appeared to be a modified version of the standard one on the market. A limited edition model it appeared to be with someone behind the drivers seat whom they couldn't recognize aside from Issei. The car stopped right in front of them with a familiar voice coming out from the lowered windows.

"Are you boys ready to party? " it was the doctor, Chesare MonBlanc in all of his rich guy aura. He lowered his black glasses and looked straight at the confused boys, urging them to hop on and let's go.

Matsuda and Motohama were confused and somewhat frightened by this unknown gentleman but Issei reassured them it was ok and he was their escort for the jaws dropped to the ground by the amount of wealth they saw on his person - brand clothes, rings and sports car. It was quite lucky that the doctor wanted to go out tonight and have some fun so he agreed whole heartedly on the prospect of going to a strip club with Issei's. He had failed a few times to drag him to gatherings of the high society but this time he was successful in this endeavor. The boys opened the door and sat at the back with Issei at the front seat.

"Buckle up boys,it's gonna get rowdy out here" he said with a jolly voice, his laid back attitude predisposed them into trusting him since Issei brought him, he was their ticket to a land of skimpy clad catgirls dancing around a pole.

Before they even had a chance to place their seat belts he hit the pedal to the metal violently as they drifted off in the distance, ready to have fun tonight.

XXX

After a short drive in the center of Tokyo, MonBlanc parked nearby the intended target for tonight - club Lily. It was a large club with red lights at the front with a pair of bouncers at the entrance checking every guest for their ID.

"Will it work? " Matsuda was rather stressed, intimidated by the bouncers at the door while holding his hands behind his back.

"Don't worry, you're with me after all. I'm a frequent guest here so they'll let you in." a devious smile appeared on the doctor's face. He brought out his hands from his pockets and went straight to the entrance. "Follow me,gentlemen. Let's have a great time together, shall we?" he stretched his hands towards them with a reassuring gaze that would make anyone trust his words without a doubt. He had A+ grade Charisma on his status bar for the sake of mounds.

They followed suit and went after him close in an attempt to avoid any resistance from the guards. Moving tightly as a combat unit ready to storm the club,they waited before the bouncer on the right as he asked for ID's to be shown before entry. Chesare took out a leather wallet and showed the bouncer, "They're with me.", and entered.

Before them was a world beyond the wild dreams they could have ever imagined in their hearts and minds since so long. A world filled with the lustful pleasures of the aluring flesh, forcing every man of different strokes to abandon his reason and follow what his heart desired. The neon lights revealed to them the various reasons for their heartfelt desire, the music rushed to their scarred hearts, mending the pains of reality. If Jerusalem was the holy place of the faithful then this place could have surely been regarded as the sacred place of all men. With its luscious decor and setting it could make you feel like it was heaven, the music was specifically tuned to make them relax and dive in headfirst without a second thought in this marble of reality, called club of different types were dancing seductively around the cold metal pole hidden by the shadows of the club, never revealing their true faces as they were just a carnal desire for one's eye,nothing more than a fleeting moment in this vast world.

They looked around only to see the black wallpapers stretching to where their eyes could see - it was filled with all kinds of people who came here as a escape from the stress of their normal day lives.

"I got us a table gentlemen. What girl should i order for us? Pick your poison. " he shot down a question directed towards the fazed trio. He led them to their table and ordered some drinks to go with the show. They sat down and waited while he went to choose which one should they call.

 _"* Ok,I'm seriously content with. No regrets tonight! *"_ Issei took his glass and had a sip while lighting up a cigarette to accompany his drink. He looked at his companions as they were deeply immersed in the atmosphere of the club.

"Watching shapely ass while drinking booze in the night is the best,isn't it my comrades? " Motohama fixed his glasses while rearranging his position as his legs were a bit sore. A face full of delight and surprise, he was feeling rather elevated like never before. Deep satisfaction engulfed his eyes, saturated with utmost enjoyment.

A girl with a cut out black top and hot pants garnered with a small chain came close by to their table and grabbed the pole. She wore a cat ears headband and a black tail that she wiggled in the air. Her black long hair swirled in the air as she coiled around the pole like a snake. She danced seductively with their eyes locked on her mounds as they went up and down. It was just what they wanted - a hot catgirl on a pole.

" This is the life!" happily exclaimed Matsuda over this wonderful occasion. His idea surely paid off as they were finally able to relax and forget about the cruel reality.

Issei remained silent as he watched this mysterious girl come closer to him and grabbed him by his colar, she danced around his lap slowly undressing him to the frustration of his pals. Chesare looked at him with approval, his boy was becoming more of a chick magnet than he ever thought. But it was probably because of the money...

 _"* hey,Ise...did you like our date?*"_

He was startled, he sighed heavily while trying to maintain his composure. This girl reminded Issei of Yuuma,no Raynare all of a sudden. The trauma regarding his tenure with the Fallen Angel stirred him black hair awoke his memories of her,that was the most striking feature he remembered...

He made a gesture to her to kindly move away to some of his friends as he wanted some space. He enjoyed it but these memories of her made him feel sick all of a sudden so he waited for a moment to speak with his friends.

"Hey guys, I'm not feeling so well. Sorry to ruin the mood..." he shook his head in defeat over the thought of ruining his friends fun. It was never his intention to do so... He looked a bit miserable while holding his drink,shaking it almost unnoticeable to the eyes of others.

Chesare knew what he actually meant by feeling not well. He stood up and said," Well guys, we had our fun here do let's go...", he extended his hand towards him and they went out together to his parked car nearby. He had no intention to cut off the party right in it's middle so he rolled up to the driver's seat and waited for the rest to hop on." So let's go to the club,it's not enough. Don't worry about the money- i brought some cash to spend so let's have a blast! " he disregarded everything as he threw a bottle of pills at Issei's way. He knew about Raynare and what happened from Azazel personally and secretly expressed his frustration when he was all alone. So he lit up a cigarette to ease his mind.

Issei felt a bit relief when he heard this proclamation. He wanted run away from everything for this one moment so it was a opportunity he couldn't ! Even though he couldn't stand crowds he was willing to make an exception for the sake of everyone involved. A compromise for the sake of comrades in the battlefield of lust.

" Issei... " both boys turned grim for a second.

 _"* Fuck. Is it that moment where they stab you in the gut with a knife after a long pause? Damn,it.*"_

"Thank you so much for this night. " their faces were earnest as they seeped gratitude towards him for everything - they didn't care if they spent cash to have a pretty girl dance for them, she even touched them." But it was probably out of obligation who cares anyway? It was quite fun indeed. So let's go, shall we dear comrades?" for the first time he actually saw them being happy - he was a bit unsure of what he felt right now other than going somewhere else.

" Nah,don't thank me. Thank Matsuda for proposing this idea. You know, thank you man."

 _"* They're right, i need to loosen up a bit and get this party started. I've packed my stuff at home so I'll just have fun if possible. I need to get this off my mind. Sona...Getting drunk is totally fine *"_

"So are we going then? If so, hop on. " Chesare made a quizzical look straight at them while he threw away the burned cigarette roll and waved his keys at them with a surprised look.

Later that night...

They were sitting in a big sofa in the left corner of the club while leisurely leaning towards the soft fabric of the comfy pillows. It was a dimly lit space with the light of the neon green lights barely reaching their table. The sound of _"Waves "_ by Mr. Probz was heard in every corner of the club, it was what brought Issei some minor feeling of nostalgia for that one night at the beach. Especially that part with " _and it feels like i could see the sands on the horizon every time"_ just struck a chord with him. He thought he was over it but he knew he couldn't forget the setting sun as Rias leaned over him in a moment of silence. He felt guilty all over again as he was just reckless and weak to the pleasures of thy flesh. He would never forgive himself for throwing it away so casually like it was some trash with someone that didn't love him at all. The words of his pals resounded back at him in his mind like a creeping monster of conformity, ready to sweep him in it's whirlpool of self pity.

Despite his best efforts it didn't go unnoticed to the people who knew his ways- so they started a simple conversation to help him out of his misery.

" What has happened has happened. There is no point in thinking what would it have been if you made a different choice. You know, life just takes something from you and gives you something else to compensate for it. It doesn't matter if you made a mistake in the past as it doesn't change the fact that you're still standing on your feet this instant despite everything.", his hand was shaking, "I'm really happy that i met you two, even though it might be superficial - i really want us to be friends. Not just porn buddies but real friends. " Motohama made a small speech with whatever words he had on his mind to express what was within his heart. Sadness took a hold of him instantly as what appeared to be a small tear formed on his cheek.

Matsuda remained quiet but he still agreed wholeheartedly that they wanted to be friends and not just some dudes that hang out together because of being shunned by everyone. The desire to be close with someone...

In his disgusting eyes as told by others, he saw something much more precious than everything Rias could offer - someone who wanted to change things,to make a difference in their life no matter what. It ignited a new spark in what remained of the heart,now ice of Issei's desire _."*It's not just that, i want to find the one who did this to me. Rather i will find them no matter what.*"_

He started moving away from the table and turned around to see their surprised faces." Let's have some fun tonight. See those girls there,let's dance." a genuine interest raked his senses as it was like a ray of the sun had reached his ice cold heart.

" They'll probably beat us up or have boyfriends. It's no use... "

" You're right but would it stop you from trying to have some fun?"

"Not of course. It's just as you said. "

They went over to the dance floor,leaving the doctor all alone sitting in the sidelines as he wasn't in a mood to dance right now. He just wanted to finish his drink.

"Watching youngsters sweat on the dance floor is beautiful " he made a small remark to himself.

" You could say that again. " it was some lonely blonde on the table opposite of theirs," Cheers" she raised her glass in for a toast. He responded accordingly to that and took out his tablet to skimm through his next shift.

Meanwhile...

The trio were a bit tired from everything as they were thinking of getting back to the table. But not yet... The world surely had made a plan to punish them for their happiness. That's what they thought but didn't care anymore as the girls from the table they spotted earlier came to dance around them. They just wanted to have fun and let it be known that Matsuda and Motohama weren't ugly as much more creepy and perverted to others but now it didn't matter anymore.

Issei... Well he released his inhibitors and just went along with the flow. Alcohol was a magical fairy for the sake of the living. But it was far from what he expected- the condescending visage of the one he had hated with everything came yet again to haunt his mind, even now as he turned towards the large crowd. Among them was standing Raynare in some black clothes, staring at him with her seductive, wicked glare full of condescension. He blinked and there was no one there."* _It's my imagination probably. I killed her after all so why is she still in my head. Get away from my damn thoughts,will you? *"_

He continued dancing around until the sight of her popped straight again in the other corner of the room. She went through the exit fast with the gesture of "Come and get me".

"Are you alright man? You look like you've seen a ghost. "

"Yeah,im all ok. I'll just go to the restroom for a bit. "

He tailed after the vision of the Fallen Angel straight to the bathroom. There no one there so he washed his face to snap out of it.

"I'm really fucked up, seeing things. She's dead. "

He raised his head up with the motion of his hands shooting drops of water in every direction. He looked up at the mirror to fix his hair, his eyes were a bit red but nothing more than that. To his horror he saw the reflection of Raynare behind his back, looking intently with a crooked smile at him. Quickly turning around with a clenched fist only to see that he was alone. There was no one besides him in the bathroom...

XXX

Kuoh City, Shopping Center, Monday, 22:05 pm

The rest of the day was pretty good for the newcomer Asia as she went to go shopping with Rias and Akeno for some new clothes, finish a bunch of errands to help Rias with her work as she was grateful for bringing back to the living world and letting her stay with her at her house for a while till she finished with fitting in and finding a place to rent. Well she had to say goodbye to her rosary as she was a Devil now and it caused her pain and praying. Talk about praying - she vehemently tried to pray to God for this second chance at life only to receive a burning headache in return. This was the fate of Devils who uttered the name of God in prayers, something she had yet to get used to. Just an old habit from her life as a human being that she refused to give up.

For school she had to wear a pair special skin colored gloves to hide her blackened arms after her resurrection - the material stuck gently to her skin giving her the comfort of appearing normal to the rest. Her thigh high socks offered enough coverage to hide her legs as well so she didn't require the use of fake skin to appear normal on days where they didn't have P.E.

It wasn't so bad. She had grown accustomed to the atmosphere of the class rather quickly unlike someone she tried to get close to. Asia tried a couple of times to catch Issei in the breaks between classes to no avail. If he was, others told her not to go near him or suffer from his perverted ways but he was just sitting alone with his headphones plugged in his ears, calmly observing the surrounding world with a dull expression.

It was night time already by the time she had finished with shopping for the day. She was astonished by the size of the mall,maybe much more from the prospect of seeing something like that from up close - she didn't know what it was before due to her status as a nun.

"I should get going then. Akeno-san would worry if i don't get home soon. " she gave herself a talk up and lifted the bags full of clothes and other paraphernalia bought with Rias's credit card as she didn't have any living expenses - to reach Japan she had just enough money for a illegal flight ticket and some for the bus to reach Kuoh as she didn't have the opportunity to take other than that and her briefcase.

So she straddled along the way to home, just 25 min away from Rias's house. The weight of the bags didn't burden her much as she had trained herself enough to be able to outrun possessed individuals during the cases they went wild. Just another day in the life of a observer...

 _"* This city is so peaceful. Everyone is kind to me at school and Rias is so nice despite being a Devil. If only everyone could understand that we could live in peace together and avoid so much conflicts from rising. But sadly it's not possible... I wonder if Issei would notice my new haircut? *"_ she looked at herself in a nearby convenience store glass and started scrutinizing her hair for anything wrong. She had her hair styled by a friend of Rias's who owned a beauty salon at the shopping center. And unsurprisingly he was a Devil as well but liked human customers with their stories and everything.

She was still dressed in her school uniform as wearing the habit would've been inconvenient due to the August Sun, it was a miracle on how she managed to stroll around in that habit without dying from a heatstroke. Looking at her reflection she was satisfied with the result - she had her long hair shortened a bit just below her shoulder blades and removed her wide bangs, parting what's left of them to the sides of her ears,affixed with a butterfly pin to finish the look.

 _"* I wanted some changes. I'm not a nun anymore so i could change my appearance a bit. Why not,that fringe was in the way anyway so it's better now. I never liked that hairstyle i had before today. *"_

She was nearing a local 7/11 corner shop to buy some juice for Koneko as she had promised to get orange juice for the night. It was the same convenience store that Issei usually avoided because of his trauma but she didn't know that. Not yet...

 _"* Maybe I'll ask them to let me stay with him. I want to understand what man my savior truly is. I don't think that their qualifications regarding him are true - i doubt someone like that to risk his life for another would be such a horrible person to begin with. I'll show them how wrong they are*"_ she raised her fist in the air, expressing her conviction of finding out what Issei was really like. She didn't want to pry in his life so she took her distance while contemplating would it be okay if she offered him to live together as she was a lone girl and he a lone boy.

She hit the camera on the way out by mistake so she apologized a lot to the shop worker who was sitting on the counter bored as hell. He looked through the footage only to exclaim "What the f- but she had already left the store.

Finally close by,she stopped for a moment to fix her shoe laces not to trip on the pedestrian route. Sighing, she grabbed her bags from the floor only to hear someone whistle at her. She was a lone girl at this time of the night so she was a potential target of the local thugs Issei always beat to a pulp but they never learned their lesson.

" Hey, young miss. You look like you're lost, are ya new around here?" some blonde haired idiot came from behind with his entourage of friends.

" I'm fine, thank you. If you'll excuse me i have to go home now." she politely bowed down and offered an apology. But they still wouldn't let her go home as one of them grabbed her by the shoulder and shoved her back to him.

" I'll lead ya home if you come with me and my friends to have some fun. I've got a really nice game we could play together. " he went for her chest, grabbing her tightly with a bear's grip.

"Please let me go. I have to go home now or I'll be late" she pleaded to him with her innocent tone. She struggled a bit but couldn't get out of his clutches.

" No can do, young little miss. You're coming with us" the audible disgusting laugh of his and his friends pierced through the air. They were on a lone alleyway and there was no one who could hear them even if she tried to scream. He stretched out his tongue in an attempt to try lick her pretty face with the rest watching.

"You know ", she ripped off the artificial skin gloves on her hands," I'll take you up on that offer."

She grabbed the hand he used to hold her with and pulled it off her with ferocity. She threw him off the ground and kicked the bags to the side.

The thugs were scared by her black arms but one still went to attack her with a hidden butterfly knife he took out of his pocket. A awful scream was heard through the air.

" Aah, my leg. My fuckin leg is gone" he looked in horror as he traced down on his leg, touching a gapping hole in his knee and fell to the ground. The others tried to run only to fall on the ground like flies by the swing of her hand.

A strange glow was coming from the blue diamond on her right hands as the intricate circle glistened with strange runes over her skin. She swung her hand down and the thugs were in the air, being held by something invisible.

" I'm not some toy for you to use and play with, you fuckin scumbad. You wanted a game so here's one- Who's first? " she waved at their horrified faces with a innocent gaze full of peace.

Another one screamed as he saw the things that held them reveal themselves in the light - large spiked chains pierced their organs with the cold metal heating up to 1800 degrees Celsius, scorching their exit wounds as the chains tightened around them. It was unbearable but no one could hear them as the chains devastated the vocal chords of a few of them so no scream for help could reach anyone...the rest were too scared to scream.

"What to do with you bad boys now?" she stopped for a second to think. She brought her fingers to her lips while giving a surprised look and decided -  
" I'll let you go now. But don't attack any girls at night or ever." she swiftly gestured towards them and the chains dissappeared, dropping the thugs on the ground.

" Just who the hell are you? What are y- a brutal snapping sounds echoed in their ears. The blonde delinquent was gasping for air as her chains were coiling around him like a boa constrictor would, crushing his organs and bones slowly but surely. He puked blood as he wiggled in a futile attempt to get at her - and the snap of a finger finished everything. On the floor was the withered corpse of their leader with his eyes popping out of their sockets, he had spewed his bowels in a bloody mess of puke and blood on the floor.

She kicked his head towards them, "I said I'd let you go but did i ever say I'd let you go with your lives?" her face locked in a dull, bored expression. Her green eyes were uncaring towards the foolish creatures who dared to violate her.

Kicking off the ground, the bunch tried to run away from her with everything they had. Some threw trash cans,junk and etc but to no avail.

" This is what you get for beating people up and raping girls. This is for all of the girls you molested for your sick amusement. "

Turning back around to see, a giant chain pierced right through the eye of a minor delinquent with it's hook extending into a three pronged blade to carve off hishead into a 3 leaf clover. Another one with a black cap fell on his face only to be pierced through the chest and shred in half. Soon one by one they fell to the ground like dead leaves in a autumn night. In this case rotten fruits nearing the end of Summer.

Asia carefully placed her artificial skin gloves back on her arms and took off her school uniform all of a sudden only to reveal a short black dress that she bought back earlier at the mall and wore it underneath to see how it looked like.

Her white skin lustered under the bluish-yellowish tint of the full moon, accentuating her pure black dress with her smooth, fair skin. Her blonde hair appeared to glow like it was made of gold by the greatest jewelery smith ever to have walked the face of the Earth. The old Asia was just simply cute in an innocent way but now her charm was different like that of a mature woman,magnified by the reflected light of the moon as she sat down below the sizzling streetlight. She gathered her bags and placed the school uniform in one of them and prepared to go home if not for the faint cries of one of her tormentors.

" Some..body... .."

"I prayed for salvation as well but it never came. So say hello to God from me,Angel boy." and she snapped his neck.

Atleast half of them were renegade Fallen while the rest were just escaped convicts who seeked refugee from the hands of the devil laws and most were mass murderers as she remembered their faces from back then. There was a list of convicted criminals who killed innocent people just for the fun and were pursued by the Church for their crimes against humanity.

" Rest in peace, all of you innocent souls who suffered by the hands of these inhuman scumbag bastards. " she brought her palms together to offe a small prayer for everyone that died because of them. And suffered from momentary headache

She raised her hand to the lifeless body of the masquerading as a blonde delinquent human and pushed her fingers into his ribcage,smearing them with blood. She used his eyes as a not so effective mirror and traced her lips with her bloodied finger in the manner of using it like a lipstick. Puckering her lips she looked at him one last night before she ignited the bodies, hanging in the air by the sheer number of her chains...

And a seductive red smile was the only thing visible in the darkness of the night...

XXX

 **Afterword from the author: I don't expect this small rant to be without mistakes- MS Word eats words so please forgive for any mistakes as they are not because of me.**

 **This is a bit more lighthearted chapter before the Rating Games arc so I don't even expect it to be interesting as I was a bit sleepy and drunk when I wrote with a different hairstyle is kinda hot when I think about it. And it's just after 1 week since the last one.**

 **Also- please recommend a good writing program because my MS Word( yep,that's what I use after finishing individual parts on the Android Writer app) eats up words and it seriously annoyed me as I proof read everything but some words just disappeared after I posted the chapter and read it like anyone else.**

 **Thank you again for reading 13 Daze: A Bloodstained ,review and use constructive criticism to help me make this story good .I'm open to recommendations so fire them up .I don't even expect this to be interesting, my style might be weird as I put more emphasis on the mental states or that's what I want to I hope you like guessing whose memorandum is it for the next chapter.**

 **The Boosted Gear is explained a bit in this chapter and why he doesn't use it .And concerning the mysterious individual/s – you'll see everything in the future.I hope you like the symbolism I place on different small details,I hope you like butterflies as I think it suits her well symbolically…Well this is all for now(16K).The next chapter will be longer so it will take a while(** _ **driving license tests are hellish,wish me luck**_ **).So till then and thank you again for reading.**


	7. Act7

Act. 7 Vermouth & Tequila: Himejima Inverse & The Rating Games

5th August, Gremory Residence, Tuesday 08:35 am

35 min passed since the Gremory peerage arrived early in the morning at a summer residence owned by the Gremory house. It was often used as a recreational facility away from the noise of the city, surrounded by a vast mass of trees surrounding it's was one of the places left untouched by the advances of modern civilization, all of the forest and the land surrounding it was property of the House of Gremory. As well as a well built battlefield where each Gremory had trained to wield their powers, Sirzechs Lucifer even had his first Rating Games match with it as a field of combat against the current lady Leviathan, Serafall Sitri - the friendly rivalry was spanning a period of over 300 years but still both families had warm relations with each other.

Rias wanted to get back at Riser and her family for trying to get her into a political marriage without even asking for her consent. Her pride, her very freedom was at stakes for this bet as she agreed to go through this but not alone. Issei had it worse - if he lost he would be hunted down all over the globe just because of her arrogant behavior but still he chose to do it. She was rather confident in her ability and power to beat Riser Phenex in this game but deep down honestly - she knew she was totally lacking aside of her natural abilities and her family signature magic, the Bael's Power of Destruction that she,her brother and mother had as she was originally from the House of Bael. The odds were pointing towards the Phenex peerage accounting their numerical advantage and experience, she didn't even think there was any chance of persevering over a full peerage with just 5 people, including her. She was unexperienced, her peerage was as well so if she had to train alongside them to justify her speech against Riser's remarks.

She wasn't strong enough to support Issei, neither emotionally nor physically - she was good at magic but only that was her benefit. She didn't want to confess her weaknesses but she had to overcome her pride and start from scratch, the basics to be a more competent fighter...

Issei started explaining the training schedule - " We'll train 4 times a day for a few hours with breaks between each session. So let's start with where you're lacking in. I've grasped the basis of your roles and field of power. " he sat down on a wooden chair next to the table on the veranda.

"Rias..." he started slowly, trying to get her attention into what he was about to say, " Your strong points are massive energy reserves and magical prowess but in the case of close quarter combat you're lacking a lot. You take a stance with no mobility in it and just hail magic at your opponents while leaving your back vulnerable. You should grind your physical abilities for this training camp while building up stamina and speed for close quarter combat. It's to surprise them as they wouldn't expect you to kick and punch. You lack adequate knowledge of your surroundings. "

"Ise," Rias spoke up. " How are we to do this? " she raised a question on how to proceed - whether to fight him head on or spar with Kiba.

" Spar with Kiba. He's your natural counter with his speed and melee skills. Try to shape your Power of Destruction in something to parry his attacks. You lack versatility so it should be a good change of pace. " he moved his hand on the table with a paper coffee cup in his palms. He gave her precise instructions on what to do as he moved towards the next.

He turned to Yuuto with a stern voice,  
" Your main points are located into speed and swordplay which is good for the attacker role. But..." he paused for a second to gain his bearings, " You lack a solid defense and you have a lag in your movement when you switch to dual wield and that gap could be fatal if exploited. And you should grind some medium or long distance combat as a shooter could strike you down from afar. So for starters, train with Akeno and then with Koneko."

"Got it" he made a serious face while gripping his legs under the table _. "* He's right. I lack in long range and defense. He gives good assessment on each of our parameters. He mentioned being trained by an army man, I'll ask just in case... *"_

" You mentioned you were trained in warfare and stratagem by a soldier, right? How did you get so good at it?" he lifted his arm in a gesture of curiosity. His eyes twitched in something like anticipation or so it was.

"By getting trashed around every day and by fighting all sorts of things "Issei, once again coldly explained with the aura of a seasoned fighter. They all tensed up, not knowing what he might say or do." From daily sparring and to blowing up drug cartels,monsters and other weird stuff. The more i trained my mind and body,the more the efficient the Boosted Gear became as it adds up your base stats and builds upon them. Lots of death and life situations do the trick. And you'd get faster if someone shot at you with a machine gun or a rocket launcher." he shivered in anxiety as he remembered the sight of a wild Castor shooting from a mounted machine gun on a armed vehicle, chasing him all around the island. The rpg shooter still gave him the chills...

"Ara, ara," Akeno mused with her scary smile while she took a glance at him, " i didn't expect you to be such a masochist, it ain't bad at all. I'd hit that back of yours every day", she smiled mirthfully. Rias knew what she meant and wanted to do- let out her frustration and repressed feelings on him while masking it as training.

Issei remained silent for a moment only to bite back. "If only you could catch me. You'll be training with me personally so buckle up. I might fulfill your request but only if you work hard for it." he gave a cold, creepy stare that startled her. He even made a weird gesture with his hands, he wouldn't have minded her as she was his type much more than Rias was but still she was too hateful of him so he never pinned his hopes up high. The memory of their first meeting rose up from the back of his mind- her wink back there was sweet but not it was nothing more than a facade.

At times there was a singular moment of desire for such a girl to be with him only to find it rather jarring. He kept reminding himself that they didn't like him much and were just doing it out of obligation to their King.

"I've went through various scenarios depending on the circumstances of the battlefield with Sona. We trained a few months ago in a forest located in Argentina. "he responded more so robotic than usual. He felt it was necessary to show the results of his training. Both him and Sona subconsciously influenced each other in a beneficial way in both of their respective fields.

"I have an idea," Rias spoke up and gathered the attention of her servants. "Why don't we all charge at Issei to speed up the process. That way we'd see where he said we lacked in."

 _"* What the hell man? Ganging up on a lone boy- you're learning fast. You're rather forward to it,aren't you? *"_

Akeno smiled gleefully, Koneko stood up the chair and prepared her gloves while Asia sunk in meekly. Kiba nodded in agreement to this proposal as he projected a pair of swords and Rias. She just pointed towards the nearby track field.

"When do we start? " Asia hesitantly spoke up.

Issei stood up slowly, " How about now?" and kicked off the chair in a flash to the track field. Twisting his body only to stretch his arms out he took a charging stance towards the veranda, aiming for the fazed Rias.

" The King should set of the examples to her subjects" in a dry tone he sarcastically retorted at her.

"I will, of course," Rias stepped forward with a proud smile on her face. Oh, she knew she didn't stand a chance against Issei. But why not hurt him a little.

"As a King, it's only right I make the first move."

They responded accordingly - Kiba rushed to the left flank with a pair of swords, Koneko went for the high ground as she jumped straight over him with her stretched out leg aiming for his jaws. Issei closed his eyes for a second to visualize the trajectory and angle of her kick with the intention of using her momentum as a shield. He dodged her kick by a hair's length as he rapidly grabbed her leg in midair, only to throw her at the advancing Knight. Kiba dodged it as he ducked but wasn't fast enough to envision Issei's steel plated punch to the face. Blood dripped from his nose at the moment he brought down his leg onto his head with a roundhouse kick, grabbed him by the neck and slammed him at Koneko's stomach.

Rias didn't wait for a second as she prepared a hail of black orbs to throw at the standing tall dragon with Akeno charging up a bolt of lightning. Both threw their attacks simultaneously in a fraction of the second, hitting his front and back as the field was engulfed in smoke and dust.

"Did we get him? "

"Not quite " Issei was behind her back as he grabbed her neck and threw a straight punch to her spine. Rias was momentary downed by the strength of his punch..

He ran towards Akeno only for her to fly up and ignite a fire spell in her hands. Her sadistic smile stretched out by the thought of punishing this traitorous muck. Calmly assessing the situation, she brought up a few pentagram shields to cover her blind spots while calmly waiting for him to strike. A present was prepared for him - only she knew what it was.

 _"* Not a bad idea, but a elemental affinity shield won't do you much. Plus it's a obvious trap. This chick wears her feelings on a sleeve when she fights.*"_

He made a backflip before he managed to reach her and fell to the ground by making it look like he suffered from her prepared in advance trap. He was lying motionless on the ground with his arms stretched outwards, it seemed like she had pierced through his guts but he didn't give her the pleasure of seeing his pained face.

 _"* This trick won't work at all.I thought you were smarter than a pity - I'd would have enjoyed hitting that perfect ass of yours with a whip or two.*"_ Akeno wasn't happy to this as her smile faded.

Rias had regained her senses and ran towards the motionless Issei, ready to pounce at him but it looked like he was really hurt. She didn't cross out the possibility of it being a trap so she charged up her Power of Destruction in her hands to hit back if he tried to startle her. Only that he didn't move...

"Seriously? " she raised a brow as her displeased voice blurted out a remark of confusion. She crossed her arms behind her back and lightly kicked at his legs to see if he was conscious.

"Asia, please come here and heal this cheater. He's unconscious right now it seems." A sweet plea struck in Asia's ears, gentle but sour as an apple. It's what she could think of this.

Asia came closer, she hadn't participated in the mock battle as she was more of a back up to support from the sidelines. She still had her jersey in pristine condition compared to Kiba or Koneko. Placing her hands on the cold as ice body,she noticed something weird with it. It didn't show any signs of being organic as she hadn't tested if her powers could possibly work on inorganic matter.

"Nice catch. You have quite the reflexes there. You'd be a great surprise if we trained that." Issei was holding a pack of chips, munching on them fast as he watched the former nun threw back the knife he aimed at her, only to pierce his pack of Chio's. He still had somewhat of a hangover from last night.

"Oh,thanks. It's probably due to my training to outrun and restrain possessed individuals during the rites of exorcism. I've accompanied a few exorcists in my training. " she responded meekly.

"What the hell?" Akeno exclaimed in surprise. Their jaws dropped to the ground by the fact of Asia having accompanied exorcists,she was trained and dangerous if you underestimated her judging by her appearance.

"Oh,that..." he removed the knife and placed it his case," You just fought a 1 min illusionary construct. Look.." he pointed at it rather bored," It's already past it's expiration date."

It was just as he said - the simulacra melted down like pudding, the smell of amonia terrorized their senses as they ran up towards the veranda to get away from it.

"So who's up for some curbst... Training? " he stuttered on purpose just for the kicks with his eyes in a barely surprised look of sleepiness. He had partied till 3 am with his fellow perverts as the memories of last night were still vivid clear to him as daylight.

" Fuckin nasty " Koneko spewed a simple one liner at him from the veranda and soon the real training started.

XXX

It was around noon when all training ceased to an end with everyone dropping off like flies on the tables. Dead beat they barely had any energy to budge a finger - it was a total mystery how they even managed to reach the table in front of residence. It was lunch time already - each one fought against their counter and then got trashed around by Issei for the finishing touch but he was tired as well - he didn't rely on his draconian nature to beat them up real good and get a sense of danger in it to give his all in limited conditions just like 7 months ago in the jungle. He just fought with Magic and his combat skills to beat them.

"Food is ready " Asia brought a plate of swine steaks she had prepared as she wasn't trashed around so much as she was under his wing for their common goal. But he still beat the shit out of her just to make sure she could hold her own against others. She placed the sizzling with sauce stakes and brought some salad to go with it. And everyone started munching down with whatever energy was left in their bodies.

"This is so good. Thank you for this gracious meal " Koneko ended her thanks and started eating with such speed that brought a smile to the cook Asia.

" I tried to use my Twilight Healing on the food to regain your stamina. I hope it works" Asia blurted out hesitantly and embarrassed to the praise of her food.

Yuuto slammed his head before he could take a bite and Rias just drifted away in her slumber. Both had given their best against each other with Issei's sparring finished them off for good. Sadly they had planned out another session for today and it was just the beginning of this long grinding session.

"By the way, where's Issei? I didn't see him at the table. "Asia belched at the lack of his presence. She wanted to eat with him and talk but he had left before she had a chance to talk with her. But was kind enough to help her with the preparations for the food.

"No idea, sweet Asia. You can see how he is" Akeno looked at the curious nun spitefully while saying appeared more interested in eating her meal than to worry where he went. It was none of her concern so she answered shortly but full of disinterest.

"I'll go look for him. He should be around here somewhere. "

"Save your breath. You'd just get shot down by him just as he did with us from the start. " unapologetically Akeno answered statement, chugging down the hot stake like a cobra.,

" I don't like him, he's dangerous. "

"But aren't you treating him rather cold as well. You're avoiding him and badmouth at every occasion possible. Rather two folded if you ask me." the blonde nun bluntly stated the truth. She fixed her butterfly pin as she turned around ready to find him.

A bit pissed off at getting slack from the blonde girl,it made her look away as though she tried to hide her frustration at meeting the truth. She didn't answer as she couldn't put it up to words.

"You know what- forget it. Just bring President and the rest inside. I'll be back in a few minutes. " uncaring of the tired as hell Queen, she shrugged her off subtly as she went to look for the young Pawn just to talk with him. _"* We'd be alone...no one else besides the two of us. I'll try to ask him whether he would agree to my proposal_. *"

A few minutes later...

"Why didn't you come to eat with us?"

"Honestly, I'd just spoil the food if I were there. As you can see they don't like me" Issei halfheartedly dropped his hands, " well the feeling is mutual so i didn't want to ruin their meal with my presence. Also if you came here to persuade me into joining, it won't do you anything. I don't need your pity nor gratitude if that's why you came here. Save it for someone that matters" he gave a cold response without turning back. He was holding his phone out of habit.

 _"* No connection, huh? I can't reach out to the outside world. Just perfect... "*_

Issei was calmly sitting on a nearby rock by the river while holding a can of coffee, slowly taking a sip from it's dusted off his dirtied tracksuit until she came closer, her green eyes locked with his brown in a single moment of silence.

"I didn't intend for you to take it that way. I was just worried about you. "

"If you're nice because you're worried, save your breath. We didn't come here to make friends so let's stop at it and have a proper training "

On Issei's face was nothing but a look of in it's place like a marble statue with no warmth.

" Forget about it. I just wanted to ask something - she took a step backwards and readied to go away until his voice reached out to her," Then let's hear it then. I've heard almost everything possible so i doubt it would hurt so much. "

"You live alone,right?" Asia started boldly, " Maybe it wouldn't be bad if a lone boy and a lone girl lived together. Since we're basically the outcasts of the group we should stick together. Yeah,i know it's sudden but i just want to know you better. I don't think you're like what the others are making you out to be."

 _"* You saved me a lot of headaches by asking this. I won't have to go through a grinder of questions by Rias or the others. It wasn't included into the equation of her becoming a Devil but it was the only way to save her. Azazel would understand. Sadly i can't reach him now due to this shitty out of order place. I'll fly by the next day to check things out in Kuoh.*"_

"Really nice of you to say that but I'm afraid you'll be disappointed so don't pin your expectations high. After all the first impression always sticks to you as glue."

Asia felt a bit disheartened by his cold attitude - she didn't know how to predispose him at all as he was hard to read with those creepy eyes of his. "Sorry for asking something so meaningless "

"But i didn't say that we couldn't try to live together, did i?" he stretched out his hand towards her direction in an attempt to shake hands,expecting nothing but disgust from her side as he suddenly started to lower his palm down in his usual manner.

"If you're ok with it I'll gladly accept it. " to his surprise she cupped his hands with her own two palms tightly - her hands seeped of warmth and motherly affection when she brought them to her chest. " I never even managed to thank you for everything you've done so far."

"Don't... Do you know what others would think if you associated with someone like me? It's nothing good if you do. So don't do it..." his tone changed to a defeated one, full of questions and concerns.

"I don't care about what others think of you. To me you're a honest person, true to your nature and beliefs. You know what you want and you always help from the shadows. You could have easily killed us under the guise of training but you didn't . " her innocent gaze made him feel flustered. " Don't think i didn't see it when you helped that old granny when she was attacked by delinquents.I want to help you, to change your life as we're not so different from each other . So just why are you always putting yourself down, underestimating your efforts and using such awful methods that hurt yourself to help people? "

"Why do you people always get the wrong impression of this, like it's some incurable obsession? A compulsion of sorts as if it were an irresistible impulse to act. I never regretted this choice of mine, I chose this life. I know what I'm doing might not seem right to others. And on any given day of the week, any time I could stop doing it without a , however, isn't that day. And tomorrow won't be either."

"There's no meaning to it,huh? I don't think you're treating yourself as you should. " she gritted her teeth in sorrow. She felt like it was something she couldn't possibly hope to understand - too far away from her comfort zone. But even so she wanted to know.

"Right or wrong, what meaning is there to it? It's only our moral compass that guides it as it's just our attempt to decide which is bad or good when there's no such 're trying to find some meaning in a meaningless world...

"But why shouldn't a lone girl search for something more in this hellhole life of sorts for a better future. And why shouldn't a reject deserve anything good for all of his suffering. It's stupid yet we can't change that part of ourselves even if we became Devils because deep down we want something. And that desire for something caused us nothing but suffering but we still want it..."

"Wow. I'm kinda surprised to see that you're rotten to the 're harder to make out than the have my praise for that. Maybe living together won't be so bad after all. " It's was what he thought.

"Right back at ya. The rest should be inside now so let's go. We've got training to do." Asia answered with conviction and grabbed his hand fast as in a _"let's go"_ and pulled him over.

 _"* Maybe she knows. I could ask her if she has any idea on who those people in the picture were but it's dangerous to drag her in this and tell her the whole story. But let's just try it*"_

"By the way " he gulped down in hesitation of what might be her reaction," Could i show you something, it's something you might be of help to me. " he lowered his hand to his pocket and brought out the black Xperia E1 with his new bumper case, went through the gallery and found the picture. He showed her it's contents.

She was frightened by the looming shadow over his shoulders, it made her feel dizzy all of a sudden. " That girl... It couldn't be, could it?" a puzzled look went towards the phone.

"What's wrong... " concern grew into his soul, filling him up like a vast ocean in the depths of his mind. He tried to remember yet again but couldn't get out anything from his memories. As if they were erased...

"That girl is Irina Shidou- she started like she knew her personally, " she's an Executor back at home. She works with my sister... "

" You had a sister?"

"She's not my sister related by blood. We were adopted by a high ranking cardinal in secret when we were young from that orphanage in Rome. We have different surnames now to hide our connection."  
Taking a deep breath for a second she continued her explanation - "She went overseas when she was in 5th grade to Italy with her father ",pointing at the gentleman next to his parents, " Touji Shidou,a high ranking Paladin of the church but is currently missing. I don't know anything else except for that..." she responded like she was dissatisfied with her own lack of knowledge. She felt like she wasn't much of use to him as she didn't know anything else as she was excommunicated not so long ago." And for this man,i don't know anything. "

"Thanks. It's a lot of help to me. Let's get back and rest a bit and we'll train some more. "

"Sure... " she nodded in agreement.

 **"Issei... Run. Don't let it catch you,I'll hold them off"**

Grabbing his chest with both hands, he sighed in confusion and fingers traced back the silver cross memento of his mother shakily. He didn't know what got into him as his nervousness alarmed Asia.

 _"* What the fuck was that...That voice... It was the man she told me about, Shidou. Why can't i remember anything else... Unless my memories of what happened exactly that night were wiped. I remember everything except for a 5 minute gap in my brain. This white spot in my memory, i need to know more about and how my parents were connected to this. There's something more I'm missing out...i need find out fast...*"_

XXX

8th August, Gremory Residence bath,Friday, 21:38 pm

"Are you worried, Akeno? Something's on your mind, i can see it. Please tell me what the matter as i can't bear to see you miserable." the clueless expression of Rias met that of her Queen, Akeno Himejima.

Both were sitting, submerged in the hot waters of the Roman styled bath of the Gremory Residence. Kiba and Koneko were deadbeat from the 3rd session for this day and couldn't lift themselves off the bed for the 4th one as Rias had to cary them despite her tired body to their beds or they would've slept on the cold ground before the house for the whole night.

"Not really, I'm just feeling a bit tired by 4 days non stop training. That's all." a half asleep Akeno rebuked the worries of Rias as she placed her head slowly on the edge of the bath to rest. Her stare was locked to the peach colored ceiling of the bath with her mind somewhere else at that moment. What was on her mind, what did she worry about that it plagued her consciousness so much that she would drift away in her thoughts. That Rias couldn't exactly guess right.

"You always make that look when you're thinking about something. We've been together since long,7 years as i could remember but it feels like a lot more to me. So just tell me what's wrong or i won't feel ok." Rias pleaded to her consciousness with puppy eyes and raised her hands above the steaming water.

"Fine! I'll tell you so stop pestering me already. You always do that when you want something and can't get it right away. " she became vocal towards the cheeky attempts of Rias to get through her sighed deeply and removed the wrapped cloth around her head, only to start with what was on her mind.

"It's him... I can't stop thinking about it - those creepy eyes of his always reminded me of that someone i wish to never see. The way he acts,the way he goes around everything - i hate it! I just can't shake off this pounding feeling in my chest. He's so awful and cold but yet so much reminds me of Him. That hidden feeling of caring beneath the surface of a loser - it just hurts, it reminds me of so many things i don't want to remember. With him around it feels like home, He reminds me of myself... I can't bear to watch it anymore... " the pained face of Akeno sighed heavily as a tear formed on her cheeks. It was harder to see as they were in the bath but it was obvious to Rias what she meant actually.

There was also the strong feeling of contempt in her chest that wasn't there before a second ago. A feeling of bitter pain that hurt more than anything she had felt. Similar but not so much as the feelings she felt when her mother was killed right in front of her eyes.

Rias's eyes went to the surface of white tiles that constituted the floor of the bath with her hiding her face from view _._

 _"* I was so wrong! I never even considered the feelings of others in this matter - i just caused pain and suffering to the others because of my own desperation and hopelessness regarding my situation. I wanted to be a good King, to be liked and respected but... I'm just like them... Like the rest of the other Devils,i always try to meet up to everyone's expectations of me... I wonder if there is even a real me in all of those standards...I'm not a Human even if i tried so much... *"_

Her thoughts were racing like crazy,starting from one sentence to the other before even finishing. She hid her face under the water to hide her disheartened expression. Itwas growing, this feeling of despair over the thoughts of her being a real identity or just a expectation meeting doll for others to place their hopes on.

"...You're not the only one who feels awful. Tell me,how do you even manage to put up with all of these situations " Rias brought her face up with a weary expression. Curiosity,hesitation.

" I don't know... I don't think i could answer adequately that question of yours. "

"Try. Just try it,who knows maybe it could help me. "

"Conviction. Something to drive you, to make you push yourself with everything you've got no matter what. In a pursuit of something... " the black haired Queen answered shortly as if it was a dictum of the sorts. A single mindend pursuit of what she wanted.

But what was it that Akeno Himejima really wanted?

 _"*she had no definite answer or was it a lie? What lurked in the head of Akeno Himejima was beyond a doubt an enigma to me. I've known her since we were 11 from that day when i took her in. But sometimes, till this day I'd wonder what she really thought and felt about this.*"_

"Do you still hate him so much?"

Akeno mused a bit by the intent of this dreadful question of her King,she leaned back on the edge and splashed her face with water to get it over her head.

"Does it really matter to you if i did? Is it really adequate of you to bring this up when you brought another one in our lives? Hhm, i wonder " her twisted smile was back but it was full of sadness and misery. She attempted to look angry but it was far from the truth - she was hurting, the sight of her father at the church reawakened her deep hate for him and by extension it led to her cold treatment of Issei. She never batted an eye for him in the first place,now she still didn't do it. Only things were different...

"I just can't understand why you did it with him. Phenex isn't a remotely likeable character but neither is he. Atleast the burning chicken has some good qualities. "

"Have you ever felt like your life is nothing but a preplanned routine by some higher force that wants you to follow it till the end? The ability to choose... It's what humans have so why shouldn't i be entitled to have it as well? That's why- because i wanted to choose for myself. " Rias frowned at her. Despite knowing her situation, her Queen was rather insensitive towards this matter.

"Because he was convenient? Or because he was useful and strong for you to take advantage of a deviant, someone that nobody would even want to be with. It must have hurt him bad..."

"It's not of importance. So don't ask for the reasons as you know why. So why don't you just try to place yourself in his shoes and see what it's like. " Rias raised her tone again, her brows creased downwards in a unsightly manner of anger as she was overtaken by emotion.

"Don't give advice that you can't follow yourself. As a matter of fact i will. He should be around the other bath by this time of the night. " the Queen rose up from the steaming hot waters and wrapped herself in a big blue towel, gently placing her feet into a pair of blue bath slippers and shut the door.

XXX

 _"* I'm a bit tired. That sparr with Asia was tiring. That girl has tenacity, she's a fighter. I can't help but wonder what the girls are doing at the other bath. *"_

Issei was walking down a spacious corridor leading towards the end of the corner and at such specific detour were the baths. He just wanted to get a good soak and clear his head of everything painful. The waters of the bath were a place of solace for the ever so moody boy, a spot where he could be alone with his thoughts and fantasies of girls he knew would never even notice him.

 _"*I hope there's no one around. It would be tragic if that prince blondy was already cooped up in there. How the hell would i even take a bath with another man in the tub... That's just creepy *"_ and the last thought reminded him of Sayaka's joke about him pitching for the other team. They had decided that when he won they'd go out to the movies and spend a whole day together.

He reached the corner and was straight at the entrance of the male bath section. It was a bit smaller than the other one due to the number of females in the Gremory and Bael households vastly outnumbering the male populace of these two clans by a lot. Before him opened the scene of blue tiles all over the place,a medium sized pool and a changing room to the right. Everything was covered in steam so he had a bit difficulty moving through. He was tired so he didn't push his luck by using his draconian eyes to pierce through the thick steam.

 _"*Please there be no naked dude with a there be no naked dude with a sword. Are you gonna fuck with me again, Fate?*"_

Already in the changing room but not before having checked the perimeter for any danger that may befall him, he proceeded to switch from his tracksuit to a cyan bath robe and some black slacks. He removed the socks not to get distracted by the sight of Matsuda's fashion taste or else drown in the bath.

 _"* I should remove this too. But what if there are cameras placed around here? I don't want anyone to see this disgusting, scarred body of mine. Oh wait, i don't appear on camera's and other audio-video materials_ _unless I want to_ _*"_

 **"Seal Release"** was the command he uttered to remove the black fabric off his upper body with a pair of blue colored pentagrams swirling and making the sound of a unlocked was specifically designed to somewhat contain his raging powers but not enough to prevent a mental pollution from a past user of the Boosted Gear.

"Whew, a few productive days have passed away. They're not my type of people to converse with but they show promise " having donned the bath robe he went towards the pool edge removing his slippers,dipped his legs in the water and removed the robe off his back.

It was peaceful at time of the night with the peerage either asleep from severe exhaustion or probably eating dinner or something of the sorts. Not a single soul would try to disturb his peaceful solitude or so he hoped for. And to the Lords of Eros and every possible god of erotica he prayed to be under their protection from a naked dude with a sword.

 _"*It's like one of those cheesy LN anime adaptations moments right now. But I'm not the one to stumble on some naked tsundere bitch and get kicked because of her own issues and lack of ability to deal with her problem. Thank goodness it's just a annoying cliché that you see in every 2nd anime possible. Maybe i should become a LN writer? That wouldn't sound bad...*"_

Under the lights of the bath was Issei submerged into the scorching hot water,humming to himself the favorite song and pride of a peeping Tom- _"A Girl Like You "_ by Edwyn Collins. _"Cause i never met a girl like you before..."_ he was singing to himself in a low voice as someone might hear him and it would be embarrassing.

 _"* Finally some peace and quiet. Back in the day i would usually get home and spend my time doing what i wanted to shake off this awful feeling. But now i couldn't anymore - i had to put up with a cheeky redhead's demands and dabble into annoying things of the sorts. She's still useful to me,i need something to proceed with the plan of getting a harem but would i be happy. I doubt so- it would be just girls with some obligation and nothing real. But what is real or fake? A good question to ponder on...*"_

The screeching sound of the door trying to be open startled him to no ends. He squinted his eyes, preparing for the worst he could think of. He could easily kill anyone of them if he wanted to but it was better to have them alive and well as being chased around by devils would be really annoying and boring.

 _"* This is it! The fabled scene of the pervert entering through the door. Just why the hell wasn't there a lock for God's sake, damn it!*" a headache struck him as he swore with God's name in it."* Never mind thing i locked the door with some Nordic Runes i learned from Arthur. *"_

Relaxing over avoiding such a brutal mistake, he submerged even more into the water as it reached his neck, slightly touching the tips of his ears. And he really hated those clichés in anime - it wasn't in the style of a true pervert to rely on them or even the gravity defying fall of Ritto Yuki which led to nothing but misery and pain.

Something in the back of his head warned him of one simple mistake- there might be an additional entrance in cases where the door was busted and wouldn't open. And sadly this was it. A mistake he swore to never make again for it was his scars that told him of this chaotic setting.

Coming from the other side was the sour Queen of Gremory - wrapped in a towel was the fine skin of the foul mouthed Akeno Himejima with all of her magnanimous exuberance. She was sour from her conversation with Rias a few minutes ago and out of spite snuck in the mens bathroom to show her that she could do just as she pleased as well.

 _"* This is going to end up in something nightmarish, i swear. Of all the people it had to be her- seriously, is this your answer Fate? If i find you I'll beat the shit out of your sorry ass for making us suffer for no reason. *"_

For his misfortune he was spotted even among all of this unnatural steam - both of their eyes were caught in a deadlock. Issei had this weird expression as he rose up and covered his back and front with the bath robe next to his slippers. Walking away suddenly to gain distance. That was his intention but just to make sure prepared a elemental shield to react in time for an expected assault of lightning.

"I'm not going to do something bad to you. No need to run away. Stay." she asked in such a low tone that would make anyone question the credibility of her words.

"I'd rather go now. I don't wish to spoil your bath... " in his usual manner of speech he referred to her in his attempt to get out. Scales appeared on his face and legs, ready to go through the wall then to talk with her wasn't a bad idea but having to shave off a bit of his payment for such a trivial matter was totally unnecessary. He had to deal with things like this before so it shouldn't be a problem now.

"Is there any problem with me being here?" With her brows raised in a obnoxious fashion and annoyance she jumped in the water without a care.

He remained silent, his memories of her made him squirm in his place. Just like that weird wink he received from her on that strange day a while ago was what you'd call a nasty situation.

"Are you gonna stay out in the cold all night long? Or is it because of me that you won't enter? " her nasty smirk of a predator was like thorns in his spine,he knew she was trying to rile him up to enjoy his lack of social skills for the sole reason of her enjoyment.

"Does it matter? I know what you want so i don't have time for this nonsense. If you're going to tease me just find someone else. " raising his hand in a bye bye sign he drifted off further to the exit.

"That's what i hate in you..." Her words were with something else mixed in them from her usual nastiness, flowing through the air like the steam in the room. "The way you act and talk... It reminds me of something i hate... "

"I don't want people to like me. I don't need to be liked to finish the job as it's impossible to expect everyone would like you. And i can't do anything if you hate me as it's not my concern. I'm sorry that my personality isn't what you expected it to be"

The pain did not quell down,it just magnified. "What's the deal with those Fallen Angels, huh?"

"Oh, so is that the reason you're so sour all of a sudden? Or rather you felt jaded by my relations with a Azazel and Barakiel? " snarkily reacting to her question he turned towards her with his eyes straight at her's.

"You're really an ass,aren't you? I don't know why President even went through such lengths with you when we had Kiba. Such a waste " she waved her arm to her chest, " i feel bad for her having pitied such a person as you. "

"Yeah,so what? Does it really matter if I'm pitiful or not to you. And just so you know, you fare quite well in that category as well, miss Sadist. " He was calmly biting back at her emotionally fueled drivel.

"What do you know about me exactly, huh? Nothing. It was all peaceful before those Fallen killed you that Sunday and you showed up in our lives. And you just had to bring Azazel in this... "

" It wasn't my choice to be like this. As much as i regret it, it's what happened and that's all. I hate Fallen Angels... " squeezing his fist in a tight grip he shot back at her," Just what the hell is it with you? Or was it because you saw your father a week ago in Saint Peter's Church? Just be grateful you have parents, someone to be waiting for you at the front door and be happy that you're there. Don't talk like you're miserable when you don't even know what it's like for me."

Her eyes widened with shock from hearing the truth - he had found out who she really was. " I hate it...i can't stand it anymore. I hate him... He never came back when i needed someone. He didn't save my mother despite everything he said and promised. I hate you as well - you showing up with him back then brought out my deepest emotions out of the dark. I hate you for reminding me of myself so much, for... Reminding me of my miserable life..." she gave into her emotions, she snapped.

" Isn't it conceited to blame everything on him and use me as a scapegoat for your frustration. I never wanted to be like this- i never wanted to lose someone. You're popular and beautiful, there's a myriad of chances and opportunities ahead of you while there is none for me. Your father loves you so much that he couldn't ever forgive himself for not having arrived on time till today. He tried everything in his power to save you... Can't you see it that he's hurting as well. I don't have anything like that,I'm alone in this world. There's probably no one that really cares for me so don't think like it's just you that's hurt." a bit ticked off and bitter he told her what he had for her.

She crossed over to him and slammed him on the wall." Shut up, shut up" she yelled with tears streaming down her cheeks, "You hate Fallen Angels, don't you? " Ripping through her back a pair of shining feathered black wings circled him." Why don't you just end it already and kill me! I'm a disgusting monster who blamed her father for everything just to cope with everything. Why don't you just end my pitiful existence, this tainted abomination called me!" she started punching him in the face with him remaining silent and motionless.

He just smiled in his own way when she released his neck and he dropped on the tiles with his back leaning over the wall.

"I hate it... I don't want to be like this... I just wanted to be loved... I don't want to be alone..." she cried out in anguish, her hands went over to her face as she crouched on the ground with nothing but her wings covering her naked body...

"If it would make you feel better by hitting me,do it. I'm used to being hurt so much... "

For a moment she was sobbing uncontrollably, unable to voice the thoughts running through her head. "Why...won't you understand... Why won't you kill me...d-don't you hate Fallen Angels. I just pushed and hurt you so much... I'm so disgusting... " her face was contorted in a miserable expression, she just couldn't stop her tears from flowing... Gasping for air she pleaded, " I didn't want to be like this..." she couldn't breathe from all of the sobbing, " I'm the wo-wor-st..."

Unable to bear the pain anymore she pulled off a feather from her wings and stood up holding it to her neck, "Sorry Rias,it seems i couldn't endure this any longer. Forgive me... Father.." and closed her eyes,ready to part with this cruel world.

The sound of blood dripping down alarmed her to her surprise - from her hand Issei took the razor sharp feather before she could slice her neck open and die alone, finally to leave this world of misery forever. The sharp blade like feather had sliced his palm, the blood on her face was his when he released his grip on the feather, leaving to fall to the ground.

"You're not alone...Even if you had Fallen Angel blood, there is nothing wrong with it... If you died... Someone would be sad if you died so **don't do it**. You're not disgusting or worthless - even if i don't like it,i just can't let you die alone with so much regret because someone would cry for you. Don't do this to them because they'll be hurt..." Issei didn't dare to come closer. He knew he wasn't the right person for this, he never knew how to comfort someone else... Dropping to his knees, he bent over to the wall with his right leg stretched outwards on the bloodied bath floor.

She pressed onto him,shoving her swollen face into the fabric of his robe with her arms on his chest. She was crying her broken heart out to him. Nothing mattered - neither that she hated him and he disliked her,everything was bleak in the vastness of this steam, like a white shroud encircling them in it's clutches.

Coming from the other room was Rias,already in new clothes to see what was all of this racket about. Rushing to the side of her friend,she lifted her up and helped stand up to lead her back to her room. And before taking away the emotionally shattered Akeno she gave Issei a final pained expression of sadness...

 _"* I couldn't hope to understand you as it was impossible for us to understand each other. Despite our contrasting views and opinions, our differences... Maybe there's something else in it that made us similar - i had known it all along. It was suffering... I didn't understand the enigma of Rias Gremory but i could never hope to understand the mind of Akeno Himejima. Despite knowing that she was a abomination of nature she had this pure desire, impossible it may be- to be loved. I could see through her like a book and it was just then when i realized the meaning of Barakiel's words - "Save my daughter for if it wasn't her,i would have no meaning in living. " This was the true face of the sadistic Queen Himejima - a scorned, fragile girl who lived with the pain as her second nature till now. Even so i didn't think i could still view her in the same light as i did... It was something i didn't know... *"_

XXX

9th August, Kuoh City Shopping Center, 13:55 pm,Saturday

It was a warm August Saturday noon with everyone out to the mall. Just another mundane day in the small city of Kuoh. Atleast to the mass populace that is.

"You drifted off again! Why do you always do that when the things at hand are important? " an annoyed young man directed his frustration at his companion sitting on the other side of the table. They were at a café drinking their cappuccino under the warm rays of the August Sun undisturbed by the surrounding crowd next to the clothes shop.

"Sorry. I just couldn't help it. This Rating Game that's due in 5 days caught my attention- my sweet prize is there and going to participate in this antiquated relic of the past. Isn't it time to make our move? " in a relaxed tone the man with a black shirt and blue jeans explained his reasons for his excitement.

"I heard that all of the high ranking devil leaders would be there to watch this match. Even the leader of the Fallen will honor them with his presence - isn't it hard to go through it with so much resistance? "

"Not really... " he lowered his black sunglasses to show off his yellowish green eyes with a condescending feeling to them, " We'll just use a distraction - the angel we caught would do us justice. Removing the seals on Samael was a bit tricky,even more so entering Cocytus to do it. Thankfully that old Lucifer geezer was on the same wavelength as us. " he smiled as he pushed his glasses back up to the ridge of his nose, hiding his eyes hastily.

"But what about that dragon wielder? He seems tough and appears to protect the trophy.?" the red dress shirt clad man with slicked back dark hair looked puzzled by his companion's intentions." What would she say if we did something behind her back? You know how axe crazy she can be.. "

"Let's be honest, she's itching to fight as much as we are. You remember how frustrated she was when she couldn't catch him even once, do you? If you want why don't we call her, she's going to be at the Rating Games anyway so it's just a matter of time before we go and take what we want"

"Isn't that right, Vali?"

Before them a girl with long platinum silverish-blonde hair and ice cold blue eyes with the shade of the ocean. She was dressed in a black low v-neck shirt,a pair of burgundy jeans with chains hanging around them and a small black bolero with laced curls. Vali Lucifer came alone to them just by some coincidence, she was bored and told Azazel she was to go on a stroll around the town to alleviate her boredom.

"So you want us to storm the Rating Games and kidnap the Twilight Maiden, Asia Argento in the ensuing chaos?" her eyes reached towards the sunglasses wearing male with dirty blond hair. She looked a bit bored with everything so she just asked like it was of no matter to her.

"Yes. " he just raised his shoulders in a " _why not "_ manner as he continued,  
" Plus all of the people you want to fight will be there. Especially that feisty,elusive Red Dragon Emperor of yours that you want to beat so much. " the blonde man with the sunglasses tempted her with such an offer she couldn't resist.

"Fine by me, let's do it." she blurted out in excitement, " We'll get your nun as a bonus."

"By the way, where have you been? We've been searching for you under wood and stone for a month, do you know what might happen if she found you were almost caught? "

"Don't worry , it was for the mutual benefit of everyone. " he insisted on his absence being justified, " Everyone in this team wants something for their own and in the course of matters, we're better off by sticking together and getting what we want by helping each other out"

"When i think about it, have you even seen what's the Red Dragon Emperor like under that Balance Breaker armor or his name? " Bikou started slowly to shift the focus of the conversation to something not so pressuring.

" I don't know how he looks like but i heard his voice over the phone and it appears his name is Issei. Nothing else " she presented this information rather shortly and reserved. She pulled out a nearby chair and sat down in a somewhat unbecoming pose, her eyes twitched.

"Don't tell me you've fallen for your sworn enemy just like that. Totally unexpected from you, miss Vali." the other man teased her in a jolly way, he even gave out a stiff laugh regarding her conversation with the host of Ddraig, " did he atleast have a cute voice over the phone? "

Vali stiffened up by the thought of someone pairing her again with this unknown gentleman, causing her to act a bit bashful by the sound of that.

" Hhm,in the course of matters it has no value over our goal. So don't you go assigning things like that to me. What would Albion say if he heard that", she was flustered, even going as far as trying to hide what was on her mind at that moment.

"Fine. Fine." he smiled

" Isn't it really weird how we're sitting out in the open when we're wanted criminals to both the Devils and Angels?" Bikou pointed out the obvious.

"Don't worry, I've masked our presence so that we could remain out of sight. There's nothing that could track us for a span of 12 minutes in this barrier. And plus it's swarming with escaped convicts and runaway renegades. There's a reason why it's called the Devil slum and Angels and Fallen can't enter so 5 more days and I'll get my sweet Asia... "

"Aren't you the sucker for innocent girls,Diodora Astaroth? " Vali glanced at the current heir of the Astaroth family while picking on him about his hobby.

"What can i say,i enjoy pretty things to add for my illustrious collection. That's the reason why i decided to help you in the first place. Humiliating the damn Gremory is a bonus for me. I'll make her pay dearly, that redhead bitch. " his tone changed to one full of contempt for the being known as Rias Gremory.

"Let's get going then. I have to tell the others. Kuroka would be happy to be reunited with her dear, sweet sister Shirone or should i say Koneko Tojou now." Bikou finished his drink and stood up to follow their leader to a place unknown...

XXX

14th August, Underworld, 20:33 pm. Thursday night

The day of the Rating Games came by unnoticed to the Gremory peerage as they were training hard this one day and reign victoriously despite the crushing odds against them. Luckily Riser Phenex was a prideful man so he had her choose the field of her demise with all of the extra settings such as time,weather and the conditions.  
A bit of sportsmanship on his side it was just to show that he wasn't so awful as to crush her on a foreign terrain to her and what better would it be to get back at her on her own ground?.

15 minutes remained till the start of this deathless curbstorm of a battlefield with team Rias going through their strategies one last time before going out to the match. Heated debating and delegation of roles ensued in remaining 15 minutes, with Issei going through every detail possible that might arise - he told them to improvise if necessary as it was more than a battle of brawns, brains were the deciding factor of the outcome. Whether he would die and Rias leave or should they win and stay.

Twitching brows as he crossed his arms," The trees are a good cover in the darkness so it's natural to expect Pieces to use it to their advantage. I'd expect an assault team coming from there towards HQ but see here", pointing at a crossroad on the map where the route they were likely to take converged, " Right here; these two spots are good for pincer attack from both sides and just to make sure, place some anti-magic mines as a feint,they'll go straight for them. Place Koneko and Kiba on these two spots, they'll do it just fine."

"I know we've talked this through a few times already but doesn't it leave us defenseless? Even Akeno can't take on too much of them" deep concern and doubt became friends with Rias all of a sudden. It didn't sound as assuring as it appeared to be.

"Let him be.. I trust in his judgment . I'll take layer the gym with explosive seals while you and Asia stay in the club room. " Akeno was sitting in the corner fiddling with her long hair in a cold stare. What happened 5 days ago didn't left her thoughts for a moment and skipped two days of training.

He continued, "After we remove any incoming threats from the forest, have  
Koneko go to the gym and let's make some noise to attract another batch to attack. Once we lure them,blow it up in a bang.I'll cover her as I'll go to it before she arrives. "

"What will i do?" Asia's voice came from the left, her gentle tone surprised him yet again when he was immersed into planning out every move possible and checking things again.

"Your time will come but for now you'll wait in the club room with Rias until i give you a sign. " with the posture of the famed Tsun Tzu he reassured her of her place in the plan,asking her to be patient and follow through.

"Any objections on our goals? If you have any - say them fast as we have 6 minutes left before going to the field. "he looked at them with dead serious eyes. " Also since we'll use the environment and time,you'll need these for our stratagem to work." he opened his briefcase only to take out 4 pieces of black cloth.

"What are those and how would they even help us. It's just a piece of rag," Rias began to whine. Her eyes widened in disbelief on how a piece of fabric could even help them in this time of peril.

Issei stood upstraight, not paying any attention to the others. He brought out a pair of steel toed boots, he placed his metal weighted, fingerless gloves on his arms and had prepared his lightweight, shock absorbant armor under a black, skin tight suit with some padded areas.

"I'll show you how" brooding over the 4 pieces of fabric on the table,he placed his hands above them and used the **"Generate: Clothing"** on them with the fabric tweaking it's fibers into four identical skintight suits as his.

Kiba's eyes were glued to them like a fly to a jar of honey. "Oh, i see. Let's get suited up. We've got no time to waste " he took one of them and casted aside what he wore on a nearby chair. Zipping up the suit to the edge,it was precisely his size, he made a gesture of "come on,damn it" as he handed one of them to Rias.

Rias followed suit with everyone else as well. It was rather uncomfortable with two boys in the room watching them so Koneko wrapped a towel over their eyes and finished with her suit.

"Are we ready for this. We didn't come here to lose, we came to win. So let's do this! "

"Let's win this match for the sake of our lives. " Everyone made their battle cry and headed towards their base, ready to put their lives on the line for the sake of their continued existence.

XXX

Marion, Karlamine and the twin catgirls ran up on the way Issei had envisioned they would, waiting for them to reach the spot he wanted them to be.

"No traps or anything ahead of us, Karlamine.I knew they were noobs but this is beyond pitiful " Marion talked while she ran up, preparing herself for any dangers that may wait for them at the end of the road.

They soon reached the before a crossroad where they stopped for a second to gain bearing of their surroundings. Closely adhered to each other they tensed up their muscles for any incoming threats only to be surprised as it was a dead end and just one road. "This wasn't in the database! " the twin cat girls groaned in dissatisfaction.

"Stay put. It's obviously a trap but they couldn't allocate more than one person to intercept us. We're many and he's one. It's probably that blonde Knight from the files. They don't have any other offensive Pieces." Karlamine gave a quick info dump to the nervous Marion and Pawns, shifting their positions in a new formation to take head on a single assailant.

"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what? There's nothing in there."

A hissing noise could be heard in the distance, coming from between the trees. Marion split up with one of the cat girls while Karlamine went with the other on the short distance of 30 meters. And then there it was it. A large dagger flew towards the female Knight head on from the left flank as she dodged it with ease - it was a poor attempt at throwing.

It fell to the ground, stabbed what appeared to be dirt when in reality it was a elaborate mine. The ticking sound made her panic but it was too late, the blade itself flashed with energy as it exploded with the power of a grenade, setting off the rest of the hidden mines in close proximity. Before the explosion could take them down with it,they managed to outrun the detonation sequence barely. It was going smoothly as planned.

 _"* Intercept the ones on the right. Coordinate with her to the left. I leave things in your hands*"_

Coming from the right side was a humanoid shadow with no sound coming from it's footsteps, it's presence was non existent as only silence existed in the night.

"What was that. What the hell is going up here." she shivered in fear as she just saw a black silhouette behind her,coming from the shadows and she couldn't sense it at all like it never existed.

"Keep it together Marion. It's a trick!"

Something was behind her. Karlamine had this weird sensation of being watched from the shadows within the forest and just as she tried to turn around there was nothing in sight.

 _"I'm right here..."_ a faint whisper gave her a shrill bright chill on her spin with her raising her sword to strike only to see it shattered. A formless black mass brought it's hand in a straight punch to her face, throwing her off balance enough for a second one to emerge from the shadows and cut her down with a black sword straight to the chest. And they vanished...

The rest ran up ahead on the only way left and suddenly changed direction by jumping into the trees to make it look like they ran away. But the trees blew up, scorching the paranoid attackers as they were thrown out in the road.

Then suddenly the formless shadow gave chase -it was totally silent and faster than what they could ever imagine. Visible to the eyes yet invisible to the senses as some figment of their imagination, only that it was not- the silhouette taunted them to try to catch it...

But it was there,encroaching on their minds as unnoticeably it came closer and sliced one of the cat girls with two different strikes coming from the opposite direction.

 _"How the hell are we going to survive against this monstrosity? " His breathing was heavy as he hid underneath a gnawed tree with mind was going blank from all of that paranoia that grasped their psyche tightly in it's clutches, never to leave them in a short moment of peace._

 _"It's coming. Run!" Rias grabbed his arm and started running to wherever her instincts lead her with her Knight right behind her. Only to see that the shadow was before them, smiling with it's creepy face at their faces as Kiba tried to slash it with his swords in panic. It was useless... But that didn't stop him from trying run away from everything and fight back with everything he had. Their only chance was to dive into the forest and yet it wasn't anything other than a self delusional thought that they could escape._

 _He had to learn to fight at a distance. His blood vessels were about rupture from the pressure but everything in him told him to run and live no matter the pain. The only way was to keep Issei at distance - charging up his swords with energy he waited for an opening to throw them at him and with a flick of his finger detonate them in a grandiose series of explosive heat. But it was far from over as he saw the dragon's eyes from up close and be punched by it's scaled claw and sent flying._

 _At times he was the one giving the chase only to fail miserably and on the ground with a pair of green eyes staring at him intently while he blocked it's attacks with a hail of swords in a futile manner_ _._

What was left of the strike team was just Marion and Li hiding behind a tree at the side of the road. They tried to make their combined presence smaller and safely proceed with the operation only to be betrayed by their intentions.

The tree was cleaved in two by some inhuman pressure, leaving them stranded to the side and disoriented from the impact. Marion tried to run away only to be pinned to the ground by a hail of swords from every direction before she could even notice it. And the only thing she saw was a fleeting shadow in the distance.

The only one left was Li. But she didn't fare well like her comrades - the second shadow grabbed her by the ankle out of nowhere and slammed her in a tree. Lifting her up only to throw her in the air, it jumped off at her and with a backflip kick to her face, shot her down to the ground with a bed of swords stabbing her.

The swords evaporated into dust with the way closing off with fallen trees from the short battle that ensued a few seconds the fallen trees emerged Kiba and Koneko with their featureless masks pulled down slightly enough to talk over the comlink.

"Enemy assault squad exterminated. This is Lancer-2, i repeat. All hostile enemies are removed. Should i proceed with the operation? Yeah,got it."

Turning towards Koneko, he pulled up his mask and with a simple shake of his hand made her a gesture to roll out to phase B.

XXX

Inside the gym...

"They just had to throw at me a masked freak!?" the Rook named Xuelan snarled in disgust." Let's get this over with " clapping her hands together in a ticked off way.

The unknown fighter took a stance the enemy Rook had never seen before - there was no style or any point of logic in that positioning of it's own. It seemed so flawed and incompetent that made the twins with chainsaws laugh at it.

The twins charged at it with their chainsaws in the air ready to strike at it. The masked fighter tightened it's upper body and charged at them in a simple unimpressive manner that bored Xuelan.

Ile and Nel, the twin chainsaw wieldiers went at her in the left and right direction, running on the walls in a zigzag manner as they aimed at  
the unknown, masked opponent. It was predictable on how this would have ended in Mira's mind - the twins would finish the job quickly and efficiently. But it was far from the truth.

As soon as the twins jumped at it,the shadow like suit switched it's footing, spun in for a split second and with the metal brace of the weighted gloves it wore blocked the chainsaw blade, bent it and hit back while at the next second swung it's leg to the other with enough force, breaking Nel's nose and arms.

The black suit took a static stance focused on defense while the staff wielding Mira attacked it only to find it was just a suit with the smell of amonia.

"Wait... It's a trap. Run.!" Xuelan screamed as she grabbed the twins by the colars and ripped through the wall with a kick.

 _"* This is Caster-4. Detonation of the gym building in 10..3.2.1..*"_

The whole building went in the air with everything that was in it. Nothing gave a sign that on this very place stood a sports hall facility, not anymore. Just falling debris and smoke- nothing else was left by the seals Akeno had placed before their arrival. On on the outside was Xuelan standing on her feet with the twin Pawns in her hands.

"It seems you survived. I'll be your opponent." coming from the burning debris was Koneko with her mask removed and ready for combat.

"You?! You better not be like your friend that burned out in that explosion. " condescendingly Xuelan gave her a ridiculing laugh judging by her size. Even she thought the masked suit was a worthy opponent compared to the smaller Rook.

Shifting her feet and drawing out her arms in the position of guarding her chin and kneeling with one leg, Xuelan charged forward at the small platinum silverish-blonde girl.

Xuelan went out for a double straight punch only to stop at the last moment curl her leg backwards in a vicious kick, aimed at Koneko's kidney. Retorting back with a spin that saved her from a few fractured ribs, the brawler Koneko swung her arm in a right hook to her jaw in the momentum of her spin, continuing with a curved kick at her knees, bringing her down on the floor.

"You damn bitch... You're supposed to be a little runt who only knows to kick and bite" she spat blood from her mouth, blood seeped from her forehead but it didn't matter to her anymore. Ignoring the pain, she seriously fought without holding in any of restrained emotions. What was left of the Rook Xuelan now was a unstoppable machine of kicks and punches, which Koneko had some difficulty tracking. Even Issei would have had trouble against the likes of her if he had no access to his Sacred Gear to help him out.

 _"* If i get hit by that I'll be dead. Think,damn it. How to beat her? That's it!*"_

With Xuelan constantly moving around with no opening present, circling her as she delivered kick after kick tearing the armored parta of the suit Koneko wore piece by piece. She wouldn't last long if she didn't do something to trap her legs somehow and finish her off quickly.  
The smaller girl wasn'tgoing to give up as the life of her savior was at stakes and she would never want to part ways with her because of this dreadful Phenex character

" Fall already, you little maggot! " the black haired girl continued to kick at her elvows with such ferocity that it seemed like Koneko's arms would break of ahe took another few hits. She could only defend herself at this moment.

Raising her right foot for the final strike to be delivered, Koneko clutched at her leg with two energy shields, blocking the attack of her enemy,in this one moment of hope, bringing everything she had in her to her fist- The Rook of Gremory brought her fist up to her chin in a surprise uppercut so fast that the martial arts Rook never had a chance to react to this driven by passion strike of attachment.

"Now you see the difference between us" Koneko went for a one liner," I have someone to protect while you serve a piece of shit master." and brought down her leg on her chest.

XXX

 _"* Rider-3... Return to home base. Guard the Research Club room at any costs. Take precautions, the enemy Queen is coming. Fall back with Lancer-2 to HQ,avoid any combat with the Bomb Queen *"_

Koneko pulled up the colar of her black suit and masked her presence as she ran up towards the base in the opposite direction to rendezvous with Kiba who was waiting for her at the entrance. It was convenient that the suits he made for them blended perfectly in the night landscape for it was what they aimed for.

 _"* Caster-4, intercept Yubelluna but be cautious and fall back when given the opportunity. Drag out the fight to lure out the enemy King, he'll surely use his remaining Pieces to attack you. *"_

Akeno remained hidden in the shadows, awaiting the presence of the Bomb Queen, Yubelluna.

Flying to the site she was supposed to be,Yubelluna raised her arm in the air,forming a black orb of fiery chaos before her. It split into a few hundred smaller flying orbs swirling around her being, ready to rip apart everything in her vicinity.

"You can't hide from me. Come out and play, Priestess of Thunder. Or are you scared? " taunting was a common tactic of the Phenex peerage and their Queen was no exception to this rule.

No response. It ticked her off to no ends...

"So this is how it's going to be then" she snickered nastily with her staff pointing towards the burning spot where the physical education facility once stood.

A hailstorm of bombs rained upon the scorched grown like a nuclear bomb. Bushes, trees and everything were ripped apart by the sheer force of the blast- what remained was only black dirt and rocks and the devastated background, and every with every impact the sky lit up like fireworks.  
The unsuspecting Queen didn't expect what was to befall her back.

Striking from the back was Akeno who silently flew up to the Bomb Queen's back and slammed her foot right up her lower taking the brunt of her kick, the enemy Queen spun in the air channeling a large amount of orbs to strike her down,only to be deflected by a strong barrier, repelling every projectile she threw at Akeno. The Priestess of Thunder used the cover of her barrier to throw a lighting spark at her but she made surely to keep moving so to avoid any resistance from her black orbs .It was a battle of magical prowess - Yubelluna escaped the surges of electricity thrown at her,with them being deflected and creating craters in the ground while making sure to keep up with the unexperienced Himejima.

High up in the dark skies were the two Queens fighting with all they had - their teammates were nowhere in sight so they could finally enjoy this battle to the max- lighting and black orbs were the only thing flashing in the darkness. Hail after hail,both women weren't giving up no matter what. The stakes were high and failure was a option they couldn't choose.

Akeno was gaining the upper hand through the fight, dragging it out as much as possible to lure out the enemy King. She didn't have any problems with doing so,her mind was filled with the desire to win and nothing else mattered for it was her friend's life on the line. No witty remarks or vicious jokes, she had forgotten all about .

The Bomb Queen experienced difficulty in overpowering the vicious youth - her strength lay in her vast reservoirs of energy and stamina,her firepower exceeded anything Rias could do but it was just that. The typical weaknesses of a caster- almost little to none physical combat skills and martial arts. She just relied on aggressive offense to demolish her enemies while avoiding physical combat at all costs.

 _"Let's do this,Akeno! Come at with everything you've got- the blonde Knight urged her with his platinum smile._

 _Taking a stance relying on mobility and swift strikes she stretched her leg backwards, leaned a bit over and had fists up high. She wore weighted gloves up to her elbows and had some padding around her neck whilst shaping her lightning into two small curved daggers, suitable for parrying and dislocating the opponent's swords._

 _The blonde boy rushed towards her fast with his swords crossed in a X, using the momentum of his speed to stop in his tracks and strike at the opposite side of direction. Blocking the attack with her dagger, she turned around with a kick to the knees which brought him down in pain and aimed with her other dagger. She would have won if she had more experience in close quarter combat but Kiba had prepared a hidden blade from a distance with it slamming her against a tree._

 _"We'll have to grind your arms to arms brawling. And use some kicks too._

However they were soon to tire out with most of their remaining energy reserves almost sapped. Yubelluna waved with her scepter in a final attack that used her last ounce of energy,breaking through Akeno's barriers like a bullet through a plastic its trajectory was totally unpredictable unpredictable with it deflecting and striking through the elemental shields around the young girl in a relentless onslaught of projetiles...

Admist the dust and smoke, Yubelluna attempted to fly upwards but to her schock she was gripped by her ankle and thrown to the ground. In midair Akeno stretched her arm out to her chin with such a bloodthirsty face, a face that scared her rival in terror and surprise - there was no information on her adversary being versed in close quarters, the infamous Priestess of Thunder had switched to arms and legs to finish the fight.

It didn't take long for her to exploit her vulnerability - the plummeting caster was being ravaged by the aggressive style of lightning infused kicks, being thrown in a tree stump, lumping back on her face flat as the terrifying force was going towards her. Akeno had finally relapsed back in her sadistic streak,it was visible by the magnitude of her warped smile while she continued to cave in the body of the caster with volts of electricity burning through her shields like a snake devouring it's helpless was gasping for air with the scorching hand of the lightning user tightening on her tender neck, burning off her skin in a ruthless, sadistic manner.

"Don't mess with anyone of us,you damn bitch. Tell your flaming chicken master that Rias isn't for sale!" an erratic, chaos infused wrath echoed throughout her voice, squeezing on her neck with even more rage than before. Her voiced sounded twisted and cold as ice but it was there- like a burning flame of vengeance it coursed through her soul.

But the gasping for air stopped only to be replaced with the silent movement of the burnt woman's lips, uttering the blunt truth - Akeno froze in her place by the words "Filty Fallen Angel scum. Just die already".

Breaking free from her grip, it was finally the moment of payback for this humiliation. The buxom woman stabbed something in her neck the moment she broke free and slammed her staff at the chest of the paralyzed Devil,sending her flying in a burning pillar.

With her damaged ear drums she couldn't hear any directives coming from HQ, she was fazed and bleeding through her ears as the impact had caused a conccusion her slender build wouldn't have endured if not for her having the fortifications of the Rook piece in unison as a Queen piece.

Whatever was used, there was no doubt all the damage suffered from her attacks would have crippled her, Riser's caster was back in top condition and burning with energy from the thing she used. Her conceited smile was terrifying - from the side came out Bürent and Isabela, running towards the downed Akeno by the pillar with their female leader flying upwards to enjoy the demoralization the bleeding girl in unbearable pleasure as she aimed her staff at her and yelled, "Fuckin Fallen trash. I'll help you die right now. "

How she knew this was a mystery - it was a secret only the Gremory knew but still didn't take pride in. It was possible to assume she had found out somehow from someone who knew her from before being turned into a member of the Devil race.

The wrathful strike force of the Phenex clan made their way to her with one of them kicking her arms in an unsuccessful attempt to protect her neck and face. They were going at her with everything like mindless beasts, coordinated by the intenions of their respective second in command.

A smirk plastered itself on Yubelluna's lips. She just kept shooting at random to tick her off and make her lose her balance and fall prey to the onslaught of her friends.

The movement of the girl with Fallen blood in her veins was becoming sluggish, she was faltering against the loathed attackers with no magic left to attack. She only had enough to put up weak barriers to avoid a quick resolution of this uneven game of attrition. She couldn't hear anything Issei screamed at her due to her damaged hearing, she was barely able to avoid their combined attacks with her hands - there was no way to escape from their reach with her current mental state. Her attacks paled in comparison to the unhinged swings of blades and arms,just mild attacks against the usually weaker members of the Phenex clan.

"Now do you see", the staff wielding caster began with, " this is the difference between a dirty Angel and a true Devil, i can't believe that miss Gremory could take in such useless trash like you! Where's your bravado now,little girl?"

With the last of her barrier and magic breached, the black haired girl was left with almost nothing to win against them. She wasn't a grappler to be able to beat them as they ganged on her, slowly taking their time with hurling around her body like it was a feather.10 days of training weren't enough to cover years of experience against hundreds of opponents and if normally she could easily sweep the floor with them,things went out of plan...

In the club room Rias watched in horror as they messed with her dear friend like it was nothing, taunting and taunting her again and again to break her. She didn't know how much would her comrade last this terror.

"I have to go! She needs me,let me go damn it! Rias squirmed in futility in the hands of her Pawn, Issei stopped her as it was suicidal and would give them what they wanted - the King out in plain sight and ready to reap.

"You'll throw away everything she tried to protect. You have survive no matter what!"

"Send Kiba and Koneko, I'm begging you! " through teary eyes she plead to the good will of Issei only to be pinned to the wall.

Letting her off his grip, he took a step back and crashed through the window landing on the ground with magic to soften the fall. With no time to lose he crossed the distance in a few seconds just when Yubelluna was about to land the final blow from the sky, with her compatriots readying to finish the pinned Queen.

At the field...

Isabela remained quiet for her leader to offer a final line to the badly maimed Priestess of Thunder with one final insult to add salt to her wounds. Bürent took a step back with her hand raised in firm fist, waiting for the signal to finish things.

"Any last words before you die,tainted scum? I'm not so heartless to silence someone before even letting them have their final speech on death's door."

"Yeah,just two- **FUCK OFF!"**

Bürent's arm was sliced off before she even had time to react to the noise that came from the distance. She gripped her bleeding stump, dropping her defense only to be grabbed by the neck by something that appeared to be a tail and slammed against the floor, shattering her spine in the process,blood sprayed as a fountain from her mouth with her Knight's eyes blinded by the burst of her blood.  
Isabela tried to fly up only to be intercepted by some unknown black creature with her teeth flying sideways by a brutal kick to the face with the sole of a steel plated boot. She tried to fight back, only to her surprise resulting in a severed jugular vein and broken legs and ribs. Her body twitched on the ground before she lost consciousness from the severe blood loss. She faded into white light with the announcement of her defeat.

Yubelluna's eyes widened in horror, disbelief over the fact if it was really there- in that same darkness was a shapeless shadow with it's gapping mouth, full of razor sharp teeth glistening in the sky. It's body spread open to reveal hundreds of bleeding eyes staring into hers with the murderous intention of devouring every last bit of the existence,known as Yubelluna the Bomb Queen. She created barriers all around her,surrounding every direction with orbs of darkness to keep it at bay. Even light didn't repel it's advances, it only made it contort it's abominable smilw into a wide Cheshire grin by her silly attempts to drive it off.

Toying with her it was. For a moment it was just in her field of sight only to be found in a different place all of a sudden. It was so close she could sense it's breath in her ear, yet it was so far for her senses to register it. She was starting to lose her mind from paranoia, spinning in every direction in her misguided hope to escape it.

 **"* You like it?*"**

"Stop-p... Just stopp it already. I give up.i give up. I'm sorry " in a dry scream her words sounded a bit metallic. She ran... It followed by the corner, always being right behind her back and shoving it's gapping mouth in her eyes,never to forget that sight for the rest of her long life...

[ Riser Phenex. Queen: Down]

The shivering body of hers was on the ground, with a large gap in her stomach caused from the sword of Isabela- Issei had jumped at her like a spring,grabbed the sword nearby and ran it through her abdomen with breaking her wings with a kick, sending her flying down in defeat.

The shadow was gone... There was only Issei holding the hurt Akeno in his arms with his eyes straight up in the distance - he had spotted Riser Phenex in his base with what was left of his peerage. His eyes sent him an invitation to come out and play or he would go and reach him himself.

"Fuck this prick.! Everyone, move out!"

It was what they were gunning for- Riser Phenex came out in the field, ready to fight...

XXX

 _"*He's out! Commence to phase C of the plan. He's right where we want him to be.*"_

Rias had traveled the distance to Riser's base unnoticed under the cover Kiba and Koneko provided her with while keeping at bay 2 of the Phenex's remaining Pieces to stall for time. Issei returned to the base with Akeno in his arms and gently placed her on the couch, waiting for her to recuperate. She was still in the game but had trouble with her jumbled thoughts and needed time to rejuvenate her senses and fill up her reservoirs with magic.

He sent out Rias to go alone with Asia staying back to heal Akeno while the Knight and Rook made way for their King to meet the enemy. It was a risky plan but everything was going as predicted. It was to follow with phase D in tow but first he had to do one more thing.

He could sense the incoming presence of an unknown assailant from the general direction, right bellow the entrance. His burning scars produced a red glow under his first layer of equipment but not enough for others to see them. He smirked wide and went through the door without telling Asia where he was heading out. Rather stupid for a tactician to leave his base unattended but that wasn't the case; he had layered the whole place with multiple barriers, strong enough to withstand a full blown assault by 5 attackers and some extra seals to distort the space around for it was needed in what he was about to do.

Right in front of the entrance was the blonde sister of Riser Phenex - Ravel herself. She was like a cute, female version of the otherwise handsome riser with her dashing eyes of blue.

"You actually came admist this chaos, i didn't expect you to answer to my call. Thank you for taking such a risk, miss Phenex. " Issei leaned on the pillar of the exit as he eyed her head to toe in a scrutinizing manner of checking her for any hidden weapons, not that she needed one to fight.

"Just as promised, " she bowed down with the hem of her violet dress in her palms,"You told me you'd give every detail you knew of this culling in the Houses" she said afterwards.

 _12th August, Kuoh City Shopping Center,16:43 pm_

 _Issei had returned to Kuoh to gather some materials he needed for the match, he went to the bar for a quick meet up with his allies while discussing the matters at hand and exchanging some information. And now he was at the shopping center, holding a suitcase he received from Castor._

 _"* She should be around here somewhere, i hope she's not late.*"_

 _Waiting at the other side of the elevator stairs was the cute little sister of Riser Phenex - Ravel. She was a bit worried about what might he had summoned for so she took with herself Mihae and Shuriya for back up. She never had any intention of fighting against him,just the information he had was of matter to her. She had received a call a few days ago when he was back in the city for who knows what._

 _And she differentiated him in the crowd, she walked up slowly to him and both did their respective greetings and pleasantries._

 _" I don't know how you managed to pull this meeting up so let's start with it. I can't stay away from those two for so long." in a stern voice she talked to him as the look on her face was somewhat curious yet bothered._

 _"But first let's take a seat somewhere private" and both went to a lonely bench inside the mall on the second floor, next to the movies._

 _"You mean we're being targeted, every household from the ones listed as extra are potential targets? " she shook her head in a puzzled way._

 _"Look, trust me if you want but it's sadly the truth. " showing her his newest message from this mysterious informant of theirs, she felt a sudden chill run through her spine._

 _"The rumour of missing people from some of the Houses and the Sitri peerage massacre... " her eyes widened in realization, " It's not a coincidence most definitely. " her blue eyes flickered for a moment while she held his phone in her palms._

 _They were sitting on a bench far away from people and just to make sure,she used a illusionary barrier to prevent any leak of information._

 _"Why are you doing this? My brother is an enemy to you and he'd try to kill you if he found out about this meeting. Aren't we enemies so why are you trying to save us?"_

 _"For no particular reason. I just didn't want people uninvolved in this matter to suffer. That's why " he stopped for a moment to take a breath and looked straight at her," but aren't you mad that you're being used as some collection piece for your brother's peerage? "_

 _She sighed deeply and swung her legs back and forth as she readied herself to elaborate, " I don't even wanna fight in this stupid game of warring factions. If that stupid redhead my brother liked so much hadn't messed up things, such drastic means wouldn't have been needed to settle such a matter. And yes,i don't like it one bit but i can't escape from it. Oh the humiliation! "_

 _"Tell me about it,she screwed us both -it kinda felt bad for your brother, she used me as a leeway and understand how he felt. " in a relaxed tone he sarcastically blurted out what he thought. Leaning back on the bench,he placed his arms on his thighs in a polite manner._

 _"* Why the heck am i spewing this stuff to my opponent's sister? What's this feeling of sympathy for this girl?*"_

 _"What a damn twist of events, isn't it?"_

 _"You could say that again, that brother of yours even made a wager with me. Can you believe it?" quizzically emphasizing with her, he mentioned something that caught her attention right away._

 _"What did that dumbass of a playboy gamble on?"_

 _Taking a moment to fix his colar,he blurted out without any hesitation or intention of lying to her," Your brother agreed that if we won, he'd let Rias out of their engagement and made a bet that if he lost,he'd let us choose two of his girls to take,except his Queen. "_

 _Ravel scowled. " That piece of shit. Making such claims, i don't want to be in his peerage anymore! I'm telling Mother about this!" her posture changed to one,filled with lingering feelings of disgust._

 _"I'll make you an offer - in the midst of the games, when half or more of his peerage is down,come to the Gremory base and tell me your decision. I need to find a number of people so I'd like some assistance. I offer you freedom and nothing more than that. "_

 _Ravel took a moment to think on this offer and decided, " How can i trust you won't just use me as some leverage against him?" a good question._

 _"You can't. I won't tell you to trust me at all as i wouldn't but if you want to save everyone, we'll have to work together. I can't let another tragedy to happen again. " he stood up and brought his suitcase on his back,holding it with on arm with his lanky posture in full view." We should get going now,that barrier of yours is almost nearing it's end, meet me at the field on 14th August. I'll give you a sign."_

 _"I wish you good luck against my brother, beat some sense in that head of his. I'll be sure to reach you so stay tuned. "*_

" I will but first I'll have to beat your brother in this. Let's make a bit of a show to divert their attention from us otherwise they'll suspect something. "

"It seems there's no other way than this then. Come at me when you're ready, i won't hold back. "

"Perfect. Just the way it should be" a faint smile grew on his face as he charged at the younger Phenex girl.

XXX

" I didn't expect you to come here yourself, sweet Rias. You've grown so much " the flamboyant Riser slurped in a sarcastic way at her.

Before him stood up the black suit clad Rias with a lowered mask just to let him see her face as it was the last time he would have seen it. She didn't come to lose,only the thought of her winning was the driving force behind her conviction.

" Things change Riser" she paused to make it more suspenseful, " that smug face of yours will change as well. I hope you've brought enough make up to cover that pretty face of yours " she snickered sarcastically at him.

Raizer instead threw his cigarette in the air and burned it with a flicker of flames, "Sarcastic as ever. We could've enjoyed life together but you just had to screw me over due to that stupid arrogance of yours. Do you even know how it feels like to mess around with the hearts of two undeserving men just because you didn't want to marry.?" he began with his usual tone, " do you know how much shame you brought to my family? How much pain and ridicule i went through just because of your ego, you don't know that. I pity that poor fucker, now he has to fight because of you. Don't worry, I'll beat him up good as well but no hard feelings, Rias. It's what him and i agreed to settle this fair and square. I'll make an example for you."

Rias just took her stance and clenched her fists, she didn't care to speak anymore. Embarrassing him was her only intention now so she waited for him to attack first.

Riser jumped from the roof straight at her with flaming wings of fire ripping through his back, surrounding his arms with flaming claws of red matter. " I'll make you apologize for everything you've done, prepare that sweet face of yours Rias cause it's gonna hurt."

She appeared to charge her Power of Destruction as far as it looked like to everyone watching it, only to surprise their expectations of her ability.  
Before he could reach her with his flames,she made a backflip with her arms infused with chaotic Destruction matter - shaped in over a hundred small tentacled coils, wrapping around her forearms and shoulders in two large blades of primal,dark matter. With them she thrust forward at Riser in the momentum of her flip,severing his arm and leg in such a precise clean cut with no blood gushing from his wounds,the only blood spilt was on her limbs were like torn from existence.

His blood was devoured and absorbed by her blades with them rearranging into sleek black scimitars. They were pulsing as if being alive in her hands,coiling,spiraling around her like a shield in every direction.

 _"* Try to shape your Power of Destruction into something malleable and tangible. Just empty your mind of any thoughts till it's blank and focus on what you want to make. The process of shaping your magic into a certain form is knowledge and imagination. So control your breathing rate and raise your arm- think of the thing you need it to be and what you want it to do. *_

" Not bad,not bad at all. You've become quite crafty,didn't you. The sweeter for me to take." flying up in the air was Riser with fire swirling around the place of his missing limbs, bone,muscle fibers and tissue were being regrown from scratch at an alarming rate. He had made new limbs in a matter of seconds but not clothing as it was inorganic and he had to remove his jacket to fight. "But let's see who's faster - my regeneration or your Power of Destruction? "stretching out his new hand,he cracked his fingers only to smirk.

Out of her hands rose up two black orbs which subsequently split in two smaller orbs levitating behind her back in a circular manner. "You're good but you're no God. I can read you like a book,Riser. Come and get me " she winked at him in a cutesy manner. She was good enough to give him one gesture of attraction just before he was to fall before her.

This enraged the prideful Phenex to higher levels of wrath- he launched himself at her back and with a circular movement of his wing sliced off one of her scimitars, only to be welcomed by two of the orbs she had prepared.

The orbs passed through Riser, burrowing deep into his stomach before errupting from the other side of his stomach wall. They ate at his flesh like piranhas but he didn't care at all; he couldn't sense pain when he switched between his regeneration mode and combat directive. But there was a small lag between them,just enough for the crimson haired King to telekinetically call back those orbs and shape them into stakes to pierce his back and side to the wall.

 _"* Remember that the enemy's regeneration speed relies on the surrounding area in which he stands- namely being akin to a phoenix, he requires oxygen to utilize his regeneration as it's the one thing he needs for causing an internal combustion. To slow him down you'll have to burn the oxygen around him but that won't be easy. *"_

Black orbs of chaos fired from every direction she could imagine in her gathered around the Phenex heir, merging into one big orb of energy- she burned the oxygen in this small space preventing him from using his fire based it was far from over; somehow he ripped through this prison of hers and created two blades of fire as oxygen flew in his lungs. He had to use much more energy to heal than he usually required ; it had hurt him bad enough to cause his regeneration speed to slow down a bit when repairing his skin and organs.

He was enraged beyond a doubt. Not caring about anything anymore,he resumed his stance with his blades and doubled his speed just in a blink of an he was just behind Rias with his flaming arm about to slice off her head if not only for one of the two levitating orbs that expanded in a shield but still didn't contain fully the attack of the wrathful Phenex. She fell to the ground with a large burning wound on her back.

"What's the matter, sweet Rias? Won't you call your playthings to save your ass every time when you can't beat someone? I'll wait for them,I'm a sportsman after all."Descending from the skies,he walked calmly towards Rias but deep inside he was burning with scorn for they had wrecked almost everyone from his peerage and made him look bad.

Laughing at him intently, Rias rose up on her feet and called him on," I told you that i won't marry you. And this is why". From the ground appeared large spikes of dark energy stabbing him through the chest, limbs and eye. He didn't anticipate her to attack from the ground. Never.

"It's handy,isn't it. But you can't beat me with that. " Riser had flew away from the spikes and was sitting on the roof again. "You're almost out of mana, my dear. Spare yourself the humiliation and come aside to like the nice girl you are."

But, Rias never gave in. She raised her hands above her eyes and shot a wide beam of energy at him,burning down the new school building which was his domain for this game.

"That's not nice of you, Rias. I'll win this so just forfeit this match already. You can't win as you are now. Don't make me break that pretty face of yours, i want you to be beautiful in a wedding dress after all."

Rias ignored him totally as she was almost out of magic - with just enough power for one last go,she aimed at the ground and shot. Smoke rised,debris was thrown in directions, a sudden shaking of the ground took place and from the smoke a brutal punch slammed him into the wall.

XXX

Mihae was the only one left standing on the field. In the roaring battlefield , she snuck through the fighting right before the Occult Research Club building. The enemy were preoccupied by Shuriya and Siris so it was just a perfect moment to atleast take down the weakened Queen and harmless Bishop.

Inside the room stood Asia and Akeno on the couch. She was almost up to her normal self but Asia insisted on her taking care of any individuals that passed through the perimeter. They couldn't possibly enter inside the building but it mattered if they could score a point in performance in the overall scores.

"There's someone outside. Stay here while i deal with them." Asia clenched her fist in a tight grip,her voice and mannerisms belied her conviction of not wanting to be a burden to anyone.

"Do you think you can beat them?" unassumingly Akeno struck a vital spot in her self-confidence.

"I want to fight for the people i care as well. I don't want to be a burden anymore, not being able to do anything when i could. So just this once, let me do what needs to be done" she teared up a little by finally saying what she truly felt. Not wanting to be seen as a crybaby, she wiped off her tears and went through the stairs down the exit.

"The door opened slowly with the chilling creak of it's old, rotten wooden boards. No one was there as Mihae raised up her guard and waited for an opening. She didn't dare come closer or suffer from who knows what might be lurking in there. It was night and it was barely viewable in the distance with her awaiting for the prey.

Just right above her a large spiked chain flew through the air, hitting a few millimeters before her legs was the Twilight Maiden, Asia Argento. In the air with retracting her chain, she took out a set of daggers held in between each finger and aiming at Mihae,she threw them one after another. Hitting her before she could remove the ones that struck her in her legs, Asia accelerated her running speed above human levels and with a cart wheel spin, she used her steel toe boots for a brutal set of kicks with an extended boot knife slicing Mihae's face on the cheek.

Mihae charged ahead on the way Asia was standing with the blonde sister taking out four handles from her thigh pockets and ripped off her gloves to reveal her black arms with her diamonds producing enough energy to materialize blades onto the four cross like handles, using them in the manner of Black Keys as she was moving in the air like she was walking with them being thrown, swinging in a buzzsaw manner towards her way and she took out a small pistol and shot a few bullets into her legs and chest,bringing her down to the ground.

Chains wrapped her around every inch of her body that wasn't stabbed or pierced by something. Mihae knew she was cannon fodder but the difference in skill between them to be so big way unnatural. It was beyond unnatural, like she was never a Devil but something else.

 _"* Berserker-1, This is Archer-6. Enemy down, i repeat all assailants are taken care of *"_

"Well, what to do with this now? " twirling her hair with her fingertips,Asia sat down on the bank of the entrance, watching with boredom the enemy Mihae until she tightened the grip and she faded into white light.

 _"*Should i go to where Issei is or maybe i should wait. I shouldn't reveal anything about this? What do you think about this?*_

 _"*He'll win no matter what,he's the only one who can help us in this matter. So are you up for some fun?*_

XXX

" Do you honestly think that by hiding your face,it will save you from what I'm about to do? So it's a fist fight that you want, a fist fight you get" Riser Phenex stood up from the rubble he crashed in. His smile was gone, within him was a hateful expression of maddened ire.

From the smoke came Rias with her fists curled up to her chin. She took a step forward, drove back her leg and crouched a bit in with her arms guarding her chin and ready to strike. But she waited for something to happen.

No one knew what it was but the sound of the announcement of two of Riser's peerage being defeated was like a alarm clock for the suit clad Gremory to attack with a hailstorm of brutal punches and kicks.

Riser had trouble getting away from the metal gloves she wore, one of her kicks created a large crater in the ground, wide enough for someone sink in it like quicksand.  
"W-What?!" Riser couldn't comprehend how she was able to fight so well with just her fists and kicks all of a sudden. _"*Was she holding back earlier to drain me out of energy and finish this fight with the fist right? I like it,that's the spirit! *"_

"Was it all just an act of you being unable to fight? I can sense your magic in the air. It makes me even more the hungry for your defeat, sweet Rias! Come at me with everything you've got!"

Riser Phenex jumped away in the air and slashed the air with a pressurized a slash of fire waves directed at her.

It struck her arms head on, sending her flying backwards on her knees. A stunned Riser noticed the peeled off sleeves of her suit, revealing hard scales of red that fell off and blood evaporated. Then a new formation scales covered her arms up to the elbows and her aura changed violently into something different, savage and primal. He could sense the eyes of her peering deep into his own mind despite the mask hiding them from plain sight - it was that moment when he realized it wasn't Rias at all,despite the masked fighter imitating her fighting style but hadn't used the Power of Destruction.

"You're not Rias! Show yourself! " his angry tone echoed throughout the whole area like a command ushering to the servant. He rose up a few walls of fire around him to protect himself from their crushing fists.

"Pretty good for you to notice but it's rather too late for that!" pulling away the colar and mask down, Issei revealed his identity to the world. He pushed his hands inside his colar and removed two rags that he used to imitate Rias's chest size and threw them in the air."Let's finish this once and for all,Riser Phenex. I don't take any enjoyment in fighting a fellow victim of the circumstances but we have to do it anyway. "

Before Riser could say a word, Issei crossed the distance between them and threw his punch straight at his face.  
His eyes widened in horror — scales covered Issei's face with his fangs lengthening and red veins surfaced near his eyes, those eyes were no more the eyes of a human. They glistened in the night, those were the terrifying green eyes of the Ddraig Y Goch that cut deep into his soul. So wrong and so tainted they were,he couldn't look away from them as what was inside made him feel like he was being devoured, the concept of existence known as Riser Phenex was being eaten alive by the vices of the carnage inside them.

But just as he finished with his first attack something inside him snapped. His scales dissappeared momentary and his physique became that of a human again **. "**You're mine. Give it to us,give me all... I told you human, I'll haunt you once again so never forget that I'll be in your most perilous nightmare one last time. I'll take what's mine...**"**

He was slammed hard onto the bottom,unable to keep up his speed he fell down on the cold ground with his scrapped skin _."* Why now of all times. Just why? I have one more time with this and i might be dead for sure next time. But i have to win, no matter what!*"_

"Where's the fire you had just a moment ago. That petty illusion won't work on me,you meager low-class scumbag. I'll show you what happens when some shit steals my possession. " Riser came up from the rubble, dusting off his dirtied clothes and with a crack of his fingers, large tongues of red fire sprouted behind his back and clad him in a burning armor of flames. Pure crystallized flames had encased his whole being, destructive as a phoenix itself.

Suddenly the whole sky was illuminated by the scorching heat of Riser's wings. The temperature was rising off the charts, becoming unbearable to breathe. Issei was finally up on his feet only to be pinned down by the flying phoenix with his wings slicing him on the arms and back. His wounds were burnt by the touch of his flames but the suit had endured enough to protect him somewhat from the damage. His sleeves were torn, only leaving the inside layer of his undershirt with his arms showing.

And there stood Raizer Phenex. He grabbed him by the neck and threw him up in the air, jumped up high and landed a volley of slashes at him. Issei was lucky to have enough durability to survive against this magnitude of flames.

 _"* Remember - when your draconian nature shuts down,you'll be left with your natural reserves of magic but they aren't much. Your stronger magic is fueled by the energy of the Welsh Dragon but don't rely on it so much. If it happens, take this" Castor handed him a black suitcase with something in it, it was provided by Chesare MonBlanc himself with the key to success." There's your chance to win so use it wisely. It's only a last resort where you have no hope of survival but you still have to win."*_

Riser had stopped his assault for a moment to let him stand up as he was rather bored with this. It was what he expected - nothing more than a stupid reincarnated Devil with a trick or two up his sleeves.

"Any last words before you're hunted down by my people, foolish Pawn. If you hadn't shown up I'd still be with Rias. I pity you - to die because of some girl's mistake. " he laughed at him with a maniacal glare of pure joy. He did what he wanted so he had him say one last thing.

"Yeah..." faintly whispering to himself. It wasn't heard but by the movement of his lips it was sure in the enemy King's eyes that he was ready to plead for his life **.**

 **" Promotion! "**

From his lower back pocket he took out a small syringe injector with some red-blackish substance only to stab it in his neck. There was no visible reaction at first but then the King was visibly shaken by this action. He took a step back and summoned a few flaming seals to strike him down in a volley of fire.

 **"Onyx... Diabolica!"** a horrible scream ensued from the place Issei stood. It wasn't a scream like any being could vocalize in any moment of their lives. It was far worse than anything every spectator of this Game had heard. It was just like at the beginning of the Second War of Heaven where the Welsh and Vanishing Dragons had danced around the battlefield, killing everything in sight. It's roar was something befitting of such a dragon and way beyond that. The cries, wails and screams of the dead resurfaced from within him on surface of his scaly skin, demanding what they desired the most with every language on Earth,dead or alive.

Shocked. He was shocked,terrified to death by the sheer magnitude of this dreadful roar, mixed with the voices of the dead calling to the living world. Words of unknown, abhorred meaning could be heard in every corner of the field.

The simulation of the school grounds was breaking apart by the sheer force of this 35 seconds last resort, it began to shatter like glass into fragments of a computer code being erased,destroying the whole system. There was no knowing how long it would last so every other participant left escaped this ruinous arena of war.

Riser looked again but was stabbed through the stomach by the black, long claws of Issei's own hands,stirring his intestines from the inside out. Looking back in terror, the flaming regenerator looked into those white eyes of carnage; skin was replaced by black jagged scales with a mouth of piranha like sharp teeth biting into his wings.

Screaming in pain was something unnatural when he was in his regeneration mode but by using this living flame armor he was subjective to physical sensations and irritability. Panting and swinging his arms on his head,bashing his flaming fists into his face and finally somewhat, by some dumb luck freed himself from his grip.

His wings of fire lit up when Issei jumped above him. But he wasn't giving up despite this terrifying presence of all vices and evil within this small space where hope was the last thing you would think of.  
Such hope was crushed when Issei, grabbing onto his ankle and swinging him back around the other direction, his whole leg was torn off with a pond of blood following him up to the main school building.

His leg started to regenerate with a slowed down speed of recovery, barely returning his body to his previous state. He was being drained of his energy,he was getting slower and weaker. The touch of those black scales had caused internal damage with it's serrated tips and something more but he couldn't fathom what it was.

 _"* This is a small speck of crystalized essence of the Evil Dragon Vritra. I brought it back from a small trip to the Balkan peninsula, namely the destination of a small place called Tsaritsina, in Bulgaria. That place has a lot of phenomena, it's full of mysteries of the old world. Back to this one piece " Chesare explained the contents of the suitcase, opening it to reveal it's contents. A single syringe with black ichor of the Dragon King Vritra, mixed with some booster drugs to add a finishing touch to the mix. " This will only last for 35 seconds only so use it wisely. *"_

Issei continued with what he was doing to Riser - he continued to punch and punch him deeper into the wall,breaching it with the body of the Phenex heir. Some deep primeval feeling within his soul was telling him he won't last longer than another 2 minutes at most with his regeneration slowing down more to a simple unimpressive manner of small flames.

"The effects of Black Ichor:Vritra have ceased to an a second sample to continue. " a small notification tone started coming from the left pocket of Issei's him go,jumping back a distance of 400m and the effects of the black syringe wore off,leaving Issei back to normal.

 _"* It's now or never! *"_

Taking out another vial to his neck, he projected a few barriers and started running towards Riser in a final attack to bring him the scales he planted in his body,he gained enough mana to regain use of Onyx Diabolica for an extra 7 seconds, enough to reach him and end in midair, he took out all of his daggers and threw them at each angle ahead of him- the daggers enlarged with his magic, magic provided by the second syringe: magical booster drugs were really expensive and hard to find in pure quality. The swords flew ahead, placing his hands in the back of his suit he grabbed his two modified Desert Eagles and emptied their barrels, shooting every silver bullet with holy water in the air.

And finally slitting his wrists with a small blade, blood poured into his palms, solidifying by the command of _**[BloodEdge Manifestation]**_ he finally closed in to the body of Riser and with everything he hailed at him damaging him beyond what he could take normally, halting his regeneration by the lodged pieces of silver dipped bullets and blades. There was nowhere to run, no where to hide - It was Death flying towards him, the aspect of Death given tangible form.

The air was cutting at Riser like a pressurized blade by the incoming attack of the humanoid dragon. Bloody wounds gushed the red liquid all over him, Issei took this chance by utilizing a small scale fire spell to ignite the blood of his enemy like a torch.

Riser couldn't keep up with the speed of the holy water burning his insides as much as he tried to regenerate. But they just continued to hinder him and were impossible to remove with their ends sticking in like barbs into his flesh. It was the end for him- his vision blurred with the shapes fading from his sight, the constant draining of the Vritra scales Issei had planted inside him were making a short work out of his body as the energy drain was too much for his body to replenish.

At before falling unconscious and losing this match, Riser looked up one last time with his blurring sight the moment when Issei's pure white eyes met with his own, ending his participation with two stabs of these iron rich,blood swords.

The horrible presence of sheer malice ended with the last second of the small timer he carried on his person. He raised his right hand, with his blood swords dissipating back to his open wound, in a sign of victory. Standing on his feet was the winner of this game, Issei.

 _"* I did it.I did it*"_ But just as he finished with his sign, he fell to the ground with spit, full of blood. The sheer exhaustion this ichor caused made him lose consciousness. The arena was falling apart having fallen on the ground, a thumbs up sign was spotted on his left hand, still clutching a silver cross...

 **[Rias Gremory 0 losses vs Riser Phenex 15 losses ]**

 **[Winner is Rias Gremory without a single loss!]**

XXX  
"It's about time we made our move,isn't that right gentlemen? " sitting in the corner was Diodora Astaroth a.k.a Diodora the Explorer.

He had arrived secretly at the middle of the game through a deal with the guards at the door. He made some excuse to rebuke his absence of the span of one month and that it was nothing more than an unjustified rumour of the sorts.

"Fine by me. That Sitri bitch that took my rightful place isn't here sadly. I'm grateful for your generous help in acquiring Fafnir and Samael so consider it done." from the other side was the rightful heir of the Leviathan, Katerea Leviathan.

"It's always a pleasure to work with you, Leviathan. " in his usual manner he thanked her getting him a pass at this Rating Game between the Phenex and Gremory.

"We both hate the Gremory for obvious reasons, but is it okay for you to risk yourself in the Vali team? " fixing her glasses, she shot a look at him befitting of her regal birth.

"No need for worries, your Majesty. Everything is going as planned. That old geezer agreed to it without a doubt. " slightly bowing down,Diodora made his mischievous smirk all over again.

"Well then - she paused for a moment, " do as you like. I heard that prize you wanted was with the rest of the Gremory in the lobby hall. Make it fast, we're doing this all for your sake! "

"As you wish,lady Katerea. " and Diodora Astaroth went to ways unknown.

Meanwhile at the end of the game...

Issei was lying on the ground, having won despite the lack of his draconian nature with unusual means to do it.

The system was barely holding on a silver thread of luck, as the technicians responsible for conjuring this arena were working with everything they had to keep it from breaking down and endangering the spectators. And Issei couldn't be retrieved due to the system being incompatible with dragons for some reasons till this day. Even old man Tannin, as smaller dragons called him, was no exception to this rule when he had his own Rating Games not so long ago.

But just as some worker came to retrieve Issei before it was late, the sky brightened like day - hundreds of magicians rained from the gigantic seal that stretched over the whole area and last but not least from the Gate came Vali. She was clad in her Divine Dividing Scail Mail armor and by her side were Kuroka and Bikou.

Coming from the ground was a crucified figure with black bindings on it's limbs anf face. The seals and chains broke all of a sudden, unleashing the vengeful Samael with his wrath directed at everything it saw. It charged a gigantic spear of lightning with it's blood sprayed on it and hurled it at the audience on the other side of the arena, shattering the multi layered barrier that separated them from the carnage of the battlefield. Mass panic took ahold of the crowds with some running, others went to fight it to protect everyone but were destroyed by the large tail of the mutated angel.

Vali spotted the sitting in a VIP section Governor of the Fallen, Azazel himself and flew straight towards him.

"To think you were with the Khaos Brigade, i didn't expect you to reveal yourself so soon." Azazel didn't look like he was surprised at any means possibly. He had found about it not so long but let it slide as long as the Fallen weren't involved.

"What can i say,you know what i want", Vali's voiced sounded manly due to the echo the armor produced,making it appear she was a male. There were no female possessors of Divine Dividing recorded so it just reinforced the belief that the White Dragon Emperor was a male to the rest of the world.

"I do,but is this the only way? You know there are so many possibilities and you to bet on this one. You really want to do it no matter what,am i wrong? " Azazel gave her a response in his usual laid back tone, his eyes squinted when he smiled with his charming smile."Let's talk about this when we get home,Vali."

"Fine by me," her metallic voice spread across the room, magnified by the armor of the Vanishing Dragon,Albion," but I'll be taking the host of Ddraig from this place,don't stop me."

"He's not in a condition to fight right now. Something happened and he can't use his Boosted Gear. He's unconscious. "

Vali spotted the lying on the floor Issei, just close to the berserk Samael. No one could retrieve him due to the rampaging Angel's advances on the arena. In all of that fighting there was a small gap for her to grab him. She gave a look, meaning "Is that him" only to receive a positive response.

"I'll go get him, when he's in a good condition I'll have my rivalry resolved. And he won't be able to refuse. " she flew among the Devils fighting the renegade Angel,knocked down a few dozen of them to get through and even slammed Samael in a wall. In her hands she finally had the Red Dragon Emperor all to herself. She flew up high,above the massacre where nothing could reach her.

 _"* So this is the Red Dragon Emperor. He's not bad at all, with those defined muscles and everything. He's kinda cute in person too?! What the hell,why am i thinking of this again?! I don't have time for this now,Albion,i hope you're not listening to this!*"_

Taking Issei far away from the arena, she dropped him out of the artificial dimensional arena on a nearby chair and started examining him from head to toe. Defined,hardened muscles from all of the hard work, a strong build with broad shoulders and such. He looked kinda cute in her eyes while he was asleep but she didn't miss the blood on his undershirt and remnats of the suit.

 _"*What the hell happened with you? *"_

"I'd rather have you leave him as he is,young miss Vali. " from nowhere suddenly appeared the doctor, Chesare MonBlanc himself in a black suit and his tone seemed relaxed but something gave him out. Under that casual smile was a horrifying pressure of intimidation.

Vali felt the urge to fight him but something told her it would end badly, nonetheless she wanted to try her chances with him. That desire hadn't left her ever since their first meeting at the bar, she was much more spirited than before.

"How did you know it was me?"

"I could never mistake that vicious smile of yours behind that mask.I'd kindly ask you to hand him over,i promise you'll have your fight but not now. He's not in a condition to do so and I'm really pissed off by that Phenex dude. So just hand him over please. "

Rather hesitantly she gave him the unconscious boy to her chagrin but she had enough honor to keep her word. She wasn't devoid of common sense as much as she was notorious for, judging by the words of those who had survived against her took his body in his arms and mentioned something, "By the way", he started casually with a half mouthed smirk," can you do me a small favor? You see,this nice fellow right here wanted to see you but since he's unconscious", he handed her Issei's phone, " give him a picture. " he smirked teasingly, it made her feel weird but she still did as requested.

Removing her white armor, she had her black low v-neck shirt,black capri jeans and a small black bolero over her shoulders. She wasn't picky when it came to clothing and preferred comfortable clothes than fashionable but still looked cute. She took the phone and made a few pictures and handed it back to him.

"Next time he's mine. Just so you know that. "

"Sure, sure. We'll meet again." he waved at her and passed through a portal in the space, leaving the young girl alone.

XXX

"Hello, young miss. Congratulations on winning the Rating Games. Have these flowers as an act of appreciation. " Diodora Astaroth handed a bouquet of Carnations with a smile on his face.

Asia was standing in the lobby hall while waiting for Koneko and Rias to get back. They saw that someone took Issei and panicked while searching for him under rock and stone. She took the bouquet gracefully and thanked the charming devil with a bow.

"How are you doing, mr...mr." she couldn't finish her sentence as she didn't knew his name. She recognized the young man as the Devil that she saved before being excommunicated from the Church and went to exile.

"Diodora, Diodora Astaroth. " he said short. " It's disheartening to hear about your uncomfortable predicament with the Church higher ups . You risked your life to save that of a Devil. I am forever indebted to you. " humbly bowing down to her, he offered her a sincere apology.

"Saving someone is the right thing to do, no matter if you're a human,Devil or anything else. Life is precious no matter what."

"Let's run away from here. It's dangerous. " he grabbed her hands and pulled her closer to himself.

"I'll have to wait for President Rias and Koneko-san, i can't leave them behind." Asia protested with her innocent voice.

"I saw her at the exit,let's go before this place goes to Hell. Or we'll be buried under the rubble. " he raised his voice a bit to try to persuade her into seeing the situation at pulled her in and started running towards the exit with her in tow.

Asia resisted with with everything she had,placed all of her strength into running with every single bit of energy she had left. Diodora made chase after her in his attempt to catch her and run away only to be surprised by the sudden appearance of a giant, robed man with a large metal rod. A quick battle ensued with the collector Devil being driven off to the shadows,in the process Asia was saved from her kidnapper by this mysterious figure. She turned backwards only to see his silhouette dissappear into the vast hallways of the lobby with only a single Evil Piece left behind. Asia snatched it from the ground and judging by it's signature deduced it was a black Bishop piece.

 _"* This is going good. But who was that robed man that saved me? If it hadn't been for him,i could've been spotted. Diodora Astaroth, the devil that collects holy maidens,now i know how you look like. Till we meet again, explorer. *"_

"Asia! Why did you ran away. You've got me worried you were still there." coming from the back was Rias with Koneko in tow,her very posture showed signs of worry as her brows creased upwards.

"I was attacked by a scary man and ran away. A large, robed man with a stick saved me. "

"Never mind that. Issei was kidnapped, we have to go."

"Ok. President. Let's find him." and she went behind Rias with her hand clutching on the black Bishop piece behind her back.

XXX

15th August, 7th Daze bar,7:35 am, Friday morning.

"Wake up sleepy head. It's already past 7 in the morning. " a bright smile woke him up.

Through sleepy eyes, Issei tried to see what was around him and where he was standing currently. He didn't remember anything else after fainting and spitting blood on the arena.

" He's waking up,come on over" a female voice ran through his ears,it was sweet and gentle with a accent of sorts. Something he knew.

Finally regaining consciousness, Issei stood up and looked around himself only to realize he was at the room behind the bar plate where some of his fellow acquaintances spent a night when they had to find a place to crash. Only that they had to wait for the specific day of the opening to get out. It was a space out of the laws of reality, a pocket dimension of sorts for a reason.

"How did i get here?" he yawned as he stretched his limbs. He felt sore all over his body,this burning sensation of his muscles tearing apart and being knit anew was vaguely familiar to him.

"The doctor brought you back after what happened at that match you had against some burning chicken dude." with her ever so cute voice, It was only Hilda Shaun there by his side for that single moment.

"What exactly happened after i passed out? " with an eager look he posed his question towards her. He looked weary and his hair was a bit messed up but seemed to healthy as a newborn.

"After you fainted,a rogue Angel of the sort trashed around the artificial arena but was defeated by some of the Devils there. The rest is just that MonBlanc brought you back here to check out your condition. To use the black ichor without a second thought, rather spontaneous of you, isn't it" Hilda said as she came closer to the purple bed, "I knew you could beat them,no matter the odds. " she exclaimed in praise.

"Are you drunk again? "

"N-no. Maybe just a little. " she brought her palm to her face in a manner of saying " not at all,i don't drink wine".

 _"* Like hell you are, you reek of booze in every direction. How the hell your manager even deals with it,he must be some superhuman being beyond the scope of reason and logic. *"_

Hilda took a chair from the nearby desk only to sit down and lean back to support herself, she had stayed up the whole night to watch over him by the request of Arthur."It's not like i could stay up all night and kill off the boredom, you know?" she gave a faint smile only to point her finger at the door."There's this girl that came over to see you, she looked like she was a marble statue with that face of hers. Arthur called her right away as soon as you were here. She ended up spending the whole night at your bed and fell asleep after a while. "

Finally on his feet, he went to put on some pants but before that gave Hilda a weird look- _"* I feel weird with this girl around when I'm changing. Just how tactless could she get I've wondered. *"_

"Well then," he began getting dressed in a pair of clothes that were placed on the desk neatly, " I'll be going - i need to finish some stuff."

"Like what?"

"Sealing the deal." he placed over a blue t-shirt on his upper body,with the sleeves of his undershirt sticking out from the edges of the blue cloth.

"Issei... Is that you? " a sleepy Sona just aroused from her deep slumber and the first thing she did was get her glasses on and fix her hair. She hated looking like a total mess in the morning. There was no spite in her voice, unlike a while ago when they were still nothing more than unlikely allies with a common goal. But still it felt like her usual cold tone.

"Yeah,it's me all right. Like someone could mistake this ugly face of mine with someone else's. " in his sarcastic streak he relayed the truth he had grown used to. He wasn't ugly in reality but his eyes made him look like he was constantly in anger or in sadness and had that special feel of disgusting in them.

"Could i ask for a moment of privacy, please. I need to speak with him for a second. " politely asking the blonde girl,Sona stood up and fixed her glasses.

"No problem. Take your time; I'll go grab some coffee. Yo,Issei want one? I'll get one for you as well. " Hilda went through the door straight to the bar plate to fix a bit of the dear "morning cheer" Issei indulged himself didn't ask them as she knew the answer already.

The atmosphere in this small room without windows was weird. Stale and dull was an accurate description of what could be felt in the air.

"You damn idiot, you made me so worried about you! When i saw you fainted after that battle with Riser, i snuck out of home and straight to you. Do you know how worried i was - what if someone recognized your true identity? "

He looked down to his feet, the feeling of someone being worried about him was alien to his thinking process. He could apologize when it was needed, he didn't have any pride nor self-esteem so it wasn't a problem. But something in him made him feel guilty, preventing him from vocalizing even a single syllable.

It was then that Sona threw herself at him,placing her head on his chest in a intimate way and she started pounding on him lightly. "What would i even do if i lost you as well? You're always putting yourself at the prospect of pain before others and get hurt. Do you know how i feel about it when i see you do that? We're a team, you and me. Don't you forget it." Sona muttered under her breath,gripping tightly his sleeves.

Issei nodded,"Sorry for making you worry. Can we stay like this for a bit." he forgot all manner of his hesitation for skin contact.

"Didn't you hate it when people are too close to you? "

"I do. It's just as you said but if it's you, then i don't mind it." his eyes remained static but she knew he was just like that- even in this moment he swallowed his fear of emotional contact just to make her feel better.

"I'm glad," she spoke up without caring about the rest. He was okay - it was just the evolving relationship they had now. From strangers to close friends in a perilous situation with the stakes high, with everything that transpired it only made them realize each other's worth to the later. Now she truly felt him as a friend despite the monster he was.

"I found something more to what we know. The man in the picture is a missing Paladin and the girl his daughter. They seem to know me from somewhere and i had a new message from X" and he elaborated everything when they went to the bar counter to drink some coffee.

"If you ask about Rias which I'm sure you won't, she's waiting for you at the Occult Research Club room with the rest. I told her i sent out a friend of mine to save you and that you were with me." she had to blatantly, outright lie to Rias to get her off her back. She didn't know the full details but got the gist of it from the benevolent barman.

"Thanks for covering me in front of her. I'll repay you somehow."

"No worries, we're friends after all." it was beyond weird, Sona had smiled in a heartwarming, gentle way like never before. And she didn't flinch on top of it. The world must be close to the Apocalypse if it could happen for the Ice Queen Sitri to smile like that.

"We have to go, it's about time probably ." he took his phone to check the time and to his surprise, when he unlocked it- it was the picture of a mysterious silver haired beaty with ice blue eyes with the shade of the ocean.

 _"* What the hell is it?! Someone tinkered with my phone! But who is this mysterious beauty as of speaking of weird.?*"_ his eyes widened in surprise when he switched to the right, only for a few more pictures of her to show up. He felt emotionally eleveated by this sheer matter of luck. He even managed to size her chest size just by looking at the photo,he was in a good mood all of a sudden by this situation. Pleased he was.

"Issei, a note for you " Hilda handed him a small envelope directed towards him. Opening it, he read it in anticipation of something bad.

 **["*This is the White Dragon Emperor, her name is Vali. Ain't she cute? And she saved your ass back then, so fight her sometime cause that's what she wants. *"]**

"What's in the note?" Sona readjusted her glasses as she took a sip of her coffee.

"Just some note to go and buy stuff. Nothing else. " he said under his nose. He would be embarrassed if he told her what it had in store. So he kept shut and made it look like it was something normal. And normal was something abnormal in their lives how much they desired it so.

"Well if it's that," Sona finished her coffee and placed the porcelain cup on the plate. Fixing herself, she slowly descended to the floor from her chair, " are you ready? We've got to go to school, i can't fake another day so easily."

"Yeah. Just give me a sec to get my pills." Hilda handed him a red bottle of his usual pills,prepared in advance by the doctor. He knew that he didn't take extra with him so it was such he was prepared for this.

"Hey,Issei.. Good luck. " Hilda gave him a warm smile as a farewell sign.

"Um,thanks for the coffee. I'll see you around. "

 _"* Why does it always make me feel weird around her? Probably because of my like for Prinz Eugen,she's the real life basis for her. Atleast she's not drunk again. *"_

"By the way" Issei started, "how are we to get to school? I can't use my wings for another day and it's a bit far away. We'll be late..."

"Oh,I've got you covered. Catch! " Hilda threw him a black motorcycle helmet and the keys," Arthur brought your Honda just in case this happens. And here's your license, he faked it at the police so there's no problem in using it."

"Where am i to go without him?! Thanks Hilda. "

"Just get going already, i have a gig to play at tonight. And some time, come see me play."

"Sure.I will. " and both Sona and Issei went to a open compartment in the room,went out of the bar and hit the pedal to the metal.

XXX

15 minutes passed since they left the bar. Parking on a nearby parking lot and waiting for Sona to go first not to cause her trouble, he entered the school grounds a few minutes after her.

Occult Research Club room, Friday morning, 08:03 am

Sona waited for him before the door,calmly preparing herself for all of the questions that might fly at her way in this crossed fire,also known as an interrogation of sorts.

"Are we going to do this?"

"Just let's get this over with. I wanna go home and read stuff." a small bored sigh came out of Issei's mouth.

And the other side was waiting a surprise party for them. Lots of food and drinks were placed onto the table- Asia had cooked everything with Akeno the night before after they escaped the arena unscathed. Koneko helped with eating a bit of the sweets while Kiba sucked at cooking and always had take out.

"Surprise! " Asia yelled in excitement at them. She was rather in a eleveated mood as she went to the stunned duo of Sona and Issei. Trying to lure them in with delicious food was a good strategy.

Rias was standing by the window, leaning over the wooden bank of the frames. She didn't look like she was totally fine but still tried to look her brightest for this occasion. She stood up and looked at each of her Pieces by the table, then towards the newcomers in a warm welcome. "Congratulations everyone! We did it without failure so eat up and drink for a well done job. " in her usual manner of speaking with a bit of pride mixed in her speech.

"And thank you Sona, despite your state you, if it weren't for you to save him. I wouldn't have known what to do but please remember he is mine." in her own harmless smile, she directed a threat to her and like a mother owl was ready to fight for him even if he couldn't bring himself to like her.

 _"*I ain't your property to claim, still not going to let that go, huh? *"_

"I'm not some property of yours to say it that way. Just don't take it out on Student Council President Sitri. It's me you want. " Issei retorted back to her weird expression. He didn't do it for Sona,he just felt like it.

Sona gave her a dead stare like that of a dead man. Rias had the knack of competing with Sona since they were little and even if she wasn't here,she would've done it regardless to show off.

"Never mind that. We've won! We were declared as the official winners of this Rating Games. So my engagement to Riser Phenex is adjourned and I'm free from the betrothal. And i must admit, we wouldn't have done it without you." Rias smiled back at him, everyone else looked relieved.

"As the winner of this wager, signed and agreed upon with your life on the line, your part of this bet is valid ; as the winner of this duel you have a right to choose two Pieces of the Phenex peerage by contract, aside from Yubelluna, the Bomb Queen. " Grayfia came out of the corner.

She had helped them with the cooking and secretly she was happy with the results of this match. Rias's words had struck a chord in her heart those two weeks ago, reminding her of her own betrothal,until Sirzechs Gremory saved her and took her as his Queen. Pride. She felt proud over her resolve and stubborn desire for freedom, she had matured. Grayfia smiled and waved at Issei to decide by showing him the holographic images of the girls.

Issei folded his hands behind his back and made a large grimace when he looked through them. Rias gave him a puzzled look but her gaze was locked steadily at his hands and gestures.

 _"* Which one to choose? Which one? Why is it so hard to do it. Hmm, this one looks good - no wait! I got it. I'll take this girl Xuelan,she's a good sparring partner,a good defensive player and she's hot. That's the one! Ravel Phenex, she's willing to go with no problem posed at all. *"_

Grayfia patiently waited for his decision, all of the Phenex peerage was waiting in some nearby place,the old faculty room with the understandable lack of Yubelluna. Riser couldn't get to hear the decision himself as he was traumatized and in a bad condition to be present.

"Well, what is your choice, Issei Hyoudou? What have you decided upon this deal? "

"For my first choice I'll take the black haired Rook named Xuelan. " he started with touching the hologram of Xuelan."And for the second one I'll take Ravel Phenex, we have a deal with her so she's the second one."

"So this is your choice. I'll inform the Phenex family of this matter. "  
With nothing else to say, she summoned two large circles from which emerged the sour Xuelan and the blonde Ravel Phenex. One of them looked confused while the other stepped up towards Issei.

"The deal is sealed. You didn't have to trash my brother so much but nonetheless, congratulations. " she gave him a cutesy wink and something in her tone was cryptic.

"What's going on? Why am i here.? Or wait- Xuelan paused in realization, " that damn handsome idiot made a far fetched bet, didn't he?"

"That is correct. You were chosen by the winner of this bet and as the deal goes- you'll be transferred together with miss Phenex under Hyoudou's care. The deal is a deal." Grayfia explained everything in detail.

"Well, since everyone is here", Rias took the initiative to mend the bad atmosphere, "let's celebrate. Issei this party is for you. "

Issei grabbed the doorknob in pursuit of something that they couldn't understand. "I don't celebrate. You didn't have to go through all of this. Have fun." and he left to their shock.

XXX


	8. Act2 Absinthe & Lemonade

Act.8 Absinthe & Lemonade: What IF…

Afterword at the end of this chapter…..

"Just what the hell happened? " Xuelan's curiosity burst out like a giant fountain in every way, not minding the rest of the inhabitants of the room, aside from Sona.

"I-i think he just ran away... " Asia faintly tried to answer while appearing cheerful, but there was a distant look in her eyes that didn't go unnoticed by the bespectacled StuCo President.

"But just why did he do that? What did we do wrong to gain his ire?" Kiba was dumbfounded by this turn of events. He had some suspicions on what was going through his mind but still had the urge to question things.

"I'll tell you why." Sona stopped to take a breath and go on,"It's because of how he's being treated like dirt by you. Have you ever stopped for a second to think about how he feels, how he was dragged into this with no choice in it. And your Master knows the best." Sona was a bit irritated by their lack of consideration.

"I thought he would enjoy this. We did this for him" Rias pouted by the chiding tone of Sona. She then gave a questioning gaze,"How would we know if he didn't want anything like that if he doesn't talk with us?"

"Aren't you a bit selfish? You people didn't give him a chance at all, always seeing him as what the rest think of the likes of Issei. Just as he says "People will stab you in the back and then ask why are you bleeding ". He went through the gutter, he died and reincarnated as a Devil, he had to kill Raynare, fight against an opponent by risking his very life for your sake despite saying it wasn't. You don't know how broken he is and still he fights despite everything. "

"You talk like you know what he went through and through, like you experienced everything yourself. I know you two have known each other for so long but what could i do?" Rias didn't back off,she pressed harder.

"As a matter of fact i do" rage built up inside Sona, " Because that night in the church", she paused as it started to hurt but she had to continue, " i lost my whole peerage. Quartered,tormented, sliced,their eyes and mouths were sewn shut by that bastard exorcist. And i died too!" - removing her tie,she unbuttoned her school uniform a bit to show them the aftermath of the incident - they spotted 3 black scales upon her chest area,right above the heart. "Now do you see what i mean?!"

Everyone froze in their places without being able to say a single word to this display of truth. Kiba remained at the table, Koneko was a bit worried and Akeno. She didn't show it but lowered her head in thought.

"… How...is that possible? " Rias stuttered for the first time in her life by this revelation. She knew of the massacre of her peerage but this came out of nowhere. Little did they know what had transpired in reality.

"We have to get him back and apologize. " Asia tried to calm down everyone but to no avail.

"So one of you atleast has some acknowledgement of his existence as a person? I don't know what your relationship with Hyoudou is but i doubt he wants to be chased after, even by you miss,Argento. He needs time, and maybe then he could have some time to talk. Well if you show him that you care even a bit for him. "

Sona was unnerved by this hypocritical, counterfeit concern of theirs. She knew how hard it was for him to let her close enough to his real self; Sona was the only one he chose to show his damaged self with everything in it- his worries, pessimism and suicidal thoughts. But just then it was what brought two broken souls together - it was suffering.

Xuelan and Ravel remained silent and close to Grayfia's arms,they weren't able to say anything in this matter for a better lack of knowledge on the situation. So they just stood on the sidelines of this war of statements.

"What could i even do? He didn't say anything, how could i even try to help him if he didn't let me?" Rias walked around the room in a stressed footpace,walking back and forth around the table.

"There's nothing you can do," Sona's gaze became fierce, " he doesn't need your help at all. You've helped him just enough... Some King you are - to exploit your "subjects" in such ways. "

"That's enough! Why don't you go teach someone else,huh? He's my servant and I'll make things up with him my way. So why are you still mingling where you don't have any right to?" Rias finally snapped by the last statement that questioned her ability to deal with people. She managed to help Kiba,Koneko and Akeno somewhat but to be questioned on her ability as a King was a great insult to her pride.  
Rias didn't care that she crushed her glass of juice in anger. She was fierce as a lioness against the ticked off Sona.

"Any right, huh?" Sona muttered under her breath quizzically, "What right do you speak of when the way you people treat him isn't right! "

Something in her eyes flashed for a second, her eyes became like those of an ice dragon the moment the surroundings were covered in instant frost, liquids froze into iced popsicles. The temperature lowered suddenly bellow 0 degrees Celsius - they were about to freeze by her unexpected outburst of power. She herself was caught by surprise - she didn't have any intention of doing so and letting her emotions out of their leash but couldn't stop it.

"That is enough of you two!" Grayfia entered the fight between the two girls just in time to prevent something catastrophic from happening. She urged both of them to calm down for the sake of everyone else in this school.

"I apologize for my unsightly display of anger Lady Grayfia. But... " Sona had a contemplating expression if that could be said that she shows emotion,the temperature normalized slowly with ice dissipating into vapor," I just couldn't let this one slide. I have nothing else to say anymore. You two,come with me." she waved her hand at Ravel and Xuelan to come with her. She was going to help them with their enrollment in school so she gave them a sign to follow.

And so they left...

"Why do i act like this? Why do i feel so bitter because of what she said? Just why?" Rias turned towards emotional,questioning her self for the reasons of why she was so selfish and egotistical.

The pretty boy and Asia helped her support herself to the nearby chair on which she started swelling on the corners of her eyes as she started to question herself once again. "Was it so bad to try to celebrate something with him? I-i thought... ", she whimpered, " i thought that we could finally get a bit closer after these 2 weeks away... I was so wrong, so selfish and demanding but never once put any effort to make it easier for i did was just hurt him again and again for my stupid ego."

"You tried your best, President. I know how hard you're trying to make things right... I know... " Yuuto's response was full of sadness masked behind his gentle smile.

Asia and Koneko tightly clasped themselves to her in a heartwarming embrace, enough to reach out to their King's heart. A heart plagued by so much concerns and yet so much more questions than answers to have.

"Don't worry, President! You'll win him back - he's not going to leave us behind. " Koneko said that out loud, unsure on how true that statement was.

 _"* I'll make things right! If i can't reach out to him as of i am now,then I'll change for the better. I don't want to lose another one, those six years ago i did the same mistake and lost him forever on that day. But not anymore...*"_ Rias leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs.

"Are you feeling ok? " Yuuto posed an innocent question with his ever so charming smile.

"Yeah, I'm all right. In fact i feel better now.", Rias had a serious, solemnly knit expression as she raised her head higher. Something in her eyes looked differently, rejuvenated and filled with cold conviction.

Akeno looked a bit stressed while she held everything in her not to cry, she was at the corner of the room. She wanted to run away and cry but she couldn't. She was thinking of somehow approaching Issei when he was alone and talk with him seriously - those words he said a week ago struck deep into her mangled heart. But sadly she didn't know how to approach him anymore without having him run away or keep his distance.

 _"* I knew i had to put an end to it. To close off this rift between us- impossible it might seem but i knew i should try to make things right... To live in regret... That i never wanted to do... *"_

"We'll have to change, to try to put our dislike and prejudice against Issei. I know that we weren't right to do it,i know that some of you don't want to be near him but...Didn't he prove capable enough and good intentioned to risk his life for someone? " Akeno took the word out of Rias's mouth. Surprisingly. She was one of the group that treated him like shit,always having a say when he talks about something and always badmouthing him on every occasion.

It was disbelief. Asia was a bit startled by this one sided declaration of hers- she was reminded of their conversation before the Game and how she treated him back then...

XXX

15th August, Kuoh Academy, Class 3 room, 17:30 pm

The school day ended quietly as if nothing had transpired the previous day and this dreadful morning where Issei left for class in a hurry. It was normal, something long forgotten and pilled under the rubble of emotional anguish and regret.

Issei was just about to leave the class room, his headphones and textbook in hand, he didn't have time to go home and get his bag - he wasn't really in the mood as Azazel noticed in class and asked him what's the matter after school. Well he was tugged by the shirt with the hand of Asia gently pulling him to wait a moment.

He just went out, he didn't want to cause her trouble by being seen with her. He just waited in the corridor for her arrival.

"Issei... Wait. What's wrong? " she gave him a worried look as she lowered her bag.

"Nothing's wrong. It's fine. Do i look like I'm in a bad mood or something? " he retorted back to her previous question with a simple gesture of his arm. He had this dull expression that would make you question yourself if you were so boring to look at or just he was dissatisfied with life.

"Why did you leave the room earlier? "

"No particular reason. If you would excuse me i have a- he was interrupted before being able to finish what he had to say.

"I just wanted to celebrate our victory together. Is that so much to ask for? " faintly pulling her arm away disheartened, she couldn't help but ask. She wanted to know if she was the problem.

"It's my mother's birthday today... Or it was. " with his underwhelming tone he muttered as quiet as possible. " How could i celebrate anything when i lost everything? It's not the same, to celebrate with people who don't give a damn about you just because you won some battle. I'll pass,i wouldn't do anything even if i went - I'd be just sitting by the corner not to get in the way."

"I'm sorry... I d-didn't know... " her eyes sank in defeat and guilt. She realized something - despite everything, he fought yesterday for the sake of everyone by her understanding and didn't want to get in way of everyone's celebration.

"No problem. I'm used to getting hurt all of the time. If you'll excuse me, i have an appointment with a client of mine today. " with some pain in his tone,he snuck out of further questioning and readied to go home.

"Wait... Rias agreed to let me live with you. She said she didn't mind if it could help you. " she shouted, "well... Does that offer still stand in value?"

 _"* Help,huh? Like i need her help to get things going. Atleast i made one objective cleared - get the Twilight Maiden under protection in my house. *"_

"Yeah. Knock yourself out. " he threw her a spare key for the house. "Don't let anyone inside or the barrier would eat them up by the way. It will recognize you but still be careful because if you touch something, it will munch you as a chiross."

Asia smiled. A radiant smile covered her face all of a sudden - with her new haircut and that cute butterfly hairpin she looked dazzling under the warm rays of the sun coming from the Issei knew that when he saw a beautiful scenery like that it was a way of the world telling him about something - either death or growth. It was what he thought of, accounting everything that happened from his death to Cecilia's kiss under the sunset.

"I'll be waiting for you at the house. "

"Just don't touch the kitchen, i didn't clean it."

"No problem. I won't " she gave him a warm smile as she headed to the exit before him. With him loosing her from his sight in the distance, he thought.

 _"* It's a good thing i made the barriers with some extra features if she turned out to be a killer or some weird kid with memory loss and a repressed personality. Anything could happen these days.*"_

Looking at his phone for the hour, he was going to get late if he waited even for a second more. And he had wanted to have some normal conversation with someone pleasant to him.

Finally he left the school grounds and headed towards the center of the city...

About 20 minutes later...

"You're late!" Sayaka greeted him with a harsh, demanding an explanation tone.

"Sorry. Tardiness is- just about to say what he liked to respond with when late, she did in advance for him.

"Is justice! Yeah, i know. I'm just messing around with ya. You know the drill. " she brought out from her bag a pair of black sunglasses and placed them over her eyes and said, "Come on. I want to show you something. You might like it "

Having taken a look around his eyes were naturally drawn to the apparel she had chosen for thia occasion. And she was known to be quite the stylish girl - she wore a stylish short skirt with a small slit at the left thigh, a short sleeved blouse with lace on the edges,her outfit was complimented by a pair of black shoes and a semi large handbag with the strap pressed between her breasts made him gulp down. She also styled her hair with two bands into a pair of short twintails but she looked mature.

"Oh, you like what you see,Issei?" in a seductive tone she asked him if she looked good in his eyes.

"Yeah,it looks fine on you. " in a impossible to escape situation he tried to keep his cool and say the right things or she might be displeased.

She made a grin. A happy, cheesy grin she made when he was back to normal as she missed him but didn't say it, she never wanted to intrude upon him with her selfish whims.

He tried to smile, but it looked more like a forced sneer than anything of the sort of a smile. It felt flat and forced.. "Weren't we supposed to go to the movies? " he posed a question while still trying to maintain his expression.

"Nah,let's do something else. And you don't have to force yourself for me; just being here with me is enough. So I'd rather you wore your bored expression, it suits your creepy eyes better - that's your charm." she gave him a wink.

 _"* This damn girl... I take pride in them,thank you for noticing. *"_

"So where are we going then? I didn't bring any cash with me today, so i can't take you anywhere. Not that i would want to" he sighed heavily," i would have preferred to stay at home and laze all day but i guess it couldn't be helped. " raising his shoulders in defeat,awaiting another snarky response from his female client.

"So tell me how did it go? You look kinda sad today, more so than usual. But i don't plan on asking what is it. I know it's hard so don't.. "

"I'll tell you. Just show me what you wanted me to see,I'm a bit curious about it. It better not be some yaoi doujinshi store cause I'm gonna suffer so much. " from calm to agitated, that was the transition of Issei's mood when he remembered about her inappropriate joke,concerning his preferences. That hurt a lot.

"No.." she snickered in a conceited manner," It's something better than that. Much better. "

 _"*Definitely a doujinshi store. You're messing with me again, Fate!*"_

XXX

The time was advancing with the sun slowly getting a moment closer and closer to set down but there was still a lot of time until it rose down the horizon and left the moon to take it's place.

It was close to 18:20 pm as only half an hour had passed since they left the center of the city and traveled near the outskirts of the town, just between one of the prefectures of Tokyo. The way up to the place she was leading him was lined with large tiles of marble and had a sidebar to be used for balance. There wasn't a parking lot which meant they had to go there by foot or wings,should it have been precise to say.

"I suppose we're probably almost there,right? I didn't know this place at all." walking on the tiles just behind Sayaka, he had the perfect opportunity to look up at her with his superior senses and get out of it without a problem.

"If you're wondering ", she asked a bit louder for him to hear,it was somewhat harder to speak when going up," my underwear is black. I still haven't payed you the compensation so when do you want it?" she turned back to him with a serious expression.

"I didn't need to know that. Just so you know, i have no such thing as a underwear fetish. But still - thanks,i appreciate the thought but no need. "

"Such a turn off!" she shrieked in displeasure.

 _"* Why does it feel like I'm on the stairs that lead up to my doom? A situation with a pretty girl and scenery always leads to something bad for me. I knew that better than anyone... *"_

Time passed by while he was thinking about various things with them both climbing the marbled steps up to the way ahead.

"We're almost there. Just a 10 or so steps to the end of the staircase. "

And in a minute, both Issei and Sayaka had reached the point after a long strenuous walk to the place, they had a small stop to buy some water and the rest of these 30 minutes spent in walking.

"This is it! It's a personal favorite of mine so i hope you'll appreciate it's beauty " in the moment when she finished her sentence it was there.

The rose lined entrance of this place was in one word - grandeur. Before their eyes laid out a giant way, crafted out of white marble and lined with red pebbles and conveniently decorated lightning in some of the corners of this road of marble. It gave off the feeling of immeasurable vastness to infinity and yet so small that you could believe it was a elaborate illusion of the senses.

It was a large park at first sight but if looked upon closely it was way more than so - a giant garden of flowers in which there was a chance you could find the very flower you looked for. It had benches sprawled in various places of this magnanimous garden of flowers across the sideways, lined to form a specific form and position.

It was beyond beautiful, it was just like ripped from the fairy tales his mother used to read him when he was younger. His eyes teared up a little by this wondrous view of his memory on the stories his mother read to him,the sheer thought of her birthday today saddened him even more so but he hoped that by going out with Sayaka it wouldn't have hurt so much.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? I used to come here with uncle all the time during summer and spring but we don't get much time to spend together as of nowadays. " a sorrowful expression plastered on the her face by the moment he turned towards her direction.

With the sun sparkling high, the skies were devoid of any large clouds ; it was a sunny day with the color of the sky brightened by the warm colors of yellow,red and orange in a magnificent portrait of nature. The angle and the direction of the sun rays directly fell on the myriad of flowers in this garden of Eden. And among it stood a beautiful girl with her eyes illuminated by the beauty of this place.

"It is." answering shortly to hide his raging emotions was his only choice. He was a person of logic, rather a Monster of Logic himself as emotions were mostly alien to him over the long span of this sorrow.

"Let's go sit up there", she pointed towards a specific bench and gripped his arm,pulling him towards there. It was a Victorian style bronze bench with mahogany wood, carved with floral motives and curves.

After going to that bench, they sat among a small garden of summer Heathers lined in a large oval shape with their purple leaves glistening with the rays of the sun. It looked so peaceful and beautiful, a fairy tale garden of flowers and silence. There were no birds around so it was just the silent humming of the town below, brimming with life.

 _"* If it were a story to be written about, clearly i knew it was like a phantasmal tale of suffering and anguish. If i were to be a main character, i would have clearly been the hated anti-hero of my tale. *"_

"I hope you would care to join me in this stunning view of nature. " Sayaka removed her sunglasses and lifted her head to his eye level. "You promised you'd tell me what's happening with you? "

"Fine. I'm feeling down because today is my mother's birthday... " a melancholy glimmer lit up his eyes, " but she's not around anymore. And it just felt jarring and wrong to celebrate with the rest of the Gremory peerage, how could i even feel the need to celebrate with people who treat me no differently than others. And the fault lies with me as well - i can't communicate with others well and neither do i wish to. Sometimes, even when trying to speak with others i feel this repulsion to communication. " he finished with a heavy sigh.

Her expression changed immediately to one of unrestrained melancholy. She felt all emotional all of a sudden by hearing this explanation.

"I see. I won't pretend that i understand how you feel but that wouldn't stop me from trying to express my thoughts on this." she tried to give him a comforting gaze but he turned away.

"You're not wrong about this. If it were me, I'd just leave any celebration not to spike the mood. And to be treated as trash just for who you are shows how shallow they are in their narrow minds. Because to me..." she tried to catch her breath, " being truthful to your feelings and self, no matter what,is what makes you someone. Not a copy of the masses but your own man."

"But isn't it natural for people to be like that. Peer pressure, rejecting others for not fitting in this rotten system like they do,not being part of the many. The fear of being left out is terrifying to most of them,so trying to change yourself and place a mask of conformity is nothing but disgusting. "

"But what about good memories? Would you care to share some with me,who knows? You might feel a bit better by doing that."

"I had but it's just useless to reminiscence in past events to get your mind out of the bleak present. " Issei shrugged off and groaned a bit to clear his throat while reaching out for his lighter to have a smoke. Luckily he had bought some on the way,but to his chagrin Sayaka payed as he didn't have any money. The feeling of reliance once again agitated his senses.

"Ain't you a positive thinker?" she blinked in her teasing manner once again, she was sarcastic. "No wonder people are scared of those disgusting eyes of your. " she chuckled.

"Thank you for the compliment!" Issei made a sarcastic grin.

 _"* Things just became weird as hell. I acknowledged that we didn't know much about each other, yet i felt like i could tell her everything without holding back. Just what is this girl?*"_

"If we were to speak of memories... " he grossed. " those are the things that constitute our behavior, instincts and personality. It's what makes you you,those things form the current iteration of your soul as per the laws of soul migration. But what if you were left with no memories? "

"You'd be nothing but a bag of meat and bones, a doll of flesh. Why are you asking this?" she swung her finger in a circular manner.

"I don't know. It just came natural... " he raised his shoulders in resignation. He didn't know what he was thinking all of a sudden, it was really weird for him to open up to someone.

"I don't know if you have,but I've wondered many times what made me the person me. Was it just my memories and experiences if they were to be erased or was it something else that constituted me? What do you think, Issei senpai?"

It was more like a rhetorical question with its answer woven in the explanation of the one being questioned.

 _"*A weird question. It was like it wasn't something natural but as well so normal that you couldn't say it wasn't spot on to ask. She was curious like a middle schooler would be,_ _awaiting an answer from me_ _.*"_

"I have. Too many times to even care to count. You see.." with a stoic face to match he went on," i don't even know if the one who's standing next to you is even me! So many times I've wondered if it was really me and not someone else that drived me through everything, only to find no answer to his riddle of anguish. So yes,if that's what you mean."

Having finally finished his cigarette, he threw the burnt out roll and ignited it with a flicker of his finger. His expression didn't change at all,it was just like marble; frozen and static in place.

"I understand. Sorry for asking about it. I've been curious about something - is there a girl you like or liked before time?" Sayaka stood up to take a walk around and stretch her sore legs from sitting.

Issei did not react much to this personal question all of a sudden . His attention was on the purplish-indigo colored Heathers before his eyes. It was like they were resonating with his very soul on a deeper level, like they were trying to tell him something. Sayaka was behind his back while watching the yellowish red sky slowly change to a deeper red as the time was slowly advancing on this Friday.

"There was one... But she went away... " starting slowly he lit another cigarette to go with released a small stream of smoke and continued on with his story."I'll tell you a story of my own 7 years ago,in one beautiful summer before my middle school life."

 **[ Issei's Story- 28th June , Kuoh City, Friday,13:40 pm,2008 ]**

 _*If there was a time most would consider to be the height of one's youth,consequently their life as well as social standing it was easy to guess that it was summer. Oh,sweet summer it was for others. Well i wasn't so eager to start the next year as it was just a possible prospect of being the victim of bullying another year,being subjected to erroneous epithets and such of the like. It was at the end of June, the day was the 28th of this dreadful month of aimlessly wandering . The being as Issei Hyoudou couldn't wait to get some peace of mind during the latter half of the days,away from the eyes of the rest.I was just a really cute child with a desire to make friends but i couldn't help it but fail miserably as no one would associate with someone such as me. But i didn't really think much of it ; i just wanted to be a decent normal boy with friends to hang out with during the hot summer days..._

 _Surprisingly, there wasn't anyone that i hated back then, i just went on life with respect and helpfulness to everyone. That was who i was back then - a sweet, well intentioned and compassionate boy in the eyes of the elderly and staff. But what i wanted was something of the thing, called romance...*_

"Woah, you were romantic? That is so unexpected coming from you, Issei senpai!" Sayaka walked around him.

"I was at some time with the impression that love at first sight existed. " Issei shrugged her surprised face off,he puffed smoke out of his mouth as he continued with his story.

 _* I was just about to elaborate on what i felt back then in that moment. It was back then when i fell in love for the first time - it was a girl from my class that we used to talk over the phone. I even managed to get her contact, most of the times there was some short excuse of not being able to talk with me,the other was just random answers from some number i didn't know. I fell for that excuse only to be betrayed by my expectations..._

"What did you do with this? What course of action did you take" impatiently Sayaka questioned.

"I was just about to get to that part. If you're going to listen, atleast don't interrupt me while i talk. I'm not doing it because i like it..."

 _* It was much later i found out how things were in reality - on the day i gathered my courage to express the warm feelings i had for her, i waited for the end of the school day and confess to her, ready to finally do it. How wrong i was..._ _  
Just returning from the boy's restroom i heard her voice in the distance, it appeared she was talking with someone from our class. So i came closer and with the patience of a monk,through the corner i took a glance only to see the girl i liked with one of the bullies of our class..  
It was that moment i realized i was wrong - it was a confession. I heard them over on how they ridiculed me for everything possible they could think off. I went through them and gave her a was all a lie... And then the next day- the whole class knew about it that i liked her,someone must have told them and here you go- the insults,ridicule and gossips of me were the main theme for the isn't it..._

 _The next thing i remembered was i received a small envelope with a message of some sort of riddle leading to another envelope of the sort. And i did follow them to understand what all of this was about - it was a philosophical riddle that led me to a certain house next to ours. And surprisingly it turned out to be the house of our neighbors - their faces i couldn't remember other than the father being some sort of worker at a place where people gathered. They had a girl ; but she didn't didn't go to my school, she studied in Tokyo and went back home with the train._

"So she must be this girl you speak of? I believe I'm right on the spot,aren't i? For someone who read female directed doujinshi...you're quite the suave player." Sayaka finally sat near him,Issei could feel her green as emerald eyes demand the whole story or else she wouldn't be satisfied.

Issei refused to acknowledge the sign she made at him and continued.

 _* i became friends with this girl as we spent the afternoon of every day together in the attic of her house, we would study together and help each other at various subjects we fared catastrophically. I would come to her house every day at the exact same time and leave at an exact same time every day. But she never wanted anything in return for her help, she never gave me her name at all and i just didn't think of it much as well. It was until one day,at the end of the summer when i went to her house again to have our study session for today only to find it totally empty. I came with the intention of expressing my feelings for her,i had finally thought i could connect emotionally with someone of the opposite gender. But it was for naught..._

He placed a hand over his heart and stopped for a moment. Then he continued.

 _*There was no one... It appeared that the house was deserted out of the blue. At first i thought that she was going to be late so i waited... And waited only to realize she wasn't going to come back at all. She had left without saying even a goodbye, i never even heard her name and what she wanted in return. Like she had never existed in the first place... I was heartbroken, i firmly believed that there could have been a chance of us being more than study buddies, just once... That's all i wanted it to be,to experience love... In the end i just found a small envelope with a printed_ _ **[C]**_ _and as anyone else would, i opened it._

"What did you find in there? "

"Just a simple riddle i couldn't answer back then."

It was a sheet of paper with the riddle - _"* What is beyond heaven and hell? The place where Purgatory and Earth reside? The daze is a blue shimmer we must find,a thorny flower with it's beauty in silence*"_  
And that's how it was... That summer of mine, where i met love and i lost it.

Sayaka's expression remained the though it was a marble statue of sorts. As though she knew all along in advance the answer to this question of his.

"In your story,you mentioned her father worked in a place where a lot of people gathered,didn't you Issei?" there was this curiosity behind her voice like it was an answer in it's self.

"Um..yeah. I did and why?"

"It's pretty simple in reality... " she walked around him and stopped before him with her face close to his. Issei felt awkward by this closeness. "Accounting the fact that he attended to a crowd and concerning the riddle of his daughter, isn't it safe to assume he was some clergyman or a priest in some local church? Even a philosophy teacher?His daughter could be expected to have been brought up in the dogma of Christian traditons."

Issei didn't remain quiet. He stood erect with his hands behind his back. It was like a ticking reminder of what happened that day of summer. _"* This girl is Irina Shidou,she went overseas with her father in 5th grade. "Asia's early mention of the girl in the photo...Could it be? It has to be!*"_

"What's wrong? You don't seem well all of a sudden." Sayak took a step back and then came closer to him,hugging him to his surprise unexpectedly. "You don't have to be alone anymore,I'm tired of suffering and i don't want you to suffer neither do i wish to force you to be my friend because of this contract. I just want you... "

"I can't help but be that way. I'm sure you would have preferred that blondy over me any day…" he went on in the same tone he used when stating facts about his life.

"It probably would have,i thought so at first but not anymore. I don't want anyone else but you to be my friend. We're cut from the same cloth after all." In an elegant move she reseated herself onto the bench and stood perched up on the brown wooden planks of this beautiful piece.

 _"* I couldn't exactly tell whether she was sincere or lying... It's like she actually understood a part of me that nobody did. But it was far fetched to bet on this...*_

"Could you let go a bit,I'm feeling uncomfortable. "

"Sorry... I just thought you wanted a hug- it's your mother's birthday so i assumed you wouldn't have minded it." slowly releasing her grip on him only to walk up to the nearby batch of Heathers. She continued this time with some more casual flare," Don't you think this flower is beautiful? " she took out one of them and placed it near her beautiful face.

"Beauty is subjective to the eye of the beholder", he snarkily began his statement with a waving hand of blunt criticism, " it is beautiful but only that. Soon it will wither away, leaving nothing but the ugly reality of it's beginning. The person who said that beauty would save the world was some idiot, lost in their idealized hope for something so shallow."

Sayaka was a bit peeved but she couldn't help but acknowledge it as the tiniest crease on her brows appeared. "Be it temporary or subjective, even if it's lonely... I still would like to think it was beautiful in it's own way. Imperfect but still beautiful. And the rose... " she went over and cut off a beautiful red rose from the other corner, **" is most beautiful just before it is plucked."**

"I've thought so many times how i wanted to die,to let go of this suffering... " she suddenly began into a new direction. "There's no using holding on to a world we can't change,but maybe if we had a different road to walk upon would we still be who we are?"

"I doubt it would. Despite everything, we're who we are and it will never change. That's what makes us human- to suffer and writhe,struggle and keep going until we find something even if there is nothing but Death at the end. But I'm no idealist so let's leave it at that."

It was close to sunrise. Just 15 minutes till it happened - the scenery changed with time passing by as the sky became more of a redissh tint with the small clouds painted by it's brilliance into a dazzling shade of pinkish beneath it were Sayaka and Issei locked in a beautiful scenery among the purplish Heathers before them.

"You know... I really like the time we have now. I feel alive for the first time in my life with someone who accepts me for who i am and not someone government insurance material to launder money from. " she suddenly felt the need to dance with Issei's eyes locked onto her shapely behind. "And i wouldn't mind paying you my fee for your services right now. Just tell me now or later,my house or your bed?"

"Of all the times to say it,you just had to pick now? I'm flattered but i don't want anything out of obligation because of some stupid contract. I may be a perverted lad but I'm not some ultra-miracle piece of shit to take advantage of a girl. I did it once and i sincerely regret it."

"Sorry... I'm just that way,i always fuck up the mood no matter what." her eyes went back to Issei as she turned back.

"Don't worry, I'm the same." he gave her a look of consideration and understanding as he stood up, ready to return home.

"By the way", she went on," in that riddle there's a flower motiv in it, right? "

"Yeah. Why?"

"The answer is nowhere. And this blue shimmer, a flower with thorns in silence is a blue rose - it could be translated into "*The miracle is both impossible and a tragedy - it's in the distance between heaven and hell,on the liminality of nowhere. *" That's just what i think when you read it in another way." she gave a weird look. It sounded like some far fetched rambling but in a meaningful way pleasing to him that she tried to answer it.

"You're brilliant! " he declared his admiration for her with a generous smile,it was still as creepy as the usual thing.

"So you do want me? Sorry but im not in a mood right now. And my name does mean brilliant as you said it. Last time you refused to cop a feel,so how about now, you player?"

"I would but not today, i don't want to fuck up everything. And you're a client. " he sneered back at her in his monotonous voice.

"Fine,fine but atleast watch the sunset with me. That is the last I'll ask from you for today. " she snuck behind him and placed her slender arms on his eyes,he could feel her soft bosom rub into his back. It was bliss at it's finest.

"Just this once, i have to do something before i get home. And I'll pay you back for the Dunhill, i hate having tabs on someone. " he didn't move at all. He just let her this once to be close but he never let his guard down for a second.

"Consider it a small thanks for everything. " she whispered sweetly to his ear.

And sunset came down upon this garden for two...

XXX

Regret?

Such a thing to get entangled in, struck down by the memories of the past,creeping upon your back as a ghost to always haunt you and remind you of your past shortcomings and failures. I knew that i wasn't always fair to others, i exactly knew that so much and despised it but who was i really? That was raised not a long time ago but still i had always thought of it being something that defined your existence as a whole. Just like with tropes and stereotypes of literature. But still, regret was the one thing i couldn't dispel, something i couldn't help but fear to acknowledge in my life...

To live is to regret, to suffer the inexplicable consequences of your hastily made decisions in the spur of the moment. That i grew to know well... Just maybe if i wasn't the way i am, i could have been nicer to them but all of these things that surrounded me were just full of expectations i tried to uphold. But why? Why did i care to be the one i was wanted to be and not the person i truly am?

If there was a reset button to your past decisions, just maybe? Would i choose anew? I would because there is nothing more than constant regret for this decision of mine. BUT there is no such button to do so to change your decision from **[A]** to **[C]** like in a Monty Hall problem so what we have left is no choice other than to constantly look back and fill our minds with Ifs and the like of _"what if i did it differently? "_ That was just my wishful thinking but i knew it was totally different from what i expected it to be.

It was natural for people to look back at their pasts with a longing to return to that time,but in so i realized it was nothing but some simple minded delusion through my jaded glasses to view reality with. But if i were to say it now,i wouldn't change things aside from one,the one thing i couldn't help to change only for it to come bite me at my back in every once in a while.

Otherwise my life wasn't so bad,there wasn't anything i needed as i could just have it in a flash. But was it that what i wanted? Not really, i didn't know what i wanted actually. It was just my egotistical desire to control that led to the current outcome of this situation. But i couldn't help it,i couldn't deny but feel like i was just being me. That's what i felt. But maybe it wasn't.

But once again, like in so many other cases, this is simply one's ego to try to control things out of their reach,only to feel dejection. In this way, it could be said that nostalgia is simply a mechanism for us to cope with the inevitable regrets and failures of our pasts by remembering the good stuff.."

Akeno Himejima is Akeno Himejima, Yuuto Kiba is only Yuuto Kiba. But Rias Gremory is Rias Gremory? Or is it just the Ruin Princess, the Gremory Heiress or simply the real Rias? I didn't really know in which one there was any justification in being a person when in reality it's nothing more than a symbol,a status of power in the hands of a long family tradition.

I tried to change myself for the better, i understood where my flaws lay but i failed in the process for it was probably incompatible with my nature of being a Devil. I really wanted to be a good King to my people, to be firm yet strong for them and support each other, to be able to rely one another when push came to shove... But i understand how powerless i am when it comes to changing one's view on life,not being able to help mend someone's problems and suffering. It's frustrating, this feeling of powerlessness in the current of life. Power is everything in the case of proving yourself to others, to be respected and listened to... But some things can't change all of a sudden so I'll take my time and try atleast to be a better person, not just for others but for myself as well. Because i never want to lose another one in any way possible, i don't want to lose them just as i did lose him 6 years ago...

XXX

15th August, Kuoh City, Central Graveyard, 19:35 pm

Akeno Himejima had finished with all of her day's work at school but still couldn't get out of the things that plagued her mind since this morning. This fiasco of a party that it was left a bad taste in her mouth, Sona's words had a profound effect on her mentality. She knew she was wrong, she knew it all along but it was easier to blame someone else to keep her sanity from slipping away ; but despite everything she needed someone to blame, be it Issei or her father otherwise she would lose herself and commit suicide in inability to cope with the harsh reality of this gray and black world of misery and pain.

Something in her, there was this subconscious desire to reconcile with her father but her own ego prevented her from doing so. She desired,she required a villain to continue living her life normally as anyone would. A deterrent, a force to fight against and despise for the sake of her convenience. That was the girl named Akeno Himejima, a irrefutable sadist who couldn't take the brutal truth, a fragile girl with issues of reliance on a figure of her desire to hate. A disgusting sadist that couldn't stomach being in the wrong for if she was, there was a a good chance of getting demolished by the harsh truth that was right in front of her.

But who knew what was on her mind this moment? That was something only she could tell but not show...

She lit up a candle and placed it on a holder next to the bouquet of Shiran flowers she bought from a local flower shop with the assistance of the shop owner in choosing the best flowers suited for this occasion. On that gravestone with placed flowers was inscribed the name of Shuri Himejima with golden letters, the mother of the black haired Akeno Himejima rested there in her final home.

"I couldn't help but come to see you, mother. It's been a while since I've last visited so i guess it's a good time for that." she was standing over her mother's grave,solemnly holding onto the hems of her uniform.

It was still day but the sun had risen down not so long ago but it still felt to her that there was time to visit. What was going through her head at that moment wasn't known to anyone but her.

She stood silent for a while, looking back and forth around the place like she was hoping for someone to come. She didn't know it yet,that she wasn't alone in this final home of the deceased as she spotted in the distance the figure of the approaching Barakiel. He came closer and closer until he was just before the grave of his late wife,bowing down and offering a bouquet of forget-me-not to the memory of his lost love.

Akeno was peeved, irritated by his sudden appearance all of a sudden. To have the nerve to show up even after everything happened was what ticked her off to no ends. It wasn't enough - the turmoil she felt during the training camp,today's affairs concerning the party and now this?

"What do you think you're doing here? Showing up where you're unneeded, quite the boldness you have, Fallen Angel! " she didn't try to hide her raging emotions, her countenance changed, her posture and tone became enmity it's self.

Standing up slowly, he took a look at her full of disinterest eyes and said. " I know i wasn't the best father i could be", he began apologetically with the tone of defeat in his voice,it was heavy but gentle, " i know what you're going to say but just this once, please hear me out on what i have to say." his posture switched to a more humble,more emotional stance.

"Why should i?" spite,she was spiteful as she clicked with her teeth in a amused manner," you suddenly showing up when it's convenient and you want me to listen? Huh,that's rich coming from the man that was never there for me once. What gives you the right to come here when you just left her to die?"

He was uncomfortable, it felt unbearable to breathe in this heated situation. He never wanted this to happen, it was something he couldn't forgive himself to this day; regret. He had lived with regret for 7 whole years every day, not once to forget about her. "I never got through it,every day i regret it for not being fast enough to have arrived. If i were there,i could've done something but i couldn't. Yet i can't take it,i never wanted things to be like this. " he raised his hand and placed it over his heart, " i won't ask you for forgiveness because that is delusional of me to wish. I just wanted to see you one last time... "

"You had so many chances... But you still threw them away, you fucked up my life! Nothing more than the abomination you created " she couldn't control her emotions, she lashed out at him with everything she could think of.

"You were never an abomination, not once did i think of you as such. Because no matter what you think, you could never be an abomination in my eyes, even if the world sees you as such. Because a father could never think of his child as a abomination. "

"Tell me one thing...", she turned around to look at his face, " why did you left her to die,why didn't you come back for us?" her lady like mask fell off only to show her true self- a damaged, fragile sadistic girl.

"I was against the odds,it was a trap to lure me out and i failed to reach you in time. I tried and tried but i never managed to find you,until that day where i saw you with that Devil girl. "he grossed with hesitation, " if i tried to take you back, it would have caused a mass scale conflict... "

"Is that your reasoning? " she knew she wasn't right, she knew it but couldn't do anything else but blame him. "I don't want to hear anything else from you, leave! " her voice spiked in the air louder than it usually was.

Barakiel dusted off his suit of any dirt and turned away, before leaving he said one last thing. " I know there's no way you could ever forgive me...i know that... But if you didn't want to hear it from me..."he paused for a second only to turn back and look in the distance, " i hope he'll be the one you let him to listen". She tried to see what he meant, only to turn back and see he was gone...

On the other side of the graveyard , in the distance a crouching figure laid out some flowers on a cross shaped gravestone with lit up lavender candles. Akeno looked up again and saw it was Issei in reality, he was here for some reason - she knew he was a orphan so he must have came to see someone.

 _"* Why is he here all of possible days? Just why now,why did it had to be right now? *"_

Issei spotted her in the distance between the graves and having finished his rites he went through the exit without turning back at all.

 _"* I'd better get out fast,i don't want anything like that time again. Such a drag*"_

He went through the gate fast but had the feeling of being followed, closely tailed by someone in the distance. He went through the center in 15 minutes, right ahead of a street corner. _"* I'm still being followed, I'll have to ditch them somehow.*"_

"Where'd he go?"

Something pulled her in the corner by the arm all of sudden, she didn't have any time to react nor escape this strong grip. "Why are you following me? Is it another order from your King,Rias?" Issei grabbed both of Akeno's hands and shot out a intimidating look at her.

"It's not,let go of me already. It's uncomfortable! " she squeezed in annoyance.

5 minutes later...

"Why were you following me?" Issei and Akeno were sitting on a bench with some distance in between. It was like the distance from Heaven and Earth, he was sitting on the right corner while she sat on the left in an attempt not to touch him.

"I wasn't really, if i were, I'd do it secretly " she protested in a obnoxious manner.

"Yeah,fine. I'm going then" he stretched his legs and rose up ready to go only to be betrayed by his expectations .

 **"We need to talk!"**

"I'd rather not. I'm unpleasant and someone you despise,i wouldn't like to intrude and get more annoying superficial talk."

"Is that why you left- i saw you at the cemetery? " she blinked twice while readjusting her uniform.

"Not really, I'd just get in the way. " unassumingly he retorted back at her,but he wasn't as snarky and sarcastic as always.

"Why don't you be more honest, it's not like you like us anyway so be straight with it." she looked normal but he could sense hesitation in her voice, masked behind her cold stare.

Turning back to give her a serious glance,"Honesty? That's rich coming from you but I'll state it again," he fixed his colar," even if i went there, I'd just spoil the mood. I'd just stand in the corner not to cause anyone trouble and discomfort. Plus we're not friends so don't get all bickering with me."

She was a bit stunned but continued, " you went there to visit someone right? " unexpectedly she turned somewhat concerned.

"You should've known by now,your King tried to digg up info on me so yes. I did. And let's be honest ",he decided to sit down and elaborate, " wasn't it convenient that i died that Sunday, wasn't it convenient for your **"King"** to just let the Fallen kill me and then resurrect me? I'm not fuckin stupid as you think i am, I'll say it once again - if someone of you mingles in my life and others i know, I'll kill you on the spot To be enslaved with no rights...and i don't need your concern, save it for someone who deserves it." from intimidating he turned to sarcastic and a snarky deadpan.

"I see. You're as they say."

"The first impression always sticks to us like glue,once it sticks to you like a shadow, it's set in stone forever despite how much you'd try to get rid of it. " he gave her a usual reply, he had many in store, " what can i say,i take pride in my work just like an artisan does. "

"Disgusting! " she grimaced back at him.

"Hmm,thank you for noticing. I take pride in my work." he snickered in a somewhat positive manner when being told of that.

" Why do you always have to be like that?"

"I'm not,im just me and no one else. A disgusting creep as you would say. I'm done, i don't think I'd enjoy this at all. I'm leaving. " he waved off to her with a annoyed face and realy wanted to finish this and go home.

"So you're running away? Is that the right thing? You could've said something back then." she tried to keep it all normal and not let her emotions cloud her judgement.

"Who said anything about running away?" he gave her a serious, chiding look that gave her the chills,"There's nothing wrong in running away or cheating - it's just natural and logical to produce results.  
The true meaning of not running away is planting your feet firmly in the ground and doing the best you can with your present. So I'm not running away, I'm just preparing for a different battle to fight for." surprisingly his face moved a bit more than usual. "and just so you know, i couldn't... "

"But haven't you considered how we feel about it?" she tried to wring out his thoughts on them.

"None in the least. Why should i be concerned with superficialities and the feelings that you people hold for me?", he snarkily remarked," and shouldn't you worry if someone saw you near to me? Isn't there an image you need to keep up?"

"That is none of your concern. " she angrily responded.

"It's not. After all, fake people have an image to maintain while real people don't give a damn." he sneered at her.

" Just how nasty can you be? Don't you have anything you care about, aren't you grateful that you're alive?"

"If i knew i was going to be treated as a slave,I'd rather she didn't bring me back just to use me as a servant... Because you care for something... Because you want things to stay the same... You pretend,you'd dabble in small talk just to pretend you're ok,to make it look like you won't lose anything, to maintain the status quo. " Issei redirected his gaze to the shopping center, " we both know how things would end so let's just leave it at that. So no need to pretend, i hate superficial conversations. It's a waste of time... "

" It was a mistake to try to talk with you, i should've known - you didn't mean anything from what you said. " she gave him a disappointed,hurt look with her body shifted in a ready to leave pose.

"It probably doesn't matter but i meant every last word of it. Even though you treat me like shit i won't let you die just like 's none of my concern but I'd still do it. Someone would miss you... It's just hard to realize it,isn't it?"

It wasn't a pitiful look neither a sympathetic one. It was a look that stated the truth, blunt and hard with no emotion behind it. Issei wasn't really a emotional person,he was a Monster of Logic with occasional outbursts of emotion.

 _"* You dumb bitch, someone cares for you so much, someone would give everything just to make you happy. You still have hope of recovery while i don't... *"_

"How could you say that when I'm a disgusting abomination? I'm just a fuckin monster... " her voice mellowed out as a melancholy glimmer lit up her eyes in resignation.

"Because there's hope for you, didn't you desire to be loved? Just don't go out talking like you're a freak because..." finally it caught up to him,his repressed emotions that had built up from today, "the monster is right in front of your eyes. "

Her legs couldn't support her anymore, with her slumping on the bench. "I just can't help but despise you. And yet there's something in me that makes me feel like we're the same. I hate it..." she gripped her thighs with shaky hands.

"We're not the same. Not in the least. Don't talk like you understand me because it's ludicrous to try. We live in different worlds... "

"But even so..." she squirmed, " i don't want to hate you... I know it's not your fault or his but i just couldn't - she couldn't finish her sentence as he cut her off.

"You just couldn't take it and it was easier to rely on someone else and place your hate and scorn upon them, just to stay sane. Using someone as your scapegoat, despite you being a sadist you can't stomach the truth. Isn't it weird, someone from the bottom line of society to understand what you wanted? Over reliance, like you feel like you don't deserve to live just because life kicked you hard and you vent out your frustration on others? But who the hell am i to judge?"

"It is. I'm a unsightly girl who needs someone to rely on and place her burden on them... To antagonize just to feel normal... " Akeno's eyes narrowed with small tears swelling in the corner of her eyes.

" I don't like you but I'm not some piece of shit to kick people when they're down. You're rotten but not as me... "

" I hate you... I need to in order to stay sane. Yet i don't hate you despite... Issei, i need you to..." she tried to stop it but couldn't, her words were jumbled and driven by emotion,"i need you to be my villain to survive! Please Issei, be my villain otherwise i won't last long without it!"

"Hmm, so brutal and yet so fragile as glass. Your request is crazy but I'll do it, not for you. But for me. And talk with him... It might be conceited to say it,it is...but it might feel better. "

"Thank you..." faintly whispering to his ear, she closed the distance between them. She snuck close to him, denying him any private space as she winked at him the same way she did when they met eyes for the first time in June. Her breasts rubbed into his shoulder.

 _"* Despite everything, he's actually nice. No matter how much I'd bite at him and retort,he's always been helping us in his own way even if we would hurt him. Disgusting he may be- he's worthy of respect no matter how much I'd try to put him down... I'm awful... *"_

 _"*Sweet Jesus! This is nice! What the hell am i thinking? *"_

"Don't get so chummy with me or I'll start thinking of you as a friend. "

"I won't. You're actually quite the nice guy despite what you say and look like. But still, those eyes of yours are disgusting. " she chuckled with a cheesy grin,but it felt forced. Artificial like to hide her embarrassment and hesitation.

 _"*Huh? This bitch... My eyes are my charming point! Thank you for noticing. *"_

"Oh yeah? Really nice of you to notice. I've been through all kinds of things in my life but I've never taken it out on I was a normal person, this world would've ended already. But as you see we're still here."

Taking a deep breath and trying to escape, he tried to shrugg her closeness off to distance himself, he had envisioned what she might have said so it was an attempt not to be burdened with more information"It's logical to assume what you'd say but don't... I don't want to hear it... "

"Fine by me... Sorry for everything and thank you... For saving me back then. " she finally admitted what she felt, begrudgingly. Still it was so hard to say it, she couldn't just start liking him all of a sudden but things looked like they could actually change for her.

"Yeah,yeah sure. Don't thank me cause i haven't done anything. Being thanked for something is weird, so don't. And i need some space to breathe" trying to get some space he moved slowly with finesse.

" Huh? So cold!" she was somewhat back to normal but her melancholy face didn't match well with her teasing tone and sassy tongue.

"It's getting late anyway, i need to go back now. " he raised his arm and placed it on the bench to get a better grip in standing up. " There's someone whom you need to talk with. "

"You're right, I'm ready now. "

He picked out his phone and dialed a number and after 2 minutes arrived Barakiel. He left to give her some space to sort things out between them.

"Will you be at school on Monday? " with sincerity she asked the walking Issei in the distance.

Not turning back and continuing to walk,he just waved his right arm into some gesture and said,"Who knows. I might be" but she didn't see his crooked smile. He felt like smiling for some reason, pleased with his work on being done.

 _"* Time to go back home. I need to solve this riddle of mine. Maybe she was right but who knows... Time will show...*"_

XXX

15th August, Hyoudou Residence, 20:16 pm, Friday night

Asia Argento went home to Issei's house with the key she was so generously given by him. It was a usual day like always except for the surprise party in the morning - and she looked forward to it so much, she cooked some of the food herself only to still feel dejected when she found out the truth.

 _"* I kinda feel bad for the guy,no wonder that he left for such a reason. Maybe if we weren't so insensitive when things matter, it could have been avoided. Still I'll make it up for him for today *"_

Asia was sitting in the living room with her briefcase,full of paraphernalia she bought with borrowed money from Rias, she didn't have a job to pay back the kindness she received from her President but if her first contract went perfect she would've returned every last yen she was loaned.

 _"* Hmm,Issei is yet to return... Maybe i should check it out and work on the piece? But let's do it fast, it might be of help to us in the future. *"_

Out of nowhere, she shoved her hand in the empty space of the room, some rattling was heard but it wasn't so loud. " Aha,i got it!" she squeezed in joy when her fingers finally reached something from the other side of the plane. "Let's see if it's still active." she tightened her grip onto the black Bishop Piece she recovered last night in the lobby room and swirled it around her fingers.

 **"Core OS: Bishop 03 disengage, Quantum Matrix release!"** with the command coming from her mouth, she placed her right hand over the piece on the large table with a myriad of seals manifesting around it in a gradation of levels. She had managed to manipulate some of it's settings due to retrieved memories of being able to do so - she removed the auto-lock of the piece, erased further coding for potential users and synchronized it with her own Bishop Piece as a substitute for the King one,she had taken her time at Rias's house to discover some of it's capabilities but not enough to fully understand the secrets that Ajuka Belzeebub had stored inside.

 _"*Dear sister, I'll free you somehow from the clutches of those foolish old men,i won't allow them to control your life any longer. You were a tool for too long, Xenovia. It's time to be set free from your shackles.I don't know if papa exiled me to Japan because of someone's orders but he tried to save me despite him becoming a potential target of malicious intent. I'll save you both,just you wait a bit longer. *"_

Her blue gems glistened from under the artificial skin gloves she wore, resonating and hacking into the disassembled piece that levitated before her, small chains in the size of a needle probed the piece, creating an interface between the seals and the mainware of the Evil Piece. The code contained some information in Latin in which she was proficient in as it was a standard protocol in knowing it.

 _"* This thing rewrites the Laws of Soul Migration in redefining the individual involved by reassigning them a new designation as a Devil in the system, thus making the world believe they are a different being that hasn't died while in fact bringing them back to the living in a new form. They're not Devils,that's just a tag to cheat this world, in fact they're back to their natural state with the specifics of a Devil. So if a Evil Piece were to be shut down voluntary it would just return someone to their previous status,only resurrected. *"_

"I can't crack the homing beacon and tracking signal...ugh, I'll need more time for that."she grunted in frustration.

A little pounding was heard on the door,coming from the hallway.

 _"* Why the hell am i knocking on my own door? I live here so why all of a sudden? I need some rest...*"_

Issei took out a spare key after passing through the barrier and left his shopping next to the shoe rag, he was a bit tired and just wanted to rest a bit and read some good stuff. If there was anything good today - it was his visit to the garden and acquisition of Ravel and Xuelan due to the bet he made with Phenex.

He slid the key,took the bags with the multiple layers of seals and barriers recognized their creator and he went into the monstrous corridor that held all different kinds of unexplainable phenomena, he would get lost sometimes as well.

"Better get ready for some dinner. Fried fish and salad it is." he swung the bags in a tired way while walking through the corridor. It was just another day...

It was a matter of time before he went to the living room,he threw the bags in the kitchen and headed towards the living room with a hurried clutching the door handle and pressing forward only to see the blonde nun sitting there with an embarrassed look on the sofa, she was fixing her hair and looked at him with worried eyes.

" I got food. It will be ready in 35 minutes." tiredly he closed the door to the living room without any further notice and went upstairs to get changed.

"Dear God,that was clo- and the befitting of a devil weakness when invoking God's name struck her as lightning would. It sure sucked to be a Devil in the brink of a second she managed to hide everything. " I nearly got caught, what if he thought of something? "

 _"* When Issei walked into the room,how did it feel?*"_

"I was terrified... He could've discovered the Evil Piece. " she was nervous and worried.

 _"*But he didn' got away with it,sleek and smooth *"_

"That's not the point..." she annoyingly responded back, she fixed her pin and remained alert.

 _"*_ _ **THAT IS ABSOLUTELY THE POINT!**_ _You could feel it,the excitement of being in a game of cat and mouse. You know what you had to do if you were caught. Stop trying to deny yourself what you want and feel,gaze into the abyss..._ _ **So tell me how did it feel?**_ _*"_

Closing her gentle eyes with grace,her forehead had a drop of sweat on it streaking down. Her breathing normalized slowly with her hand on her chest.

"It was beautiful. "

And a smile of sorts adorned her delicate face.

XXX

The previous night,14th August,Astaroth Warehouse, Thursday, 00:00 pm

"Ugh,damn it... If that dumb shrouded guy from nowhere didn't mess things up,I'd be having my prize by now!" Diodora Astaroth was beyond frustrated with his lack of success. He even had to use the unbound Samael as a distraction and would surely mess things up, atleast it was good that nobody saw him with them. But who would believe a former nun-turned-Devil if she ratted him out?

"You surely messed up..hehe. What would your "friends" think of this failure of yours after all of your efforts gone to waste? Isn't it frustrating? " a creepy yet gentle, human yet so inhuman voice bit back at him,questioning his competence.

"Who the hell are you? Show yourself! " he demanded in a harsh,tyrannical tone. He could sense a weird aura emanating from behind his back.

"You tell me? What am i or who am i? It's simple - I'm a desire, I'm YOU!" on the sofa of the luxurious hiding spot of the young Devil Collector manifested a slim robed figure with the hood hiding it's face. It was hard to define whether it was a male or female, judging by it's body shape. And to make it even harder it was it's voice that was the enigma to it's identity.

He was seriously terrified, there should have been no way to breach the locking seals and barriers around the place,it was built in secret for a reason. He didn't know what to think or do; he was at his primal instincts telling him to attack no matter what. Fear. It is what overrides every other emotion, no matter what you were.

"Don't be surprised... You should be relaxed, elated. It's not so scary so tell me..." it began with it's mannerisms mimicking those of a human." What is that your heart desires? "

"What i want?... I want to finish my collection. " he raised his voice in fear by the presence of this unknown visitor. His hand was cackling with magic around and he didn't let it go out. Not yet atleast.

It swung it's legs like a bored child and said with a gentle voice, " Is that what you truly desire? Because i know you want something more than that- i am your desire after all. So tell me." it was goading him with it's innocent yet full of authority voice, the sheer magnitude of it's tone remarkably showed that it knew everything there is about him.

"Why should i? And what the hell are you doing in my house? " he turned to anger to hide his barely contained emotions. He was ready to attack but something inside of him,creeping and wrapping his mind told him not to.

"Just came by to offer you freedom; something you want so much but can't get no matter what you do. Aren't you tired of being treated as a loser compared to your big brother? And the Gremory? "

"Does it matter to you,huh? Of course i do - always being treated as a second rate, always being in the shadow of my damn brother. To be referred as the Satan's brother is disgusting like I'm some second rate lab rat for the family to use me. I hate them,that redheaded bitch especially. " he began to speak up his mind onto being asked such a question, it was like he couldn't resist but talk.

"See... You want something, to be acknowledged as yourself, as a person with their own desire. You want not just acknowledgement, you want recognition. " it suddenly wasn't on the sofa,it was close to him and whispering his desires to his ear." And you should freshen up this place,it's not good for a young lad like you. "

"There is always a catch...so what do you want? I don't have anything like a ball of souls or sacrifices so i don't know what you'll ask of me." unconvinced of it's promises, he raised up a question bugging his mind.

"Quite the finicky one,aren't you? I don't want anything, i just want you to be happy. So tell me.." it was in a different spot in the room, on the work desk and holding a pen," what exactly thrills you in collecting Holy Maidens and nuns? Is it the decadence that it brings or the pure joy of tainting something pure?"

"It's both. I just like it,to show them that they're not so pure and to embrace their true nature. I hate pompous pricks with their two faced masks of a visage... They'd always lie through their teeth while giving you a reassuring smile and then patting you on the back. This way,the way Devil society is... It's stupid! It's hypocritical with all of it's fake promises and ways. Acting like civilized human livestock to cater to the needs of the ever growing needs of the filthy consumers. Seriously?! That's just hilarious.. " he relapsed into his jolly laugh. This time it was showing his true feelings.

Inferiority, always being deceived by others, never to be recognized for his efforts no matter what. To always be treated as someone useless and unneeded to others. An outcast, a irrefutable pervert with a fetish for nuns. It was all due to inferiority...

"I understand... After all i am you, i was the one who made you like this. Your past and future. " it began to feel up his face and moved closer."So I'll help you, i owe you that much atleast. "

"Would you? " in disbelief he raised his hands around it.

"Of course i will. Don't you want to make those fools cower in fear and finally see your worth. You're not a nobody, you're Diodora Astaroth for a reason. Show this world that you have a place in it! And I'll give you everything... Accept your true feelings and you'll see it."

"I'll show them all... Everyone last one of them!"

"That's the spirit... " it removed it's hood to show him it's true face.

It was something he didn't expect, it was something he couldn't recognize yet recognize so well. 12 years ago... It was then... He had seen it before... It was the one who showed him his true face. It was none other than him...

XXX

15th August, 7th Daze bar, Friday, 22:39 pm

"Good evening gentlemen or should i saw it's a good night? " Azazel gave them a warm welcome as he went through the door, greeting the 3 present members of the Daze club. He was dressed up well as usual and walked with dignity as always.

"A good night it is, mr Mayer. What would you like to drink for this generous night? " with a stoic face and his usual courtesy to clients, Arthur Halle Mason showed his newest visitor to the VIP section where they usually hanged around together, undisturbed by the rest of the world.

" Just a mojito with ice today...ugh, it's so tiring to deal with her. Sometimes i wonder how did i raise her to become like that." he was tired from work and private matters with Vali, it could be easily seen on his face this time as he looked somewhat down. He slumped onto the sofa steadily moving to the gentleman besides him,Castor Zeble.

"You must be referring to miss Vali, i presume. I saw her last night as well during those battle royal games. " Chesare turned his head back and moved his hands to the back of the sofa." That fuckin chicken... Thinking he's so great to taunt people like that. " he was visibly unnerved.

"She's with the Khaos Brigade by the way... A bit annoying and troublesome." Azazel closed his eyes and reseated himself in a more humble position, it was tiring to argue with that girl about stuff like that.

"I've had some dealings with the Khaos Brigade; they were ready to hire a human to do a specific assignment. " Castor spoke up, breaking away from his usual silence and handed a lighter to the stressed Azazel.

"Thanks. I've got some news for you - Issei has the girl under his protection, he told me today that she's moving in with him. " he elaborated everything after puffing out smoke from his cigarette.

" That's good. She'll be needed in what is ahead of the future. And here is your mojito with extra ice." Arthur came up from the back of the bar plate with a big glass of mojito and ice,only to take a seat and talk with them.

"What about that Sitri girl you mentioned before, Arthur? Is she a threat or an ally?" with his powerful voice, Castor questioned the barman with extreme seriousness in his voice. He was known to be quite strict but even more gentle and protective of the people he cared about. And Issei was one of his special ones.

"She's allright, she's with trusts her so much to have shaven a few years of his lifespan to revive seem to be working on something but i didn't ask what. So let her be... She's quite the charming young girl." Arthur calmly retorted back with the dignified disposition and respect of an older man with experience.

"You mean.. " Chesare bit his tongue by the simple statement of using that forbidden magic," he used that on her?! That's just crazy, you know what will happen if his blood somehow affected her immune system and body beyond what was necessary. " his eyes widened in surprise, " what if his draconian nature affects her life?"

Azazel was suddenly interested while Castor remained quiet, having retained his composure over this small matter.

"You're probably referring to a **Affinity Switch** , if i understood you right? " Azazel couldn't help but ponder for he was a scientist as well.

"It's exactly as you said **Affinity Switch** \- as far as i know she has an affinity of one of the 4 basic elements,Water. But what if," he scowled with a contemplating look," what if she were for example bonded with a mystic object - it would switch her affinity to something else which might be disastrous. The Welsh Dragon is a fire dragon meaning those two affinities are the exact opposite on the scale. She could suffer a lot until it somehow readjusted or she could adapt with a morphed affinity but that is somewhat rare. Even i wouldn't do a operation like that."

"So you'll need to check her condition in order to see if it has caused any damage. She's been like that for 2 weeks,who knows what might be happening with her body at this rate." Arthur voiced out his worry for the Sitri girl,she was pleasant and he was honestly happy and pleased that there was someone who could be close to Issei. But more it was that she reminded him of a certain woman from his past.

"Agreed. "

"It's a pity she couldn't become one of us. Just 13 people isn't enough to win this war. We need an army, we need to be the arc for humanity's survival. " Castor once again broke away from his silence. He was a man of few words but spoke up when it was only necessary.

"It could've been great but sadly it's not that easy. You remember the process of selection, the way to be chosen as an **Apostle of the Apocalypse**? " Chesare turned to explain and reaffirm their intentions.

Arthur took a deep breath and began, " To be chosen you must have suffered a great loss,a tragedy where you have been left with no hope in this world. Each one of us has lost something vital to our lives,everyone is a way of the world to compensate the chosen individual by giving them a second chance.

Second- you must be human or to have been in the process of conversion during your selection otherwise you won't be chosen.

Third - you're given a power by God once you're transformed into an Apostle, you devour an Original,Primordial Being or if you have one already you just gain more diversity with it plus additional perks.

Fourth- you're assigned an aspect that is in sync with your being, values and morals from the Sephirot Tree in accordance to your nature. "

"I see. No wonder you people are so terrifying. I'll ask this again, i just want to renew our vow once more - Azazel spoke up while raising his glass into the air for a toast," Despite being born in different times and by different mothers, despite our differences and desires we must stand together. The fate of humanity rests upon our shoulders, if anyone of you here is against fighting to survive for a better future in a world where we can live in, raise your arm and begone."

No one faltered, he could sense their burning resolve in the air around them. Not one of them would back down because each one of them had a desire, something to fight for. Azazel had something to fight for as well.

"Let's drink for the sake of everyone, Cheers gentlemen! " and everyone in unison raised their glass in a heartwarming toast of pure conviction.

"Oh,by the way...You went to Akihabara recently, didn't you? " Chesare waved his finger with his voice being full of curiosity.

"Correct. I had to meet someone... And i killed a couple of Strays and a doppelganger of a friend of mine. They bloomed into beautiful flowers. " he gave a light chuckle but stopped midway. "So this man i met, he wanted something - it was a representative of the church, an angel if you may. It was a representative of the Pope,he asked me to provide him with the whereabouts of the Twilight Maiden. "

"Did you trust him?"

"Not of course, I'm not so senile and old to trust someone so easily. Especially someone from the church but atleast he told me that two Executors were soon to arrive in this city to locate the Twilight Maiden and retrieve her despite the dissatisfaction of the they break this barrier, a lot of innocent bystanders could be killed. We'll have to do the dirty work and clean out some of the trash around here."

"And we need to kill Kokabiel!" Azazel joined the fray with his information, " he's the traitor among our ranks, that idiot is trying to cause another war and most importantly - resurrect the Holy Sword Project to win this fight. "

"It's time for us to move out, i won't call Hilda or Cecilia. Just the four of us would do it. " Castor gave an approving nod and set up the conditions to cover for Issei, he didn't want him to worry for them. He knew he had other matters to attend to.

"What about Issei? Should we tell him?"

"I don't want to trouble him with such matters. Especially not today... " Arthur calmly expressed his feelings while he slid a small sheet of paper on the table."Write something good, I'll handle the rest. "

From the air manifested a small pen and dropped onto the table. Each one took turns to write something good and the sheet was handed back to the Irish gentleman to prepare what he had in store.

XXX

"Hmm,this is interesting. Let's see if it's that." Issei was sitting in his room at the computer, fiddling with various things but he couldn't yet feel like normal.

 _"* I've really wondered how this girl, Asia had any reason to smile like that. Such brutality and suffering yet she still smiles no matter what. Just what did she feel really, what was it that drove her? And when i think about it, i didn't exactly get any background from Sayaka aside from her uncle. This girl,i felt like i could tell her anything without any problem... *"_

Issei dropped anything else and decided to try. He went through the messages, found that one and blinked twice while readjusting his position on the chair. "Here goes nothing. " typing the whole riddle, it didn't work at all. He tried with everything but still nothing.

Issei blinked a few times while giving a sigh. "Damn! Just why doesn't it work,damn it? " slamming his fist in anger on the desk,he stood up to get water until the realization came to him,"Nowhere... Nowhere."Quickly returning to the pc,punching the word nowhere and awaited something to show up patiently. And a video appeared...

 **"** If you're watching this,i might be dead but don't worry. I hope this message reached you before it's too late but by the time of this,I'm sure that you're wondering who i am and why are you watching this. It has begun,the encroachment of this world is steadily moving fast and there's nothing as of now to prevent it. 20 years ago,The Gate was opened by someone and snuck in,the destruction of the world was prevented somehow. But the Apocalypse has begun, the Antichrist has been born. You need to find the Harlot,find her no matter what. There is a enemy in the church. If you're watching this,go to Nowhere. There lies your hope. And the enemy is... The enemy is...**"** the message cut short due to some distortion and he tried to play it back only to find it nowhere in sight. It was deleted... But it was Touji Shidou,Irina's father in the video. It raised more questions than any answers to the previous ones. He still didn't know if X and Touji were the same person or were separate parties in this.

"Oh,God!" and a headache struck him stood up the chair while using his free hand to dig through his pocket. He took out his phone and was about to call someone only to be interrupted by the shout of Asia to come down. He ran downstairs with his computer turned off just in case.

"Issei... It's lady Grayfia at the door. She's with miss Ravel and Xuelan. " she was standing at the door, waiting for him to come with anticipation and worry.

"Yeah, on it." he grabbed the doorknob and turned it delicately while also preparing to attack if it was a ruse. He wasn't stupid as to just open the door and welcome someone like that.

"Good evening, Issei Hyoudou-san" Grayfia bowed with respect and grabbed the hems of her skirt in graceful manner. By her side were the two girl with 6 briefcases, waiting patiently to rush in.

Before Issei could assess the situation, the black haired Xuelan entered the house with her luggage in tow with the,"I'm looking forward to your patronage", in a irritated manner, leaving Issei a bit dumbfounded by her actions. She was quite forward with it.

 _"* That's not how you enter someone's house! And wait? Why are they at my house? I didn't think that by winning the bet I'd have them move in. Well this is going to be noisy *"_

"Well then... My work is done. " Grayfia rubbed her hands pleased and with a generous bow dissipated into the air,leaving the two girl alone with him.

"Wait.. " _"* God, damn it! Why do the older people always have to be unreliable and conveniently gone? I hate it when they do that.*"_

"Well then, " Ravel began as she grabbed her luggage, " i hope you'll treat us well. I'm looking forward to work with, you need a manager by the way." unassumingly she winked at him with the intention of saying that she was hungry as hell. She was cryptic in her mannerisms, enough to make Asia wonder what she meant.

"Yeah,yeah. Dinner will be done in half an hour so place your stuff somewhere and wait. " with a dull look he invited her in, shutting the door afterwards. _"* If you're hungry, just say so.*"_

"I'm fine with it. Don't worry. " Asia reassured him it was totally fine with her to live with two other girls. It wasn't so bad,she wouldn't have minded some company not to intrude on Issei's benevolence. "So let's eat?"

" . On it my lady."

XXX

"Yo. Dinner's ready. " with his underwhelming tone he muttered the one situation he had forgotten - to have dinner with someone. It's been two years since he had someone else on the table besides him and it was really nervous for him to have guests,or in this case new residents.

Coming from the corridor and the living room were the now freshened up former Phenex girls Ravel and Xuelan. The first had switched to a pair of blue cut out denim shorts and a short sleeveless tank top with a cat logo on it. She was really cute in casual clothing in the mind of Issei Hyoudou, she felt more natural and had a different aura then usual. For Xuelan, well...

The black haired Rook strolled around in a navy blue shirt with laced curls, a short mini skirt and still had her ox horns hairstyle to finish the look. She took a chair and had her back pressed against the back of the chair as her brows were scrunched up. She didn't look very enthusiastic by this turn of events, to be stranded in a house of who knows what? A sexual offender perhaps, a really scary one on top.

Asia came by a minute later having changed her uniform to something more comfortable and took her place on the humble table for 6. She looked relaxed but she was quite intimidated by the presence of these two beauties in close proximity.

"So since we don't know each other, shall we begin with the introductions,ladies and Issei?" she blinked twice while her gaze was directed at the back of the cook Issei. And with her usually dull and bored tone she proposed to introduce herself to the blonde nun and vice versa.

 _"* This bitch! Was it necessary to say it like that? Who cares, i don't have time to dabble into small talk like introductions.*"_

"Well I'll start first as the one who gave this idea." Ravel fiddled with the fork in her left hand and leaned back to elaborate, " Ravel Phenex, sister of Riser Phenex of the Phenex clan. From the Underworld, age :15-16 and I don't like to be treated as a possession, i like birds and I hate tempura fish. " and finished her small introduction.

Asia leaned forward and shook her hand in a polite manner, "I'm Asia Argento, a former nun from Rome. I'm around Issei's age, i like cute things, i want to have friends and i hate dishonesty. " she mimicked her introduction but she was timid in her presence only for Ravel to turn friendly and reassure her.

"I guess there's no helping it", the other girl leaned forward with a dissatisfied look and began, "Xuelan. Xuelan Huang Chen, 17 and before becoming a Devil i used to help around at my father's dojo. I like martial arts,sports and i really don't like this situation. " she didn't save it,she felt a need to express it on the go. "If that dumb pretty boy hadn't made this deal,we wouldn't have to be around here." she groaned in dissatisfaction. "And aren't you going to introduce yourself as well, Gremory peerage member?" she didn't know his name so she used this to mask her embarrassment.

"Issei Hyoudou, 17" he shortly answered to her call with no emotion to back it up," and i hate small talk so why don't we eat? " he was visibly concerned with something, they didn't know what it was aside from the blonde nun. But he turned around to avoid their eyes and protect his self from any questions.

Xuelan nodded and wrote down his name on her phone just in wasn't eager but things could be different with him,she was treated as a trophy by her former master and nothing this change of pace wasn't something bad as she would realize."How should i call you? Master, Hyoudou-sama?Red Dragon Emperor? "

"Just Issei. Master sounds repulsive to me,I'm not like her so feel relaxed. Just because i won doesn't mean I'm your master... " he was thinking of the position he was in ; a servant of the boisterous Gremory girl. To be called such was disgusting and incompatible with his nature as a battle hardened loner.

"Well what does the generous cook have in store for us ladies? Ravel tightly clutched her feeding utensils in anticipation. It was all written on her face- she was hungry as hell.

Issei turned around with a giant plate of fish, " It's tempura fish! I hope you like it. And kiss the cook." seriously, he was wearing an appron with that slogan and the joke felt flat with his dull expression and monotonous voice.

"God why?" and the blonde Phenex suffered a crushing headache as she grabbed her head with both of her arms.

"Just messing with ya. It's not tempura so rest assured. " still it didn't feel like he was telling the truth despite the fish being totally different. He lied with a straight face,bluffing and such weren't prohibited in his repertoire when in combat. "Let's eat, i wanna procrastinate and do nothing but lay down. And tomorrow we'll have a sparring match - i wanted to see how good you are,for Ravel i know. " he brought out salad after leaving the fish and finally sat down.

It was awkward, bizzare, strange to eat with someone else in this room. Every bite reminded him of the past,his parents but he held it in somehow. Still it would never leave him no matter how much time had passed since then.

 _"* Everyone is a slave to their past,shackled to the never ending feeling of regret. No matter how much you wish to move forward,to forget everything of this moment only for the events of the previous year to crush you like a elephant under it's to laugh or to banish your past, you carry it ceaselessly in a corner of your heart, with the anticipation of a moment of uncertainty where it will bloom again just when you least expect it.*"_

"It feels like a good night to relax,i know it's so sudden but i can't shake off the feeling of us being like a independent unit,a peerage. Thank you for everything and i hope i could continue to keep living with you all." Asia smiled at everyone and raised her glass in the manner of a toast to commemorate this union. And the girls followed suit.

Issei remained silent and in the distance, he was sitting at the corner of the table not to make them feel uncomfortable. His mind was somewhere else at this moment and only the delicate shook of Asia's arm brought him back to reality but he didn't feel like participating.

"Issei... It's okay, we're not going to do anything. I just wanted to apologize for today ", the blonde nun's voice didn't have that malicious intent like the rest of the people he passed by every day. She was honest with him and that was strange for the likes of this boy.

"It's not your fault. You didn't know so don't blame yourself. I'm to blame for being like that." with the blunt truth in his eyes he raised his hand shakily and joined them in this occasion for a toast.

Xuelan tilted her head in confusion as she shot a similar gaze at him; not of ridicule or utter disgust, it was sympathy for what he was going through. She wasn't stupid to just ask, she could clearly see something was up so she didn't ask at all.

"By the way...", Ravel leaned over the to the table, " why are you wearing such an ugly thing? Aren't you feeling hot in it?" with her eyes over to the black undershirt that survived somehow last night's onslaught, it was sticking a bit through the hems of the shirt Issei borrowed from the bar this morning.

"It's not ugly. It's really comfortable and aren't you the one who's hot,miss Phenex? "

Ravel felt slightly different with that rhetorical question, masked as a joke. She was a phoenix like existence so it didn't feel flat but spot on.

"I'm fine,I'm fine. I see what you did there, nice wise crack." she smiled gleefully, it was her attention to get his mind off what worried him by the use of a distraction.

Issei's attention went back to eating and the lax atmosphere was a hard day,with so much stuff happening and them not being nice it was no wonder he felt that way. His mother's birthday, sheer exhaustion, the talk with Akeno and such.

"By the way..." the Rook began, " Where are we going to sleep? " a good question was raised by Xuelan.

"There is one free room so use it. And there's plenty of space in my room but i don't recommend that." he wasn't in the mood for lecherous acts so he just went with that. Taking out his phone he punched a few words and looked somewhat pleased.

" **Potential harem members**

 **[X]Blonde foreigner/nun**

 **[X]Blonde Devil girl**

 **[X]Black haired sexy lady** **"**

"As you wish. I want to check something later if it isn't a problem. " the younger blonde said. Issei exactly knew what she meant by that and nodded in agreement.

"Fine by me- Not being able to finish, he grabbed his chest with anxiety for a moment and dropped his fork on the ground. And slumped to the sink to get water,busting the bottle of pills and chugging down 2 liters of water.

"Issei ,you all right? " in a unison of worry three voices became as one with Asia trying to support him on her shoulders.

"It's… all right…don't worry, im..fine" he hissed in pain with his arms on the ground to stand up. After having regained his composure and destroying another 2 liters of water he said," I think I'll go to bed now. You can use the room on the second floor and the living room is ok." Issei nodded and Xuelan and Asia grabbed him by the shoulders and trotted up the stairs where they threw him on the bed by his sunk deep into the bed and raised a hand in the air to say Goodnight and dropped it sloppily.

Soon both girls went to bed with Asia staying up in the living room to continue her work in secret, Xuelan in the next room and Ravel escaped that room and threw herself on Issei's bed. She snuck under the sheets and closely hugged his body. She had a habit of doing so at home so since this was her new residence, she did as usual and intruded upon his sleeping place,his bunk of erotic paradise, filled with porn mags and hentai.

XXX

15th August, Gremory Palace, 21:23 pm

"You seem to be in a rather elevated mood,Akeno. Did something good happen today?" the words came out of her mouth without even thinking about it.

Akeno turned around and blinked in surprise. She had late today as it was night time already. Her expression was quite the pleasant one as she closed the door behind her.

She stared a little longer than usual and began with enthusiasm,"You could say it that way. I just had a little talk with my father and worked things out. I finally realized how much i was in the wrong and trying to blame others for my convenience. I just feel better now, i can't explain it."

And she smiled in a unusual, hopeful way that Rias had never seen before. It was like she had her confidence back to normal if not stronger. Like she was a new person all in all.

"I'm happy for you", Rias inferred in a robotic tone. It couldn't be missed out how she said it, it felt somewhat lacking in presence and more of a distant echo than real happiness. And she sunk deep in her chair in a casual posture. "So,how did it go?"

"It was so good. We had a lot of catching up to do,we went out for a walk around the city and had ice cream. And i went to my mother's grave earlier... You look awful, Rias. Is it still on your mind?"

"No, not really. I'm over it now," Rias rebuked her claims with a light wave and proceeded to finish her tea with mint and lemon. Underneath that distant look was a frustrated, perfectionist girl who wanted to control things and live peacefully.

"You always make that face when you lie. So just tell me what you really feel." she switched to a serious tone to address the issues of her friend and King, Rias. After all she was with her the longest out of everyone so she knew her habits and thoughts as the crimson haired girl knew hers in return. So she took a seat to console her best friend with her worries.

"Sona beat me at this...She's right so much about it that i can't even say it..." she spewed her thoughts in short after a moment of silence to rearrange her running amok thoughts.

"Just because she's close with him doesn't matter in the long run. I know that you can catch up with her and patch things up. "

"That's not it! There's no way now to get him to look at me willingly... I messed up everything... Just because i wanted to control the things around me and meet everyone's expectations of how i should be. Just because of my pride and following the general mindset of everyone in treating him that way. And i still believe it,i can't help it but be that way... I really don't know anything about him,to place myself in his shoes... " Rias knew it - she was only thinking of herself and what she wanted without thinking of someone's feelings on the matter. She wanted to be the best in everything, she had the general prejudice for people like him but still wanted to change herself for the better.

She just wanted to be accepted by him as well... To show him that she's not like the others, only for her efforts to backfire. She was never a loser or lonely, there was no way for her to understand that. She just used him to spite Riser and escape from her marriage due to desperation, just like everyone else...

"Do you like him? Be honest with yourself. "

She poured herself another cup of tea and offered a cup to her companion as well. " I don't know... But i feel the need, a compulsion to help won't he just accept my wish to help him? Yeah,i know I'm an awful girl who needs acknowledgement and adoration,to show off and be the best. Is it something so wrong to do?"

"Not of course. You're just being yourself and that's it. But still... " Akeno bit her lips in realization, " we are awful pricks. So aggressive and nasty to him just because of his social standing. Just because he thinks differently than us. Everyone's at fault in this but we have to make it work somehow. "

"What a sudden 180 degree turn, just listen to yourself. You hated him with such passion before a day ago and now you're playing Devil's advocate for him? Don't tell me you've fallen for him because he gave you a princess carry?" be it her sour mood, Rias Gremory had enough energy to be sarcastic and pick her on her change of heart.

Akeno didn't make any effort to argue with her but took the liberty to elaborate, "Don't get me wrong.. He's still a jerk,but a broken soul with a tender heart under all of that cynicism. The first impression can hardly change but still... I feel he's just like me so atleast once I'll be fair with myself and say it..." after a pause to take a sip of her tea and to make it more dramatic,  
" I need him to survive, to have someone be my foil,villain otherwise i won't last long. He willingly took that,slapped the truth to me twice with all of his brutality,endured my hatred for him without any protest ,saved me back then at the games ... And said that if i died, someone would miss me... " was what she said with a lot of emotion behind her words. Not as the Devil or Fallen Angel girl but as the person Akeno Himejima.

For Rias it was a unexpected twist in this change of attitude in her Queen. She grabbed her chin in thought and shot down an answer like a machine gun, " I'm so envious of him...he doesn't keep up with any expectations,even going as far as being hated just to make things right. Even when he's hated so much... he's not backing down and keeps going... He can actually change people with his ways, be it harsh and brutal...while i can't even make a difference for someone... "she said aloud mainly to herself to confirm her thoughts.

"That's not true. Have more confidence in yourself. It's still not so late to try to mend your pain and make it right. Because you're Rias."

"Am i? " she gave her a questionable gaze of a demand for an answer, " I'm just nothing more than a symbol and a icon. Ruin Princess, Big sister Rias, Gremory Heiress... But where is me in all of that? It's like there's no me in those and I'm just a piggy bank for someone's expectations of me. I don't even know anymore..."

"They are all you, because if there wasn't Rias then those wouldn't have existed as well. You're all of that and still you. And there's a certain someone who sees you as the girl Rias and not any of those... Well he isn't quite the person to use as an example but still counts. So let's give our best for real and try to win a bit of his trust in the process. "

"Ah, I see...You actually like him,don't you? It seems we both have something with him,be it our interactions and attitude towards him." Rias was back to her kingly disposition and felt better.  
She shifted legs in a confident stance and regained her composure.

"Who knows? but I can't answer your question. He's still distant so it might be hard,though it's not something I'm unwilling to try. If nobody wants him(no one does) then I'd take him." with a mischievous smirk she touched her face in embarrassment but it was from the heart. She almost bit her tongue in the speed. She now wanted to be his friend and still antagonize him for herself but that was beyond impossible. Miracles happen once in a while so why not? Still it would take a long time to reach at the phase of being friends.

"It's getting late... Let's get some sleep. Well continue tomorrow. "

"Let's get some sleep as you said it."

XXX

15th August, Kuoh City outskirts, 03:35 am,Saturday

The whole town was sleeping and only a few corner shops were still with their lights on. Usually around this time of the night, Strays and other elements tried to breach the barrier around the city, also known as the Devil Slum. There were some patrols around the outskirts but it was lacking totally.

A seemingly normal place, a mundane and mostly unknown town to the world,next to one of the prefectures of Tokyo city was Kuoh City with nothing outstanding aside from being a rural like town in the eyes of the populace and a hot spot for the supernatural to gather around.

And for some reason this night was just convenient to cause mayhem and stir things up, just a perfect night for a massacre of heathens,heretics and escaped serial killer convicts.

"This country is weird ; that thing with the takoyaki is bizzare. Of all the places in the world it had to be this spot. " the hooded girl with a black skin tight suit groaned in frustration over this fact.

"Now now, it's not so bad. I lived here and i can guarantee it was totally different back then. Now it's full of monsters and the like but it's still home. What can i say." the other girl with long pigtails tried to change her opinion on the matter with facts from her past.

"Anyhow, we have a mission of utmost importance so i expect of you not to falter and do your job as well. "

"Fine, fine. I want to see someone as well, i hope he remembers me but probably not." she touched her cheeks from under the hood.

"I see. I wish you luck with your love life but don't mess up." with a chiding tone the first girl reprimanded her companion to take things seriously.

"Sshh. Keep quiet for a minute." she came closer to her and manifested her sword, "We're not alone. Something's watching us. "

The other girl leaned close to her back and opened her case to take out a bizzare shaped blue sword with gold accents and raised it with a tight grip. It was quiet, the silence was maddening and there was tension lurking in the air...

She gave her a sign and readied her sword for an incoming attack. And it was just as they had expected - a maddened Stray rushed towards them by the scent of their blood. Strays were attracted to virginal blood like sharks in the water, preferring the blood of virgins to feed on due to it's exceptional quality of taste and power, it was intoxicating like a drug.

It was a serpentine creature with crooked wings and gapping mouths with blood from a recent feeding or due to a strife with another as they were quite territorial, especially the ones who had lost their sanity and devolved into mindless beasts.

It attacked the girl with the blue sword only to be parried and have one of it's appendages crushed by the swing of her sword. It's wound started burning by the touch of her weapon, it was sapping it's energy at an alarming rate and if it didn't do something, it would die fast. It was enraged and entered a blood frenzy with it's senses screaming of murder and hate, it aimed at the other girl with it's tail but she jumped in the air enough to dodge it. And brought down her sword into it's tail,pinning it to the ground with it's screams filling in the air.

The other girl leaned forward with her sword and ran towards the monster with dodging it's attacks and retaliating with a few slashes on it's neck. It was bleeding with it's wounds burning and it fell to the ground, helplessly trying to escape their onslaught but for naught. Both girls went back and jumped at it, their swords stabbing it's heart and skull simultaneously thus ending it's mindless frenzy.

"It's crawling with monsters. How the hell can people live here calmly?! " cleaning her sword of it's blood, she returned it to her case and placed it on her back.

The other girl took out a bottle of holy water and doused the dead Stray with it to burn the evidence after having depowered her weapon and it dissappeared. "Maybe someone's taking care of it? Who knows, there might be a priest in all of this mess just like my papa was when we lived here. "

"Your father is still missing, isn't he Irina? " the girl removed her hood and her bluish hair stuck out in various sides.

It was a side effect of using a Holy Sword when being a natural born user, each natural born user was modified in a way by their first contact with a holy relic. For example Xenovia gained her hair color due to the cobalt in the making of the Paladin Roland's sword,Durandal and gained special capabilities granted by the weapon of choice.

Artificial Holy Sword users didn't show any changes in their physique to display a melding with an object, they were created in a different way but both types were known to use specially designed performance enhancing drugs to boost synchronicity with a relic and match the strength of Devils and other monsters,some just used them to boost their already remarkable capability in dealing with supernatural forces.

"He is. I miss him so much... But i can't do anything but search for him. Atleast we'll get your sister, Xenovia. So don't worry... The your father is a good man. "

"You're right. I just need to make a call if you don't mind?" Xenovia pushed her hand in her pocket under the hood of her suit and brought out a cell phone, an old fashioned one that was harder to track,and dialed a number.

"Go ahead. " Irina Shidou approved and waited in anticipation of her orders.

 **[" It's me. Yes,we're there and cleaned up the place. Proceeding with orders. Yes,i understand."]** she ended the call.

"Proceed with taking down the barrier..."

"On it!" Irina tugged her hood and manifested her sword in preparation of destroying the barrier and storming in...

XXX

 **AFTERWORD: Ms Word really hates me,keep's butchering words .And honestly,it drives me will lose some words in the conversion process.**

 **Thank you again for reading 13D:ABS and for your comments,I really appreciate a review,comment or theory regarding the plot and out constructive criticism and things you'd like to see in future chapters to help me improve this story.**

 **This is a bit of a breather chapter and a build up for the Holy Sword arc because why not? And I'm actually more interested in interpersonal buildup and relationships as opposite of the action due to the possibility of it being a more psychological,philosophical and darker work than at first I thought of killing Asia but then I decided to make her stand out more,she's nothing more than annoying and a c***block in the canon DxD with no real progression as a character other than being a harem girl for I want to develop her more,she's good material to build upon due to her almost blank state.I just want to do things a bit differently than most.**

 **The build up between Akeno and Issei- things can't change so fast as with the rest so more development will proceed.I like Xuelan,as far as I know no one has used her in a tag team with Iseei so I really wanted to include since I saw her back then in the first season,I've really hoped her to be included more but it didn't happen.**

 **So far- about 11 mysterious beings:I'll slowly reveal them so guess who's who.**

 **The girl from chapter 1(that's up to debate and different interpretations)**

 **The 5 individuals in the room ( two of them are the same from ch.1)**

 **The little girl that Asia met ( requires different interpretations, it could be Death or not)**

 **The robbed giant man with the metal rod/rebar**

 **The individual that fought Issei and Sona in the church.**

 **The being with the pope and finally the new one from this chapter.**

 **Well this chapter hit 20k so write down reccommendations,theories,what you want to see or some ideas.**

 **And is it weird to analyze your own work to find different meanings in the situation after reading?**

 **XXX**


	9. Act9

Act.9 Coffee & Latte: Kiba Riddle

16th August, Hyoudou Residence, Saturday, 07:07 am

Through sleepy eyes Issei perched up from the bed, still covered in the sheets and wiped his eyes off sleep he thought, _"* Is it morning already? Umm...*"_ and he noticed the sleeping girl next to him,hanging onto his legs and upper body like a boa constrictor. She was sleeping soundly with a light snore but it was just how she was.

At first not paying it any mind only to realize that she was there- "*Ok,exactly how fucked am i? Grade S jailbait! Wait, let's not get the wrong idea... Nothing happened *" only to sense her grip shifting a bit lower to his legs.

 _ **"*Dangerous! *"**_

It was a conspicuous situation and he had to avoid it at any costs - with such delicy he removed her hands off his body and slowly moving away with finnese in order not to alert her and he placed the blanket on her bared skin.

10 minutes later...

Issei went to the bathroom, cleaned up and took his pills, went to the kitchen and started his daily routine with making breakfast but luckily he had enough food for a 4 person meal in the morning.

 _"* Let's see if there's anything for work today or something in the news. I gotta tell Sona about this,she won't be happy but a promise is a promise. And where exactly is nowhere? And which one of them anyway? *"_

It looked normal - no paranormal sightings or anything out of the blue around Kuoh but he had a job by Castor and it was well paid- 30k to wipe out an small army of Efreet in Damascus that caused troubles for the local populace. But he had to make breakfast first and then he'd do the job,have a sparring match and then procrastinate all day unless someone dragged him out around the city. And he could use some quality time with Matsuda and Motohama watching some new hentai and playing some games at Motohama's place.

"Should i call them? Or maybe they're the type of an owl to get up late. Maybe i should just eat and go out around the city? Let's see but first Sona. " Having taken a seat in the kitchen, he started chugging down the generous breakfast he prepared and garnered it with his morning cheer - coffee.

 _"* I've wondered if maybe Sona had erased the whole school's memory of her peerage? It's probably that since she's been under tight surveillance by her mother. No one has noticed their disappearance for two happened i couldn't forgive myself for letting it happen on my watch. *"_

As he was engrossed in deep thought, from the door of the kitchen showed up the half asleep Xuelan with her messed up hair. She yawned and lazily said," Good morning. What's for breakfast by the way. " she looked messy with her shirt pulled down on her neck and looked weary but natural. She didn't use make up at all to look good, back in the days her father told her that real beauty was on the inside and that she didn't need it to be charming. Inner beauty was her get go. Well she was quite the looker even now. And she wasn't wearing a bra- the first thing they young dragon noticed with his superior senses but she didn't really care much about it.

"Eggs,sandwiches and some juice. Take a seat. " with courtesy he invited her to the table. Issei took the morning paper that came with the subscription service every day and indulged in reading the news for the day while avoiding the sports section for it was a drag and he never had anyone to play sports with.

Taking a seat, she leaned forward pressing her chest against the edge of the table and took a sandwich from the tray. Issei gulped down with his erotic nature aroused from the friction of her chest against of the edge of the table.

She was feeling a bit woozy next to him,she traced her eyes on every inch of his body to notice a bump on his chest area."Isn't that a cross? How the hell is a Devil wearing a cross when it shouldn't be possible? "

"Well, i have my circumstances. It's a memento from my mother. " Issei touched his chest in a pained expression and cut off further questioning with a change in his expression.

"They haven't gotten back it seems? Are your parents okay with you living with 3 girls?" she didn't know. There was no way for her to exactly know this delicate information about his status.

"They wouldn't have minded it. My mother would've been elated by these news." wanly looking at her,he dropped his hand on the table and then turned around to look at the window. It was a tortured and yet dull expression,filled with resignation and continued with his newspaper.

She understood what he meant- he was talking in past tense. It was more than enough to point out to the truth.

" So we're training today, right? I suppose you trained that little girl to fight that way so can you do the same for me?" she tried to smooth things over, change the conversation flow and theme while saying this between bites, she took another glass of juice to go down with it.

" That was my intention, I'd rather you turn into an all rounder to cover your weakness in defense and durability. That was the reason you were chosen as a Rook,right? " having stopped reading for a second he threw a good question at her.

"Yeah,mostly that. If it isn't a problem... " somewhat different from her usual stern manner she switched to a more pleasant attitude, given on how he didn't treat them as possessions and never took the chance of getting his way with them," would you like to hear my story? I just need to share it with someone else."

"Are you sure? Such a important thing to share with someone such as me isn't quite the good idea given that it's me. " he tried to talk her out of her decision. He wasn't the type to pity others, he never did because that would have been an insult to them,like they were someone weak.

"But i wanted to share that. Otherwise how would we live under one roof without even knowing each other. And i heard about how you were treated and your reputation preceeds you. " she slammed her fist into the table in demand and unfortunately cracked it a bit.

"Since you know that, you would keep your distance from me. But what good is there in knowing a scumbag loser such as myself? It's not like it would change things for you. Aren't you afraid it might stomp your reputation at school? " he tried to shrugg her closeness off, he instinctively repelled any attempts at closeness for it always ended in the same way- just pain and a lot of sad expectations taught him that and he never placed anything in expectation or hope to avoid dejection.

Slowly drinking from her orange juice glass,she payed no mind to his claim and retorted back," My father always taught me not to judge people on their assumed personality by the words of people. It doesn't matter what they say about you, what matters is what you do. And i know you aren't so bad as they say you are. " she blinked in a fast manner while holding her second sandwich, " It's really admirable of you to save someone else; i saw that while watching the game after i got trashed around the field. Even though we are a peerage, i doubt anyone would come and save my ass like you saved the Priestess of Thunder. So don't off put yourself as such!" her voice spiked in a somewhat justified anger over his perceived characteristics.

 _"*No,not really. It wasn't planned actually but fixed her relationship with her father.I understood her fragility and let her she came back from everything with a changed perspective. *"_

And she told him her story and how she became a Devil - she used to be a normal girl with a lone father who trained competitors for the international martial arts competition in their dojo. She had lost her mother in a car accident back then when she was a little girl and her father raised her with enough love to make up for her lack of a mother. He trained her into a strong and independent woman,never to be defenseless and depend on someone. But 4 years ago, after returning home from school she saw her house and father's dojo on fire - her father was stabbed close to the brink of death by a rival dojo of theirs and he was rushed to the hospital where he died a couple of hours later. No evidence could be found leading to the arsonists, the law was useless against proving their hand in she cared about was burned to the ground, her home,her life and family. Crestfallen and filled with rage,she used the ashes from the dojo,her own blood and a pentagram to summon a demon to place retribution on the people that took everything from her. And after having finished with her revenge she had no reason to live and at that moment she was taken in the Phenex family as a Rook to pay for her debt to them. And that is how her life as a Devil began...

"At first i was enraged but when i think about it now,I'm happy actually. You freed me from these shackles. So how can i repay you this debt." her blue eyes glistened with unrestrained satisfaction. The feeling of freedom at first was terrifying, after some thought and realization she came to love it with all of her being.

"I don't need charity and you don't owe me anything. No strings attached, you're free to leave if you don't want to stay here and i don't like for you to think you owe me something. And by the way," with a mischievous tone he muttered, "we need to fix the table besides that." he was a man that liked money and saved up, not liking to spend it recklessly despite his big pay from his mercenary work. And he had to pay Castor back for losing the guns and knives he used in the Rating Games two days ago.

"As you wish", she accidentally spilled her juice on her shirt and her sleeping apparel became transparent enough for it to stick to her skin. It was quite the erotic sight for the senses of her new roommate and she tried to cover herself with her hands, accidentally breaking the table in her hurry to get away.

"Fuck. I'll need to buy a new table. Well then..." dialing a carpentry office he ordered a new table to arrive in 30 minutes and started cleaning the rubble the clumsy Rook made with the broken glass and dishes thrown into a waste bin outside the house. He could fix it with magic but buying a new one wouldn't have been bad as well.

After a while both Asia and Ravel woke up and sadly had to have breakfast alone in the living room with Xuelan keeping them company. Issei had left early in the morning to meet up with Sona - he had contacted her after cleaning and headed out with his motorcycle to make it look like normal, flying would've been way easier but he wanted to have a drive around the city. Probably to look cool suited up with a black jacket and pants,had a black helmet with tribal marks and was waiting outside of Sona's house at the other side of the city with a extra helmet in his hand after having arrived a few minutes ago.

Sona looked through her window on the second floor from her room, she was dressed in a pair of capri jeans and a small jacket and waited for a moment to jump out of the window and head out unnoticed. Her family was on edge over the events that had transpired, they didn't know what has happened with her body but they became closer as a family, enjoying and cherishing the time they spent together. She thought of the irony that it was - it took her to die in order to realize what she had and truly live.

She gave him a sign and jumped from the window with him catching her in the act princess carry style. She didn't flap her wings or use magic to soften her landing.

"Was it necessary for you to do that?" a bit peeved he asked her on her reckless actions.

"I knew you'd catch me you did the same thing twice by the where are we going then? " she turned to him with her game face- the cold business like professional face she had,devoid of any emotion.

"We're going for a drive. I need to check something, i felt a strange sensation last night. What about you? " having stopped for a moment he elaborated on his experience; his scars could also act as a barrier detector, not just to the presence of the paranormal but this as well.

"The barrier must have been breached. Something must have hit it hard to enter. We should be careful ; alone we're easy prey and while together it saves them time to take us out in one go." Sona elaborated and grabbed the helmet from his arms and hopped on with the _"Drive!"_ sign to go.

He hit the pedal to the metal and set off to the highway for a drive. During their ride,he gave her the new information he received about the situation and he told her of the video, not forgetting to mention his client's help in it which made Sona act reserved. She had her suspicion in all of this and various theories engendered in her mind,all of them logical and possible. And she was sure he had thought of the same...

"I've reinforced the barriers around home so it's a hard time for something to get in. " he felt the need to say this.

"Where are we going then?" it was a bit hard for them to communicate through the helmets and due to the speed but having spent a lot of time together, they grew close enough to understand each other with no words involved due to their logical and icy personalities.

"We're going to lure them out! If they broke through the barrier it's for this sole reason. Angels could attack any minute now so we could get some information out of them about Touji Shidou's disappearance. " accelerating with Sona holding onto his chest with her hands, he switched to the left side of the road to get ahead of a few cars before him.

And it did happen as he expected - his scars were burning up with the presence of a few angels raining down upon the ground trying to catch them. They were a renegade group led by someone from the church, stationed here in hiding. One tried to get ahead of them and stop them in their tracks only to get ran over by the tires of his **Honda CBR 600RR.**

Sona knew what she had to do,what he wanted her to do this moment. They delegated roles with him acting as transport while she was the gunner with having taken out a Makarov from his back pouch, he took one of his backups just in case. She used her magic on it just like that night at the church, morphing it into a sleek black revolver with iced projectiles, a few giant pentagrams aligned in the air and she aimed and shot at one of them,bringing it to the ground with it crashing into the sidebar of the road.

It just enraged them even more so to continue their vicious pursuit with goals unknown. Or maybe because they hated Devils and couldn't act out due to the treaty. Atleast Issei had casted a mini barrier to hide their identities from the other drivers on the road, being nothing but a faint shadow passing over and wiped their memories of this ever happening.

Trying to gain momentum,he was ready to do a back turn under the cover of the passing cars to surprise them. Drifting in a perfect angle for shooting, he stopped at the end of the road with him giving a chance for Sona to take a better aim at them but they were too many to handle but she still shot at them anyway. And someone provided cover fire by taking down a few angels to give them enough time to escape.

Angels were falling down the road, pierced in various places of their bodies and started burning like flames from the weapon used to kill them. One was left so they took the chance of interrogating it with Sona freezing it's legs and wings to make it stand still in one place.

"Who sent you! Why are you chasing us? And where exactly is Touji Shidou?! " with a commanding presence and voice, Issei grabbed the unlucky angel by the neck and shook it with ferocious strength.

"I won't tell you anything! " is what it responded but Sona helped the process of making it talk by creating more ice to encase it up to the chest area.

 **"Talk!"**

"Okay, okay... Just don't kill me,I'm not doing this because i like it. You are designated as targets by the church, especially you " pointing towards Issei with a frightful look in it's eyes like it knew what he was," And we're looking for the Twilight Maiden, 2 Executors are heading your way and this is just the beginning. And Paladin Shidou,he's... " it wasn't given a chance to finish as it blew up by a miniature projectile lodged into it's head, stunning Sona by the impact of it's head errupting.

"Run! I'll cover you!" Issei pushed Sona to run to the Honda,shooting Dragon Shot in every direction as a diversion and closely followed her and jumped on the bike,accelerating to the max and running away.

After 12 minutes they were at the outskirts of the city...

" That was quite the escapade we did there. Just how many are there after us? This culling, i fear something bad will happen. " she didn't bother to hide her contemplating grimace. She was sitting on a nearby rock at the site where the barrier was breached but couldn't fathom how there was no mass scale uproar. Like something dealt with the fleeting Strays and Angels that stormed the city last night.

"I can't get it around my head! Just how is this connected to everything? It was us at first, then Asia and the Phenex family due to their business around the globe. It's clearly connected with Shidou's disappearance but how exactly? X didn't send any messages today but where is this nowhere? Which one?" his left hand was resting on the gas cap of his 600RR with a cigarette light up, his opened hand was rolled slightly in a gesture of annoyance with this unknown ploy of fate, with his scowl perched upon his brows instinctively.

"That we need to find out. I've dispatched my sister to use her connections to dig up some info on Shidou and this opening of the Gate 20 yeara ago." she was still sitting on the rock,she needed a moment to gather herself, only to continue to stare in the distance for stopping nearby, she had called her sister for under that cold face was something different, worrisome and deeply engrossed into her mind.

Issei's eyes flickered towards Sona's shoulder - he hadn't noticed it was bruised from the impact earlier due to the drive of trying to survive kicking into his system. Coming closer to her, he felt like his Brand was resonating with hers, bringing pain to both of them,she felt this brazen fear of the unknown - when an Apostle desired to reveal their identity to the world, their very nature would impose on the natural laws causing cataclysmic events to happen around the site of their respective awakening. And he grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her around while pointing at her wound- the damaged tissue was reinforced, reintegrated with ice blue draconian scales of the likes of Issei's, blood froze in red icicles in a scaly construction,resembling the formation of a looked at this structure and froze in shock,falling catatonic and wiggling on the earth like a worm.

She refused to accept it,she couldn't believe what was happening with her body. The wing of ice grew larger with small frosted spikes errupting from her shoulder with deep blue scales covering the skin on her shoulder blade,ripping through her jacket violently. Sona desperately looked at Issei with no idea of what was happening with her answer was written as clear as day for her, but she refused to let it be the truth. Fear and horror took ahold of her mind,her eyes were now filled with madness, feral ice blue draconian eyes with slits, a few scales appeared below her eyes in framing her face. She was about to go berserk from the pain and attack everything in her field of view, she couldn't control herself anymore as the landscape was turning into a snowy wasteland, a kingdom of snow and ice with every liquid freezing.

Issei would have frozen to death if he hadn't activated his Balance Breaker in time to survive her feral outburst with her pouncing back at him in a had made a deal before - if one of them was beyond saving the other would kill him/her to prevent a catastrophy from breaking out. But if one of them died, it would be just what They wanted so he clenched his fists and brought them down to her stomach to knock her words Sona wanted to say were jumbled and gibberish like,her eyes were feral with enough sanity to clearly pronounce "Kill Me!" but she could not manage the function to produce a sound with only her lips moving.

And their battle ensued...

20 minutes later...

"You gave me a hard time out there." Issei was trying to catch his breath,he spat some blood on the ground and lit up another were various patches on his body still covered in ice,he had to shed skin again and produce new scales to fix it. Atleast he had a jacket to cover himself with. In these strenuous 20 minutes against the berserk Sona he somehow managed to bring her down as she was mindlessly attacking again and again until he knocked her out for good. She could have hurt him really bad if she was able to utilize her intellect against him.

She was lying on a nearby rock, dressed in Issei's undershirt with the seals on it managing to block her symptoms from manifesting, reverting her to her natural state; it had a bigger effect on her perhaps due to the smaller quantity of his brand in her being and lacking any past possessors of the Boosted Gear. After having knocking her out he took off his jacket, removed his undershirt and dressed the unconscious girl with it and just in case gave her two of his pills to be sure she wasn't infected by a past possessor.

"I seriously hate having to rely on someone! But it's an emergency so i can't help it. " and he did what he had.

XXX

"Yo! What is it, my boy?" the doctor was talking on the phone while sitting on some weird pile of junk.

"I see,I'll be on my way. So hold out till then." he ended the call and after that immediately had a smoke to relax. He was quite amused and exhilarated by this turn of events, if not grateful for receiving a new probe to analyze and experiment upon. A real challenge had finally appeared in his bored with life of luxury and dull events viewpoint. "Well gentlemen, we'll be heading back now. Got a call from Issei, it's about his girl. "

"It was expected. But seriously, how strange of a coincidence it is- he wasn't to be involved in this and yet it happened. Something's really wrong with this..." Castor spoke up to the doctor, he was carrying a large anti-tank riffle on his back, forth between them was nothing but a field of blooming flowers - a field of corpses of various beings of essence, mangled beyond any recognition.

Guts,ribs,heads and everything had been covered with flowers blooming from these bloody remains. And unsurprisingly the doctor was sitting on a large mountain of corpses leisurely smoking with out a care in the goddamn world. It was just a part of their job,like any other day of the week.

"Of course it's wrong. Just look at how much these Angels suck! They don't give a damn about humanity! " voicing out his thoughts he kicked a wing from the bloody mountain on the ground,

" If somehow a real Angel managed to bypass the human made angels,it would've done way better than these pale the hell are we to fight alongside them in the upcoming battle if they're so greedy and careless? It's just some cretin that manipulates both sides to cause conflict." mischievous as ever with a bemused expression he jumped down to the ground.

"The question is who? It could a Demon perhaps. The opening of the Gate, i remember it so well even though i was just a 15 year old boy back then. And Castor began his tale.

 _[ 20 Years ago, Cape Town, South African Republic, 7th May,1995 ]_

 _"* This all happened back then, 20 years had passed since then but i would still remember it quite vividly - it was what changed everything. On a day of May,i and my brother went out for a walk among our father's farm to see how things were going. It was one year after Mandela became president and the reign of apartheid came to end but there were still massacres among the people. But it wasn't as what we spotted that day..._

 _The skies became dark, thunder cracked among the fields like a ballerina, this dreadful roar filled the air as we looked into it directly; it was like the second coming of the Christ, only that it was like the work of the Devil himself. Like a Rapture to befall upon humanity - and we ran and ran till we reached my father's house. The whole city was ravaged like a storm had passed, the people were disoriented and in a mass panic, they were killing each other with whatever they could grab on. It was a massacre, blood was being shed mindlessly. Our father brought us inside and locked the door with a large table and boxes to protect us._

 _The door was breached; a black shadow like being with a cloak blew the door into smithereens and knocked out my brother. Back then i didn't know but i learned it much later - my father was one of the Heavenly Summoners,a Paladin. The figure summoned a large flock of demons to it's side and attacked. The next thing i could remember was me outside of the house, my father was standing above me with a pair of angelic wings and he was fading from existence. He placed his arm on the wounds i had suffered, in the meantime of my blackout it appeared i had lost an arm. I didn't realize what he did back then; he saved my life. The world was once again normal but there was no one alive,we were amongst a garden of corpses.I could remember the words he said as my wounds closed up: "Don't worry my son. I leave the future of humanity into your hands. By the lives that you would carry with you, finish what our family had started."_

 _He was fading, the wings of light were dissipating fast, his glistening with light body was cracking and breaking down in small chunks. I could only cry and nothing else._

 _"You must live no matter what. Don't stop and never give up on living. Because life is precious so cherish it as i had; my life is close to an end", he was crying when he leaned over me in a fatherly embrace,i could feel the warmth of his body lowering, " I lived a good life,i raised two strong men. I could now join your mother. Take care of your brother, Castor. I love you... "_

 _Those were his last words... And after a while i learned that it was the work of something abhorred... *_

"I see. That explains your attitude towards people, and your ability as well. Just as your name implies" - he took out his car keys and urged him to go to the car."Isn't it time to **feed**? You have to if you want to keep going,i know it's not the most pleasant thing to do but..."

"I'll do it. I can't leave any traces of our work here. It could spark a war and it's not the time for that yet." the tall African man handed his riffle to his comrade and tugged the right sleeve of his uniform to proceed. A row of sigils from a ancient language appeared all over his forearm and the back of his hand- it opened up in a void of thorns with them stabbing the myriad of corpses of angels and devils alike, it was draining them and erasing their existence from the system of existence. After having finished up with his feeding he rolled his sleeve down.

"That's a scary ability you have there."

"It's what my father left me,what everyone else gave me to avenge them. This arm contains their souls,every last one of them is in here. It is my duty to avenge their deaths and stop this Armaggedon from happening. I won't let my father's sacrifice in closing the gate be in vain... "

"That's why we must succeed. Not just you, i have my own reasons as well. Each one of us has their ulterior motives aside from being chosen,we all bear scars and the desire for something. But we must not let that desire consume us for we would stop being human."

"Aren't you forgetting something? "

"Shoot! Issei's waiting! Hop on." MonBlanc placed the riffle inside the trunk of his Lamborgini Murcelago, slid across the hood and started up the engine, ready to roll."Are you coming? I have a patient to examine."

"Of course. You might go overboard with your experimentation, you traumatized the boy enough with those shots of yours. " Castor opened the door and snuck in.

"Let's roll!"

"You bet!"

And they headed out to Issei's location...

XXX

Uncertainty. That is one of the few certain things that befall upon us atleast once in our lives. One might argue it's presumptuous to say that but is there anything else than that? Most likely it's in effect to say two things are surely certain - Death and Taxes. Well accounting on the first one,i wouldn't say its permanent but still certain. Death is all around us,on every corner always watching us and in wait... In wait for us to make a mistake and take us in it's clutches and even knowing that, we would still be living our lives without a care after a certain amount of time has passed and washed away the feelings from deep within.

And there could be no coincidence? But that is just a fallacy of the say of people who desire something to justify their behavior and in pursuit of a culprit to blame on for the misfortunes of their lives. Some things just happen, it is not always an invisible adversary that has caused us turmoil. There could be no coincidence and yet it is certain that they do happen from time to time. Me? I don't recall ever believing in either of them, just living is enough of a tumult to worry over small problems. Try explaining it with a imperfect and impossible formula like the Demon of Laplace and you'd still see that it's beyond our comprehensive capability to define whether it is a coincidence or not.

Because life isn't just something envisioned through a formula, it could be possibly but the process of hypothesizing this problem in this monologue of mine is redundant. After all, i would rather play chess with myself than to be enamored with the likes of a flawed theory. Because if anything, unexpected and unexplainable phenomena happen all around us in subtle ways,ways that we so often fail to notice as we're too indulged in our own life worries than to change the pace.

And I'm no expert on relativity. The things i knew were the things i needed to do in the order of survival but was it necessary for others to suffer a terrible fate just because of my unfortunate situation in being a target? And of course, this feeling of change is quite the frightening idea to have taken in accordance to reality.

No matter what monster you have become, the one thought you should clutch onto is "Never to become a monster in soul" because in the quest for power, to look at the abyss - you'd gaze deeper and deeper until that was the only thing you'd become. An abysmal being in both mind and body, monsters are around us everywhere. And not just my kind,Angels or others- the monsters aren't under the bed,they're inside you,inside your head... But I'm nothing more than just a well read girl with a indulgence in Chess. He. He was something else...

XXX  
Some hidden away from the world place,Saturday, 10:13 am

"She's quite the tough one,isn't she? And to adapt to the Welsh Dragon so well in such a short time is truly a mystery. And I'm not sure if you'd agree on this."

Issei was sitting on a wide chair with his arm stretched out while MonBlanc took some blood from his veins in order to prepare something special. It appeared to be a remote location in god knows where, an operating room of white and peach colors but not like the traditional ones in hospitals. It was similar to a magic workshop, a special fortified place of a magician to dabble into their work undisturbed by the eyes of the curious.

"Will she be allright? I knew the risks of using that forbidden magic on her but i had to do it. It didn't cross my mind that the duplicated fraction of the Brand would cause her to mutate in such a way." Issei looked worried about her life, he was prepared for the altercations that would come with the use of the resurrection spell but to think she would turn this way was clearly too much to bear.

Having taken enough blood for his experiment, the young doctor turned to Issei with the news that he was prepared for." I'll be frank- with a serious expression with no jolly feel good sensation to it," she's mutating with a chimeric Affinity that requires stabilization. The blood you gave her plus the magical energies of the ritual have caused her genetic code to forcefully mutate to accommodate the change,morphing her into that." he pointed to the lying on the bed Sona, covered with a blanket and unconscious.

He felt guilty. He knew it was his selfish desire to save her and it caused her more pain than ever and yet she was happy to be alive and well,even if she would turn into that.

"But don't be so sad" with his reassuring smile of a charismatic model Chesare went to her and used the syringe with the devilish dragon's blood, delicately pressing the needle into the IV sack connected to her arm.

" She's strong, with enough time and some medication she would stabilize. She's rather lucky and to think she would manifest it in such a way", he grabbed his chest in awe and exhilaration, " she's splendid! Dolce, alas a interesting development to monitor over. I'm quite interested in seeing what offspring you would produce with her.

And don't think I've let got of the prospects of you with miss Vali or with Hilda." he smirked teasingly at him.

 _"* God, this man is so weird! But it wouldn't be bad i guess if it was possible that is. And I'm on the below zero of the desirability scale. *"_

"Sure,sure but only if you finally get yourself a wife as well. " that stabbed him right in the heart.

"I could, if only it wasn't the girls i know going after the green paper and the luxury. I'm 33 for God's sake and still can't find a good girl who'd just love me for who i am and not for my reputation and capital. " he retorted back at this.

He was a brilliant and renowned surgeon across the globe with a great influence over several areas of life and consumer goods so women would swoon over him like flies to a honeypot. He was charming as hell and could get the ladies quite easily, they would much later find out about his status and aim for the he made his fortune and reputation by hard work and lots of hard work,he was just the son of a pastor and a nurse.

"I sympathize with you doctor. If only there was love I'd believe it. But enough about that" closing by to his comatose friend, Issei began to question him further about her condition.

"The foreign object has synchronized and fused with her soul and body quite well but it's the control and emotional management that make it happen. If she takes her medicine and learned to control it she would be beyond fine. And on another note- he removed his gloves and mask, " she's 3% Dragon now. You're both parallel to each other - 3% Devil versus 3% Dragon, a devilish Dragon and a Draconian Demon if i could say it that way. "

"I you sensed any disturbance as of lately? "

"Yes,sadly that's the case. Yet there are people like the Queen of Britain who are only interested in the safety of their own sovereign. I hate old pompous royalty who think they can boss people around just because they have _"royal blood"_ and that is utter bullshit!Who decides who gets to live and die? Not her and not anyone else." he had some previous altercations with the British Queen a while ago.

He took a seat and offered him coffee. "By the way...Have you been experiencing any flashbacks as of recently? "

"Only at certain times but after taking my pills it's okay. " Issei lied not to make him worried. He was grateful enough for everything he had done for him and he believed it wasn't fair to worry him. He would occasionally see a shadowy figure looking at him through the mirror or by his back and he hoped not to see Raynare again, even through these visions of his own making.

"Everyone carries a shadow and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is."he felt a need to say it,confusing Issei on the communication level.

"Carl Jung, i see you like psychology as well. "he gave a approving nod. Issei liked books and knowledge even though one might think he was stupid, judging by his looks.

"I do. It's a really good read if you'd ever have the time for it. Maybe there could be something in it written for you specifically." he raised a hand to his neck,"And by the way", he began with a joke,"please throw away the skin you shed in that box over there. It's rather messy for it to dangle on the floor and go grab a pair of clean clothes. "

"You're planning on using that to forge a weapon right? You're at it again, aren't you? " having known him well and his quirks, Issei couldn't help but ask.

"Not really... Yes,i do plan to send it to the German to make a sword out of it. " he looked at both ways and smiled cheekily.

"How's Blake doing as we're at it?"

"Fine I'd like to say. He's keeping the encroachment of the world in control. Claire as well. They know what would happen if they didn't; i can't help but feel grateful for the time they bought for us." with a stern look he drank from his coffee.

Issei took the initiative and grabbed a coffee cup as well. Things were peaceful but it was probably just right before the storm. "Tell me,did you ever wanted to be chosen? "

His comrade took a deep breath,he was a bit of a worrisome man with experience in mending people, but couldn't help himself with his emotional state. Acting positive was his front to keep his cool in the heat of the situation.

"Maybe i did. But not at first; it took some time before i embraced this. Maybe it was my desire to have a purpose and be somebody. " he looked down solemnly, " after all behind this reputation of mine is just a simple man who wanted to be happy... "

"It's praiseworthy to pursue such an impossible goal. That's what makes us human,to search after something to define us, to make us feel full."

" What about you? What does your heart desire truly? " he stood up slowly with a handkerchief to clean up his coffee cup.

Issei was just feeling underwhelmed by this question of his. _"* What was it really that i wanted? I couldn't pinpoint what i needed but i was sure that it was there, somewhere *"_

"Nothing. I have no idea on what i want now other than peace and quiet." he sneered.

"I see. By the way..." he stopped to make it more dramatic and wring the truth out of him," how are things going between you and that nun? Any progress? " with sincerity he looked at him and tapped the box of syringes with his index finger.

"Normal. There's nothing to happen between us,just living together and nothing more. I'd prefer to be alone than to suffer from a humiliating fate of being rejected. And i won two girls from that match. " his brows furrowed slightly downwards. But the thought of having won made him feel a bit better.

"Sweet! Which girl did you take?" he was curious, amused and proud.

"His sister and a black haired beauty. " he smiled back at him. It was probably out of satisfaction.

"That's quite the boldness you have there. Good job in spitting that flamboyant chicken brain." he laughed gleefully with his arms on his chest.

"You were watching? I didn't know that." Issei widened in surprise over this fact. He had told the doctor of this contest of sorts without telling him about Rias but didn't expect him to have watched it.

"I brought you back after you collapsed. Well i had some help from Vali in doing that but oh well. Atleast you kicked that pompous prick's ass with a bang." he was stating this with a mischievous tone filled of pride and joy. Issei knew what he was probably thinking of this- to go and see Vali and win her over with his perfect hip ratio. It was what he was gunning for.

Issei gasped in realization. That girl was really the White Dragon Emperor and not some sham, it was the same one from the photos, he was in her arms and sadly couldn't see her up close. Such a pity it was.

"I understand. But she'll have to wait, i would love to see her but i have a job to do in Damascus, Castor called me on that one."

"You know, you seriously need a Yuigahama or Irohasu in your life! " there was a faint edge in his voice,fantasizing of the possibilities of such girls being theirs.

"I could say the same thing to you,my friend . And let's be honest",he preparing for a dramatic entry, " why isn't a blonde loli vampire girl with a large katana included in our club?" a bit of the sobbing sound was heard from Issei.

"That is a pain we must live,my comrade. We don't have best girl Kanbaru as well, she has the sexiest voice i can think Owarimonogatari hasn't even aired yet." through the sheer force of their combined love for 2D they would even consider diving into the anime world and fish out a girl or two but none of them had such an ability. They could ask Arthur but he'd probably shove them into the void for making such a ridiculous request.

Flicking his fingers to gain his attention, MonBlanc threw him something to wear under that jacket. Issei grabbed it,threw the jacket in midair, dressed in the same moment and the jacket fell on his shoulders.

"Fuckin show off!" he was kidding of course, he was the one who taught him on how to be stylish for ceremonies and summer balls. And yet Issei adamantly refused to accompany him on such an occasional due to the sheer number of people gathering there."You haven't gotten over it, i know you couldn't. " his complexion changed with his eyes turning more serious than ever.

Issei knew what he meant but this timing was off,or it was just perfect for this occasion. He usually confided Arthur in most of the things that happened, and to a certain degree this joyous doctor. But not so much as to consider them friends- he took large fees for his check ups and etc.

"Of course i haven't. I would still hate her for what she did to me that Sunday at the park. She's dead but... Sometimes i can see her, that night at the disco i saw her a few times after we ran out of the strip club. I don't know if it's alright ,i just don't want to see her evil glare again. In all of that bullshit she spewed, i felt something. I don't want to feel it again."

 _"* I'll have to switch his medication again. His depression and delusions are still at bay for now, it's mingling with his Gear like a BMI but it could go out of hand if he's subjected to more stress than usual.*"_

"Do you hate Fallen Angels? "

"I do,i hate them but not all of them. People like Azazel, Barakiel i could never bring myself to hate. They have proven themselves worthy of trust and helped us. But Raynare... " he gripped his arm in frustration, he knew it was fake. Every last thing of it,the date,the sweet talk... But he couldn't just forget about it,how he failed to kill her the first time,it costed him his very life and freedom. But when he was finally given the chance to do it,he felt sheer wrath and joy and then...it was an emptiness.

"I know it hurts..." his eyes looked distant and melancholy like he knew how it felt. Like he had known the answer to remedy this pain of his. He scooped closer and tapped his shoulder with a needle.

"What the hell man? You got me all emotional just to do that?"

"No... It was to clear your mind out of it. You see", pointing at the needle in front of his eyes, he continued," this is like pain. At first it hurts like you want to rip out your heart and jump into a bath of acid, and then after a while it stops hurting, you feel empty but serene with a new goal to chase after. "

"Thanks but it doesn't work on me, i appreciate the thought though. " with a light wave he turned back. And for some reason the thought of Akeno crossed his mind out of nowhere.

"I've been thinking. Why exactly is Azazel helping us when he knows his fate?" he tried to lead the direction of the conversation in a different flow.

"It's hope. Isn't it admirable to fight for what you care about even when the outcome has been long decided. Or it was maybe a feeling of atonement, i suppose. But it doesn't matter, what matters is what you'd leave behind you. The rest is just our ego and pretence... Nothing more than a temporary shell. "

"You could really be wise when it calls for it. Such a surprise and I only expected you to do experiments and that stuff."

"Hm,what can i say, i carry the soul of a poet within me." raising his hands in the air in some weird dance move, he jumped to his desk to prepare his suitcase.

"We gotta go. I've got a job on waiting for today. 30k this time." Issei urged him to get a move on, he had to take Sona home, earn his living and get back home.

"Let's get going then. I'll ask Arthur to make her a short undershirt like yours, nobody is to know about her condition,not even her family... "

Issei took Sona princess carry style but not before having fixed her clothes with **Regenerate:Clothing.**

"I'll be waiting outside. "

"Fine by me." sorting out his suitcase he had almost forgotten what he wanted to say before driving them back home." Would you like to hear a story? It's a sort of a legend about a certain witch that lived in Rome at the time of Gaius Julius Caesar. It might be of interest to you so I'll tell you on the way. "

"Let's hear it then. You have my attention. "

XXX

16th August, Hyoudou Residence, Saturday,14:20 pm

Issei narrowed his eyes slightly in a tired manner when he was dead beat and quite frankly needing a bit of a breather. It was a tiring battle with those Efreet more so than usual with Sona on his mind, he couldn't concentrate much so he played safe and in time wiped this plague off the city.

 _"* Such a tiring day! I guess it was more peaceful back then compared to the present. Seriously, now is just the time for someone to show up and mess up my afternoon just to make the circle full.*"_ he raised a brow in anticipation of the usual common situation nowadays - when he's just about to open the door or go home, some weirdo or people he doesn't like shows up and interrupts the process of procrastination.

He twitched his fingers to stretch out a bit,just before the entrance of his own house he quickly took a look at both sides to see if someone was coming his way to disturb the peace. _"*It's ..no, the laws of Murphy are sure to kick in this repetitive gag of a situation. Seriously, let's look in both ways again. *"_

He took a look again and again... It appeared that he wasn't quite the lucky one when it came to this. Nothing could go against the core codex of reality - the Laws of Murphy! If it was bad it would get seriously bad just by the minute as it was apparently necessarily for God to have fun in this. Or that was just what he would say.

Finally taken precautions, Presence Concealment to the maximum level, sliding his key he prayed not to be disturbed again just for today, just once in a while. Before... he would just do his work and go home,now it was like people were flocking to him in rows to fuck up his plans for the day.

 _"* Here it comes!*"_ and he opened the door to enter.

"You there! Wait a minute! "

 **"* Run,run,run!*"**

"That was a close one... I nearly thought it was going to be like last time. Can't people understand i don't want to communicate. " cold sweat streamed from his forehead and neck,he was panting and gasping from the shock and reaction speed - it was some miracle on how the door survived this slam but yet again it wasn't quite normal either. He was behind the other side of his house, home. And just as expected someone yelled at him from the outside.

"Come out with your perfect ass in tight leather pants and face me!"

It was a female's voice coming from the outside of the street. It was loud and obnoxious, it irritated the boy to no ends but he was expecting whoever it was to leave after a while. Sadly it was your ever so mirthful Queen Himejima outside...

 _"* Not going. Someday,I'm seriously going to burn this damn world and go live in a different dimension where i won't be annoyed. Sheesh.*"_

"Who's yelling like an idiot at this time of the day? There's a law that ensures that the noise should be kept to a minimum from 14:00 to 16:00 pm." Xuelan came down the stairs with a angry expression, she was aiming for a good sleep and then have their sparring match later but was deprived of this newfound luxury by the loud voice of the Gremory Queen but had yet to realize that.

She gave him a "go and see if the coast is clear" face as he was the host of the house and it was his duty to check on it.

 _"* Seriously, do i have to?*"_

 _"*Yes, you must. *"_

They were having a silent discussion with just their eyes blinking and going back and forth in a weird system of communication, akin to telepathy. And in time he was coerced to do and Asia were sleeping soundly at the other room while Xuelan had a nap on the second floor room before having been woken up.

"I'll let you touch my boobs if you come out! " she shouted from the outside. Such an aluring proposal, a temptation that would be great if not for the desire to rest but it wasn't possible now.

Issei went upstairs with the speed of a cheetah, took out his backup green undershirt and changed to a black short sleeved hoodie and black jeans. He could have worn short pants but wasn't used to them even in the summer. And he was going out so it was more comfortable that way. And he went out to confront the Queen of Gremory.

"How did you know i was there? I masked my presence and such. " he was baffled by her successful attempt in locating him.

"I watched you; i was waiting for you. And when you entered i knew you were there."there was a distant look in her eyes, more so of a distraction in her gaze. She was somewhat in a good mood.

"Are you by any chance a stalker? So creepy! " Issei grabbed his chest like a little girl and took a step back in discouragement.

She would not deny she had ulterior motives in observing him. To learn his habits and such. She was grateful - he changed her life for the better and as per their deal she would still act the way she does even now.

"Maybe. It's not out of the equation. " she gave a cheesy smile mixed with amusement and pressure. But nothing could beat the cheerful, cheesy grin of Sayaka Takeyama,not even her seductive smile could overpower the bright expression of his client.

 _"* This never goes well. Just when I wanted some peace and quiet... This is turning into a running gag in my life.*"_

"So..." trying to act careful around her, "what do you want? And you needn't shout,people are sleeping at this time around. " he was reprimanding her.

"Sorry, Issei,i doubt there was anything more effective than this," she tried to defend herself on her actions. And she knew his reputation was that of a pervert, one of the Pervert Trinity so she used that to goad him into coming out of the house. She didn't answer his question,she didn't give him a reason.

"Okay then,I'll be going home now."

"Wait " she tried to gain his attention, she wore a low,black tight blouse that revealed her generous bosom in all of it's splendor and white jeans. She had the biggest bust he had seen so she used that to gain his attention. "You know… why don't we have a walk,just the two of us if it's alright. ?"

"Not interested. " giving a short answer, he just wanted to do nothing with any of them. He had finished his work so there was no further need to associate with any of them more than necessary.

She frowned at his response."I'm offering you my friendship,I'm just trying to make a change and make things work."

He averted his gaze from her,but his eye's mind was still locked on her bust."I don't need friendship, i have 4 already. And are you some type of masochist? "

Akeno's brow creasee further as she crossed her arms. "…Would you like to check that yourself?"

He remained static by this response, but if he stayed there he would take away the desired sleep of his new roommates so he begrudgingly agreed to take up her offer."So where do you wanna go?"

"It's a date!" she tried to rile him up like she would do as per her personality.

"It's not a date. It's just a forced meeting with no possibility of refusal as you'd continue to annoy me if i didn't comply." he gave her a sagely look like it was within the laws of reality by channeling his almighty loner aura in a concentrated gaze of disinterest.

"Whatever you say so... But it's still _a date_ no matter how you look at it." she grabbed his arm and pulled him with her to places unknown.

XXX

16th August, Kuoh City Shopping Center, 14:35 pm

"No one cares for the orphans? We couldn't get any donations today so where are we gonna live then? " Xenovia turned away and tapped her forehead in a baffled manner.

People were looking at the pair with curious eyes of wonder,pity and awe. Most were drawn to the unnatural color of Xenovia's hair and her large guitar case while Irina,despite everything, was upbeat and positive as always. She was just that way- she could make even the saddest person smile by her actions.

"If you only hadn't lost our money on the plane,we would have had a place to stay. Another night in the cold would finish us so we must secure a decent place to stay." her fingers played with her hair in a fast way,expressing her concerns. She had this sort of habit when she was under pressure, she was many times reprimanded on that habit by her father.

Irina didn't fall in despair over their lack of a roof over their heads. She had something in mind; she remembered the local church of Saint Peter. She could go ask the nuns there to use it as their sanctuary for the time being but little did she know it was abandoned and 15 days ago there was a massacre that had taken place in it.

"We could go to the local church. My father used to work there while we lived here. It sure is good to be home. " with a sense of nostalgia she proposed to go there.

"Wait..."Xenovia retorted back,"didn't you used to have a house around here?"

"Oh, should be intact ever since we left it when i was 5th grade. So let's go there." she was quite bubbly and energetic. For a moment she had forgotten she had a house nearby, probably due to being cut off from her homeland for so long.

"Splendid. Let's brief the mission once more. "she was intent on going through it again for she was a strict and hardworking person,she proceeded with utmost care to the smallest detail possible.

"To retrieve the Excalibur fragments and locate the Twilight Maiden, your sister as a hidden objective. But we'll have to ask for permission the sovereign of this area. "

"I hate having to deal with this documentation. It is more efficient to do our job and prevent a catastrophy. So what permission are we talking about when the lives of others are at risk?" she snapped back at Irina. And for a reason she was right.

"I understand. It seems we won't be getting any donations for the orphans so let's get back home. " Irina tried to brighten up the mood with her cheerfulness.

She pulled her by the shoulder in an attempt to lead the way. Xenovia didn't know this area at all; she only knew Rome and that's that. She was raised as a normal girl with Asia after they were adopted by Jorge, but behind her brash attitude lied a deeper meaning. Both were walking down the main street casually like any other girl would only that they attracted too much attention to begin with.

"Wait. Isn't that Issei? " she pulled her for a moment to look at the other side of the street. "He's grown so much... Why is he wearing such an ugly thing?" she eyed him with perplexity. He had gotten taller and handsome but his choice of clothes was despicable; how could someone wear something so ugly as that? Irina had her pride as a woman with good fashion taste so couldn't she couldn't believe this. But she wasn't vain.

Issei was walking down the opposite of the street with a miserable frown on his face,he appeared somewhat unwilling and annoyed. He walked heavily with a sigh, not paying attention to anyone.

Irina was ready to wave at him but was stopped midway by the arrival of Himejima that grabbed Issei by the arm and they would indulge in banter.

Some feeling of inferiority and doubt filled her mind when she noticed the size of her chest, she touched her own in disappointmen,wrapping it tightly like a red ribbon on a Christmas tree. Her cheerful expression left and in it's wake appeared a deeply betrayed countenance like that of an left behind fragment of the past.

Xenovia noticed the saddened expression of her fellow Executor and tried to the best of her ability to make her snap out of it. "Don't be so let down. It could be just a friend, look at their interaction. I'm sure you'll have plenty of chances to talk to him when we finish."

"But how would he know it's me? I couldn't even say goodbye to him. I never gave him my name..." she was disgruntled by her bad luck.

"That i can't say but that girl... " pointing at the Gremory Queen in the distance, " she's not normal. I'm sure of it..." Xenovia turned away and tightly clasped her guitar case, " Let's get going already! We have work to do." She was visibly frustrated with her lack of consideration upon the contents of their mission.

And thus they left...

XXX

Issei knew this place. It was the first time he was properly introduced to Rias's company on his first(technically half) day as a Devil - the same café that was used as their rendezvous point that day. His memory hadn't faded of that day,neither the front gate embarrassment he received from them. It was still there.

"Issei,Earth to Issei " she tried to gain his attention, "You spaced out again" she waved her hand in front of his face.

"Hmm." that was the only response he gave as he slurped down from his juice.

 _"* Sona doesn't deserve this, she never deserved such harsh brutality from Fate. Such a kindred girl with a big heart and yet she suffered because of me. I knew it,people who associated with me suffered from the ravages of life sooner or later. I was cursed for sure so I'd distance myself for this reason as well. I hated communication, i couldn't hope to have a normal relationship with whoever it might be as i was solely designed for solitude. And it's said that human beings are social animals that needed companionship to function and survive, the pack instinct. But me...I didn't need anything of the like to feel good. If you acted on something, someone would get hurt. And if you didn't do something it would still be the same. Pure egoism - that's written in the code of a relationship. *"_

"You know, i feel ashamed of myself for having seen you that way. I wasn't fair, i know that..." she took a deep breath, trying to put the exact feelings into words to express. It was just silence between them. Nothing else.

"I suck at expressing my feelings" she continued with a tone of guilt in her voice, "I'm a disgusting woman who'd run you over for my convenience but... I don't want it to be that way. I'll say this once again," she was trying to express herself but wasn't sure if it was the right way," i wish to start anew. I want to make it right because it's not. "

No reaction. Cold as marble, Issei crossed his legs and bit the straw in a idiotic manner. He wasn't probably listening to her at all,his mind would be somewhere else as she must have suspected.

"Jeez,damn it! I'm spilling my heart out for you and you're just drinking that juice with a poker face. You could atleast pretend to have listened and answered my question in a roundabout way..." she slammed on the table in anger. His lack of reaction irritated her to no ends.

"Who said i wasn't listening? " he looked into her eyes with seriousness, " I'm just on energy saving mode. And don't feel guilty about it. It's not your fault for thinking that way. I know your story and everything so no need. "

"So..." in anticipation of the answer she squirmed a little in her seat. His sudden reaction startled her, it was cold as the Musspelheim.

"Do as you wish. Relationships are such a who associate with me suffer a gruesome fate so I'd advise you to keep your distance, not just for this but for everything in me. " it was what he thought, what it really was. "But if you're doing it just because you feel guilty, then don't. I don't want that. "

"But even so i want us to be more than that..." her voice was so quiet so one could believe it wasn't there at all," Issei... Let's be friends. "

"You sure are quite stubborn, aren't you?" he said slowly before stopping to have a gulp of his juice.

"You'll suffer and struggle if you keep wanting to be that. Our worlds have no abutment in between, you live in one where i have no place and neither do you in mine. I'm expecting to die in the near future so it's pointless to try." he sighed heavily.

"Then I'll have to make a world where both of us can be a part of each other's life. Even if you don't want it,I'll be there for you...I'm egotistical, what i want isn't something you'd like but i still want it..." she was perplexed by his last statement of a death seeking drive.

Issei opened his mouth to say something about was egotistical, just like any other human being would be. Egoism- that was a crucial part of human nature.

"You are but...There's nothing wrong in that. But you'll suffer greatly by being near me. " he gave her a grim warning of how things were standing actually.

As an Apostle it was his utmost important rule to never reveal his identity to the world; he could be known as the Red Dragon Emperor to the world but as the Apostle with the aspect of Keter synchronicity, he was not to reveal it. Only Sona knew and just fragments of this, the rest she knew to bring this girl with no involvement in his search was something to be avoided.

She slapped him on the thigh and pulled herself with the chair closer to him. Maybe too close to intrude in his private space, he could hear her sweet whisper in his ear. Her breath,her bust was rubbing against his shoulder with enough friction to make him feel aroused. "Is there a girl you like? "

Issei's mind was troubled,his heart rate was off the charts rivaling that of the King Engine with every beat. _"* Things escalated quickly. What happens next is entirely catastrophic.*"_

"There is no such thing in my life... How could there possibly be someone who would love me? I was at first blind to see it,hoping it's not that but in the end it opened my eyes for the bigger picture... I won't fall for that again... " he moved away from her clutches, he trotted with his chair step by step securing a safe distance for his own good. He wasn't stupid - if someone would ask him, it was always to do something for them like a useful tool, to make fun of him and in the end toy with his heart just for the sake of fucking up his mood.

His rejection wrenched her a bit but it was logical, it was expected no less. He was unpopular, a loser in life and yet the only one who didn't really care about it. She may have hoped that he wouldn't spurn her attempts only to remember she would do the same- some things just didn't change at all,always staying in a constant state of existence.

"Let's get moving, someone might see you. " shoving away the chair and having called the waitress to pay his bill,he walked away without waiting for her to finish. She had only the choice to follow him as it was her original intention, only her's and no one else's.

They moved to a less crowded area with a bare minimum of people in the streets, it was close to a corner on the other side of the street a few block away from the city center. He was simply walking with his hands in his pockets, his grumpy face could offput anyone's mood just by the looks of it. Akeno was just behind him- she could feel the distance between them growing larger with every step he took forward, never to look back or stop.

"You didn't answer my question! Do you like someone? " she raised her voice a bit.

He sped up the pace with pulling his hands out of his pocket. She did the same. "I'm just curious about it? There's no way someone would like you but say it anyway. "

 _"*That's it! Time to go bye bye.*"_ he raised his arm up to his chin and took a runner's position for a outburst of speed.

 **Balance…** he prepared to unleash his Scail Mail and fly away from here,never to return until dinner time but it was just a dream.

"Not this time " she catched up to him and grabbed him by the shoulder, spun him face forward and pushed him to a wall, inside the corner. There were no people around and it had an obscured view if seen from the other didn't have enough time to escape, he was severly drained from wiping out a whole army of Efreet earlier so his senses were a bit dull.

He remained silent and defiant, he could easily kill her on the spot but he didn't want to hurt old man Barakiel, they had created a tentative bond of respect between them as men and she was his daughter. He could just escape or bruise her a little but he knew she had a reason. He could survive a shank in the heart... **Probably.**

She glued her voluptuous body to his own,not intending to let him go for a second or lest he would run away. She was tired of her intentions being shrugged off,she had something else in mind this time. He could feel every inch of her body wrapping around him seductively like a cobra,her face was close to his so much that he could sense every small movement and change in her moves. "Not this time, i won't let you go. " her face was a bit red all of a sudden, it was some slight treble in her heart,he could clearly hear it. There were two options: he would die or he would die a gruesome death.

"My father said he was totally fine with it. He approved it" she said it with a face of mixed emotions.

She could feel the warmth of his body, Dragons had a body temperature of a few degrees below the normal body temperature, they were gigantic, abnormal reptiles for a reason. But she could still feel it with everything she was like electricity storming through her body, her legs began to shake.

 _"* It's bad. This is going to be really bad. I'll do something. *"_ he was getting aroused by the closeness of her body. It didn't matter, she was a girl and a girl no less.

"Let's stop this. You're not thinking straight... You're emotionally affected by everything that happened, you would never do this if you were your normal self. " he tried to save the situation and possibly her by destroying every possibility of contact, she wasn't herself in all of this. His cold voice didn't waver as he said it. He was trying to keep himself in control, it was just like her but to go this far? There was no doubt about it.

She slapped him on the cheek, " I'm not doing this because i owe you! Why can't you see it!" she cried out in anger.

He remained unfazed by her slap,it wasn't hard but it wasn't light either. He just remained silent until he tried to speak up again. " Let's just stop and think things straight." was his final hope at getting out of this.

Maybe there was a part of him that wanted to escape as well another that would indulge in this generous occasion, it wasn't like it would ever happen but he was a logical man since times knows when. So it was frightening, terrifying...

"You fuckin loser!" she squeezed in annoyance. He was ready to bite back at her but she never gave him much of a chance - she furthered closer, really close and looked at him one last time. "get on with it already...! " her faint voice faded away from his senses only to be replaced by a new sensation. She closed her eyes,grabbed his neck and brought her lips closer to his. Issei tried to back away and got punched in the gut,bending his body forward and exactly in that moment she pulled his arm to her chest and kissed him...

His eyes widened in horror as she pressed harder against him on the wall,she was relentless in her moves,with her tongue coiling around his mouth in ecstasy,she didn't want him to let go and moved his hand to her skin pressed to his clothes but he could sense it- his blood rushed to his head,it was like he was about to detonate like a bomb in her embrace. He could sense the burning feeling in his core with every single touch of hers,his knees were about to melt by this sensation of lust for the carnal flesh of desire. He hadn't felt like this once, it was something different than it was that day on the beach.

 **"*DANGEROUS! She's gonna rape me,somebody help!*"**

 _"Come on Issei. To do that on a first date is quite bold. You didn't go that far with me?!"_

He opened his eyes and with the edge of his eye he spotted the figure of Raynare hugging him from behind with her condescending expression directed at him. She leaned her head to his and licked his neck erotically with her piercing gaze directed straight into his soul.

 _"You know i love you the most! If it wasn't for me you wouldn't have it,would you. Just accept me because deep down you know I'm the only one"_ she was embracing him with her arms wrapping around his neck.

Issei's mind screamed of terror. He broke free from her clutches only to fall onto the dirty tiled ground of this corner. He was shaking, shivering in fear,his senses were telling him of the dangers around him. The world was getting darker and grimm for him to register anything within his consciousness,it was all bleak and deaf to him. Everything was turning blurry and foggy,he was losing balance and sense.

 _"Nobody can replace me? That's right! Sweet Ise…"_ Above him was Raynare with her gleeful smile of lunacy,it was stretching out to unnatural proportions like a Chelsea Grin, her face was crumbling like that of a statue with black haze filling up her wretched visage in black flames. Revealing her true nature, Raynare leaned closer over his head with her burning face being devoured by darkness leaving a shadowy silhouette with it's smile straight above him. It was back...

 **Do you like me now?**

 _"Snap out of it!It's not real,it's not real!"_

Issei was lying on the ground catatonic, he didn't make a difference from what's real and what is not. Akeno was over his shoulders, she didn't know what to do... She had never dealt with this before nor did she expect his delusions to be of such a magnitude, the post traumatic stress disorder mixed with depression and low self-esteem was one of the reasons he was having these visions but there was much more to it.

"...I-.. I need to get my pills. Back pocket... Hurry..." he urged her to grab the pills and help him with it.

 _"* Issei, I've always wanted to go to the Valley of Death in Nevada, it's a mysterious place we should see.*"_ his mother's words echoed through his head.

Akeno turned him over and barely managed to grab the bottle from his back pocket, she was wary of the spikes and hands with mouths barely contained by his undershirt's seals. They were horrid appendages of insanity, given corporeal form by the Laws of Imaginary Numbers.

She didn't exactly know the dosage so she took a small heap and forcefully slammed them down his throat and hit his jaws to crush them and gulp.

After 30 minutes...

"Do you feel better? "

His senses and equilibrium were slowly returning by the minute with some ambiguous recollection of what had transpired. It had happened before time with him relapsing into a flashback in Sayaka's house only that he didn't see Raynare back then to haunt his consciousness from time to time,showing up whenever his medication took off it's effects. Before it wasn't so frequent and not so violent and then it turned for the worse.

She gave him a hand but he didn't take it,he rose up on his own shakily and leaned back to the wall. "I'm... So fucked... Now you see it; you should stay away. I'll be going back home now..." supporting himself to the wall he trotted to the end of the corner and straight forward on the street.

"I'll help you. " running up,Akeno slid her arm under his shoulder and supported him to go home. His draconian nature booted up and he was feeling better and better. Dragons were brimming with vitality and stamina,one of the strongest species to have walked on the face of the Earth.

He was repelled by her touch, he wasn't used to any affection so it was imaginable to say it was awkward. "I hate you for what you did to me..." faintly but clear, he groaned at her and she returned this gesture with a smile.

"Don't worry " she gripped him stronger with a genuine smile,"I hate you too..."

XXX

16th August, Shidou Residence, Saturday, 21:00 pm

"It's much better now!" Irina clapped her hands in pure joy after having finished with the cleaning on the first floor.

The house was the same as she left it. Nothing had changed aside from lots of webs and dust had settled into the place, possibly even rodents could have made their way to her room which made her squirm in fear.

"I'm done with the living room " Xenovia came down from the stairs with a large bag of trash and a large broom like a rod. She had never cleaned so much filth in her entire life, be it monsters or heretics. But trash- she clearly disliked it due to her allergy to dust.

"Good job. We should be ready to go out in an hour. We'll utilize the cover of the night to search for the settlement of the stolen fragments. We have an indefinite time frame for this mission so let's have some fun while we're at it."Irina looked like she was going to sparkle with stars by the sheer thought of fun. " I might be able to see Issei again, i hope he's not with some girl. He is a pure boy with strong morals." she recited her perceived thoughts on Issei's being. But sadly it was far from the truth..

"Um...Sorry to break your illusion but he might be tainted, a victim of the unholy forces that lurk within this city. You saw that earlier, didn't you? That girl he was with was a Devil. " Xenovia said it with a harsh,hissing tone to make her snap out of it.

"If he's a victim, i shall free him by the name of the Lord. " Irina raised her hands in the air and declared her intentions to the world.

 _"* I want to repeat that summer we had together Issei. To study and have fun together...I know you might not remember our small reunion two years ago but still. I'll tell you who i was if you had forgotten about me...You were my only true friend and i failed you. In the name of God i shall repay you for everything and i pray for you to return my dearest affection as i have for you. *"_ she was praying with her hands clapped together and crossed herself before taking the bag Xenovia had, out to the trash can.

"Dear God, what am i to do with a love struck girl?!" Xenovia was questioning her sanity on how to deal with her raging hormones. Be it her faith that was keeping her in check for she was kind and attentive to the need of others.

If it was something to be said- the one thing she was searching for was the one who set the orphanage on fire where she and Asia lived was using her position as a high ranking Executor to gain knowledge concerning that incident for the data was erased and unrecoverable for some reason. She would question what the higher ups were hiding but she was still not to the Paladin class to be able to get what she wanted.

A gospel tone started coming from her phone, someone was calling her and she knew well who it was. So she picked it up while Irina was outside.

 **[" It is me. I see that you have arrived safely at the designated spot without a problem. How is the mission going? I'm expecting great things from the Maiden of Durandal so don't disappoint me..."]**

 **[** **"** **Everything is going as planned, Cardinal Giovanni. We have secured a safe house for our operation; Paladin Shidou's old house is in our possession as of today. We've released those Devils that have lurked around the gate and we'll commence Operation: Divine Retribution in 1 hour. Have you received any information on the whereabouts of the Genocide Bishop Galliel Valper?"]**

 **[" I have as you said it,my dear Xenovia. You must not forget our agreement: I will help you in uncovering the one thing you seek and you will operate independently on my command. The Vatican is in turmoil as we speak - the theft of these holy relics has caused these fools to run amok and fight between themselves. If you stay with me,i promise you that i shall give you what you want. The old church of - that's where you'll find it. I'll soon dispatch Saint Lucca of Sicily to your location, he should arrive any minute now. I wish you good luck and Godsend, Saint Quarta. "]**

 **[" As i to you, Cardinal Domennico Giovanni. Godsend and Amen** **.** **"]**

She ended the call and resumed her activity again to make it look like everything was normal. She had never disclosed to Irina that she was working with this cardinal in uncovering the truth. He was her best shot at it, she couldn't let this chance slip as it was her one desire. **Retribution.**

A loud explosion was heard outside. It's shockwave shaked the house a bit, enough to make her drop the broom and fall on the ground. Another one followed after the first one had ceased.

"What is going out there." Quickly on her feet, Xenovia ran upstairs and took her guitar case and removed the dirty clothes off her back, revealing her skin tight Executor uniform. It was a black one piece suit with metal plated boots and steel plated gauntlets, some lightweight armored plates and a hood to cover her face.

She unleashed her Durandal, it was shaking violently in the presence of the unclean and unholy. She could sense it due to the synchronicity between a Natural Holy Sword wielder and their merged relic in symbiosis. She came closer by the door and with a inhuman jump went to the roof.

XXX

5 minutes earlier. Shidou Residence front yard.

 _"* Such a wonderful day to be back home. I wonder - does Issei like girls with a big chest? Let's not think about it. Have faith in yourself, Irina. You're better than a silly Devil girl, he is your first love so fight for him. Fight for his freedom. *"_

She was humming a tune she remembered from her childhood days, she would do so when she was feeling nervous before a mission. It was a song her mother sung to her when she was feeling sad and bitter. And yet she couldn't help but miss her father, her mother didn't knew anything related to that and still waited for him to return back home. Sadly, with every day this hope was growing weaker...

About to throw the bag in the trash bin, something in her was telling her of a lurking danger. She couldn't sense anything, it was just her intuition that told her to be first there was nothing.

 _"* Must have been my imagination *"_ she ignored it or so it appeared. She touched her left shoulder and turned backwards to deflect a flying sword aimed at her with her Excalibur Mimic in a large Claymore structure with blue gems glistening with holy radiance, protecting her from the explosion but the shockwave shaked her ground.

She removed her coat and revealed her battle uniform and clutched her Mimic with two hands and looked at every direction to avoid a sneak attack. "Reveal yourself and i shall not hurt you. I swear in the name of God that i shall not smite you unless you forgo my words."

Nothing answered. It was just silent for a second and another explosion broke out from the left. She jumped to the right to avoid the brunt of the consecutive wave of energy and almost sliced her feet onto the swords that ruptured bellow her feet if not moving away in the last moment.

"Blade Blacksmith?" she muttered in speed to herself in surprise. She was on her guard as she could see a silhouette grow closer in her eyes. Her body tensed up with anxiety over this humanoid monster.

A black figure emerged from the shadows, holding two black blades with red pulsing veins on their edges, in the air around it were a few dozen sleek swords in the form of a spike, lined in a circular halo behind it's back. It was masked with shadows and a dark suit with a hood and looked straight at Irina with burning rage and voidless contempt.

"What is your business with us? Reveal yourself, foul beast!"

The figure mocked her with his hand swinging in a dull manner like she was some cockroach to be crushed under it's feet. It pulled it's mask a little, just enough to show her his blue cold eyes. They watched every movement in her body, her breathing and miniscule adjustments in her positioning.

"I have given you a chance so accept it while you can." Irina knew Xenovia was on the roof by the earlier signal she received, she was stalling for time to formulate a plan and beat this assailant.

And he didn't respond with words. His actions were the answer to her question - hailing every sword he manifested, Yuuto Kiba charged forward like a shadow of the night, he swerved and threw one of his swords at the roof and with the other one aimed at Irina.

Xenovia avoided the blade by a hair's length but it wasn't his intention to hit her, it was just a distraction in order to keep her occupied while he telekinetically moved the blade backwards to Irina,cutting her a bit on the shoulder while she broke through his barrage of swords with her Mimic in a pair of long Dao swords.

Xenovia drove him back by releasing the holy aura of her Durandal, bathing the surroundings with pure radiance of the Angels which made him fall back.

He could feel his skin burning underneath the suit,his blood was boiling with rage against them but the pain was unbearable to a aura of a holy sword caused internal bleeding and excruciating pain in the biology of a Devil,their intensity surpassed that of a simple light spear x10 times the potency of the damage they could deal on the unholy.

"You provoked us for no reason. Can you speak at all,Devil?" Xenovia went to Irina and stood besides her to act as a shield.

"Why? It's because you carry that, _church dog_!" Yuuto took a stance and manifested giant claymores of miasma in the air,surrounding him like a shield. He wasn't going to step down at all.

XXX

"Issei! He's going to get killed if we don't do something. " Asia was looking through the window with had overheard something about Kiba's life on Friday and so she pleaded Issei to help him. She would've gone out but that would reveal her identity and Issei wouldn't have let her risk her life.

"Fine. Just stay here and don't go out. I'll drive them off." Issei placed his black gloves and hood and snuck out of the back entrance of the house. If it was left unattended, people from the surrounding houses would be caught in the cross fire.

Kiba was fighting with all of his strength against them, driven by his primal instincts telling him to slaughter them on the go. He would have done it if it weren't for their holy relics persevering over his demonic weapons with ease.

Xenovia switched her foot pace and chanted a passage of **John.4.2.5 - [God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.]**

Her aura blazed with the holy element, enveloping her body in a tight mess of radiance. Glowing appendages grew out of her back when she tapped into the aura of her Durandal with the attribute of Miracle of Separation spliced with holy light, transforming her into a spiritual being.

She charged at him with inhuman speed, rivaling that of the Knight with shockwaves from her outburst slashing through the air like a pressurized blade with her burning blue sword of were flying at his direction in a hundred,he was fast but due to his carelessness he fell into their trap.

Kiba,despite his training couldn't escape this burning vortex of her charge,she wasn't in the physical plane anymore so everything he hailed at her phased through her skin without her flinching. Irina didn't partake in her charge for she was going to burn and get in the way so she stabbed her Mimic in the ground to manifest as a giant blade on the other side.

 _"* So this is the end,huh. I couldn't avenge you despite how i tried. Everyone, I'm sorry... *"_ he closed his eyes in resignation. His heart was beating fast with every approaching second of Death ticking away.

 _"* Come on out,Adam. It's your turn... Run... Fight back because you're the only one who can do it.*"_

Kiba shaked off his reluctance and resignation, he manifested a myriad of swords to cover his whole body in a suicide attack. If he was to die,he would take them down with him no matter what.

A brutal clang of metal reverbed in the space, blood was spurting on the ground and evaporating with toxicity brimming in the air. It was smothering,it was barely breathable in this area of siege.

Issei was standing before the broken Knight with his hand bleeding; he had moved in between them in the last second,deflected the blow and tackled Xenovia with his other hand bringing her back to the physical plane and kicked her hard with his boot.

Irina was shocked; her legs were shaking violently by the sight of this foul beast, darkness was seeping from his hands,his face was semi hidden by the brim of his hood but scales could be spotted on his cheeks,with worm like creatures wiggling underneath the foundation of his skin. Those eyes under the hood were the carnal lunacy of the dead screaming at the living with their hatred and scorn filled lungs, cursing and weeping from the inside.

 **"STAND OF YOU!"** Issei's voice was authority itself, it was like the voidless order of God commanding them to stand down or else suffer his wrath. The voices of the dead echoed through his own chilling the spine tone of tainted, vile, immeasurable power. Human and not at the same time, it was the Authority of the Law manifested onto the material plane of the ephemeral existential code.

Kiba and Executors stood like statues in the presence of this inhuman adversary. Only Kiba could recognize in the vestiges of the long passed away vices and sin the blunt voice of the Pawn of Gremory, Issei Hyoudou. He had released his true identity for a fraction of a second into the world and just as it had manifested, it faded like it never existed. Death Incarnate, the ultimate force of the Unknown was unleashed to stop their squabble without any bloodshed involved.

"W-who are you? " through the gritting teeth of Irina the noise she tried to make as words as she was scared to death. She couldn't stand before his figure and dropped on her knees in waiting for her imminent demise by his hands. Her thoughts were racing like crazy,her heart was going to burst if she looked at his visage any longer.

"Who am i? What are you doing here next to my house? " Issei questioned them into submission, they were still afraid of him and what was hiding under the hoodie. He was pissed off by all this racket - he had a bad day in many ways, he just wanted peace and quiet and nothing more.

"We just moved in; i came back to my birthplace because of a... " Irina took the initiative to answer his question out of fear.

"Irina! Don't say another word. He's with these monsters! " Xenovia turned to her comrade with a scream.

"I'm not with anyone but myself. How rude! " he dropped his hand freely, " stop this idiotic act right now before i change my mind. Go back to where you're from,I'll handle the rest. "

 _"* Ah,damn it! So this is how it feels like to be stabbed with a Holy Sword.I'm never doing this again!*"_

Issei had blocked the pain enough to drive them away, he kept the appearance of authority until they moved away and grabbed his damaged arm. He had to shed skin again and produce scales to replace the ones which he lost. Unsurprisingly, he didn't pay the lying on the ground blonde Devil any attention as he was too busy to stretch his hand back and forth.

"Why did you save me?" despite his extensive injuries and fatigue, Yuuto Kiba pushed himself to speak. His eyes had a defeated look in them,he looked miserable and angry with something. The mask he wore had fallen from his face...

"Cause that whiny bitch would yell at me for not saving your ass and such. Plus if this had continued, your fight could've costed me a neighborhood to fix and that's annoying. " he reluctantly stretched his arm to him, nonchalantly looking at the moving away Executors.

"I fuckin had them! Why did you have to butt in, Issei! " his malicious tone spiked up, he couldn't keep the mask he wore anymore - the cheerful smile,the polite and courteous manners were all a facade. The man known as Yuuto Kiba was a liar, a filthy liar who fooled everyone but not Issei.

"Don't you bullshit me with that crap,pretty boy. You can't fool me. You're the only one who's fooling yourself, you would've been dead. " Issei didn't sugarcoat it,he just spewed the truth with no inhibition on his bluntness.

"They took everything from me... I will never forgive them for that..." he rose up on his own shakily and grunted in anger. His wrath subdivided a bit but he was tense. Issei had prevented him from initiating his long desired revenge on Excalibur, something he wouldn't forgive him for having done.

"I know that feeling; to be swept in revenge with no way out. To be consumed by it until there is nothing else to live for. I know that..." despite his sympathetic tone it didn't match well with his expression.

"I don't want your opinion on this matter. You know nothing!" he growled with spite. His eyes were full of regret and something like a tear was forming in the corner of one of his eyes.

"I don't know but seeing you this way makes me think of my past. You're not the only one who has lost something precious. " Issei didn't look him in the slightest way,he continued with his speech," It's not my place to mingle in this but I'll help; i have something i want to know myself... "

"Issei, is that you? " terrified Irina had returned back after hearing the name of Issei coming out from the mouth of the blonde Devil. She still held her sword up high, not intending to leave herself defenseless. The thought of it being a trap was a given but she took a leap of faith and had to check if it was true, lest she would regret it.

 _"* Who's this girl? Why does she know my name? Could it be...?*"_

He didn't turn back to face her,he waited for a moment to retract his scales back and look human again not to scare her to death. She was totally unknown to him,she was someone he had never met less even heard about.

"Are you Issei Hyoudou by chance? Is that you Ise?"

He made a gesture to Kiba to stay put or he would kill him on the ground if he interfered. He could sense the presence of Xenovia nearby observing their very actions and had her sword gripped tight in her palms with the intention of interfering if it turned awry.

"Sorry but you had me mistaken with someone else. Issei Hyoudou doesn't live here anymore, he passed away two years ago." his tone chilled her heart. He had lied about it,he wouldn't want anyone to track him down around the globe if he was seen somewhere.

"That's not possible. He's alive,we took a photo together two years ago in October.I saw him today with a girl in the city center. There's no way he's gone... Why would you lie about such a thing? Did you know him?" through sincere eyes she pleaded in her desire to know.

"I did. Whoever you saw, it wasn't him,there are a lot of lookalikes in this he's dead..." he retorted casually like it was some fact when it was nothing but a psychological tactic to wring her out of any piece of valuable information he could get. Kiba remained silent, he played along.

Irina's eyes widened in dejection, a tear streaked down her cheek by the sound of his demise. He was the boy she loved the most and couldn't even get the chance to express her feelings for him. The loss of the first love was tantalizing...

"Are you Irina Shidou, the local priest Touji Shidou's daughter? " he asked.

"Does it really matter? It's useless now, both of them are gone." she shed a bitter tear, she felt terrible. Her faith was strong but her heart was not so much,she couldn't take the loss of a loved one well. First the disappearance of her father and now this... No matter how positive she was, she was able to react to bad news like any other being on this planet - feel miserable and cry.

"It's not... I'm looking for her and her father for a certain reason, i must know what happened on the night of **09.10.2013**. It's connected to everything. So do you know her?"

"Why do you ask?" she gave a quizzical look at him. She barely held her tears from flowing out like a river, she told herself she would be strong but couldn't keep that promise.

"Because i want to know. Why did it happen and why did my parents have to die?" he grabbed his hood with both hands and lowered it,revealing his head and twisted his neck a little for the right side of his face to be revealed. He looked solemn and the question was written all over his face, silent and cold as the snow of the Himalayas.

She stopped crying for a second, she was shocked and caught off guard by his actions. Before her eyes he stood well and alive, the rest didn't matter at all. She blurted some crap he didn't understand and would've hugged him if it weren't for the fact that he made them feel so insignificant and mortal not so long ago. They clearly knew what he was capable of and they wouldn't try anything like that.

"I'm Irina Shidou, don't you remember me?"

Taking a good look at her, "Not at all. I don't remember any girl with that name. Sorry to disappoint you but i don't think there was someone with that name in my life."

"He's not human at all. Just take a look at him and you'll see. " Xenovia raised her sword despite the fear,she would rather die than surrender to anyone."Isn't it logical to assume he's a Devil now given on how he protected his comrade? "She interrupted their conversation to shift the focus to what was really important.

"How?" Irina couldn't believe it."I could never believe you would stray from the path of what is righteous and be engulfed by sin. I shall release you of your malady, so the real Issei would remain in my memories as he was."

"You should know, Executor! After all you appear on that picture of mine so you tell it's not like i wanted this to happen!" he was cornering her,he didn't recognize her at first glance but then remembered, her face appeared in his memories of that summer but not on that specific day. He had learned her name and so came back his dislike for her. He just wanted information at any costs. He was buying time for Kiba to get away as far as he could while he held them off.

"I don't remember... " meekly she answered.

"Then you're of no use to me. Leave and go back to where you came from. I don't want to see you and if you leave envelopes on a table, write a goddamn name on it. " he turned around and urged the Knight to follow him,he was visibly displeased.

 _"* Such a waste of time. I expected her memory to be erased as just confirmed it. Someone did this to us and the first one to come to mind was Paladin Shidou or that being...*"_

"Then so shall it be." Xenovia stabbed her sword into the asphalt and yelled at Irina, "If a Devil is left alive, our cover shall be ineffective. Fulfill your duties as an divine instrument of justice! " she leaned forward in a new stance and chanted **[** **Zechariah 13:2 "And on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness.** **]**

"Issei 1:01- and the Serpent of God descended to the ground to devour those who had opposed it. Blood shall be spilt for the desire of your GOD."

"You filthy heathen! " she charged with her renewed grace and thus it began.

"So be it. It seems i won't be getting any sleep tonight." he took a stance and prepared to unleash hell on them.

"Wait! Wait! Stop,both of you!" panting through the door came out Asia and behind her were Ravel and Xuelan to act as support. He didn't want to involve them in this so he told them to stay back and not leave the house.

Xenovia stopped her charge and widened in disbelief - she had found her sister at long last...

XXX

16th August,Pope Private Residence, The Vatican, 14:35 pm

It was just another day at the Vatican with the meetings of cardinals in summit of the Higher Ups of the Roman Catholic Church on mandatory manners, concerning the theft of the fragments of Excalibur by the Genocide Bishop Galliel Valper. Arguments were thrown from both camps on how to proceed with this foreboding crisis, regarding the influence of the Church on the balance scales.

It was proposed to dispatch more Executors and Angels to raze the city of Kuoh to hide any traces of their work and deal with escaped convicts from the Devil Slum. But the legal standpoint was on how to deal with the Devils without breaching the peace treaty and igniting a new war in the process. The Second War had caused catastrophic damage to the Earth; a large number of Devils and Angels alike died in the span of the war,weakening both sides beyond any hope for recovery. There was a proposal to utilize a system based on the Evil Pieces to replenish the depleting number of the Heavenly Host but it was still in the process of trial and error and the notion of copying a vile system that enslaved individuals to do the biding of their master.

In the end it was decided on dispatching Saint Lucca of Sicily to back up the already sent forces in order to retrieve Excalibur and bring to court Valper for his atrocious act of human abduction and inhumane treatment of children.

The Holy Sword Project was being conducted in secret 5 years ago in Bremen,Germany under the tutelage of the then sane Bishop Galliel. But for some unknown reason till this day it was stopped midway with Valper and his accomplices going into hiding until recently where someone had ratted him out on the attempts to reestablish the Second Project in a small city, where no body would think of. And what better than the infamous Devil Slum to do it under the protection of the Devils.

Pope Residence, 14:40 pm.

After having done all of his assignments for the day,Jorge snatched his bag and had Rudgard drive them back home to rethink on the matters at hand. He had to make a decision on whether or not to approve of the majority vote for the following operation.

Stepping out of the car,Rudgard walked around the door and took out the suitcase with documentation from the trunk of the car. It wasn't super expensive as previous ones, this Pope wasn't much inclined to use valuable resources for such a marginal task of using a expensive car. Well, the car was armored as a delivery truck and had black windows to provide tranquility for the ever so worried head of the Church.

Rudgard helped the Pope to step out of the car and slammed the door carefully not to cause a ruckus. "What shall we do for today, Your Holiness. " Rudgard politely removed his zucchetto and bowed down with respect, he asked his employer on their schedule for the rest of this sunny August day.

"Let's see...I would like to gain some peace of mind in my private chambers. Then we shall head out to the streets. I have the need to see the people of the street and help them." he touched his chin and slightly adjusted his white zucchetto in accordance. He was dressed in the traditional white cassock with plain shoes, he didn't like expensive goods for it was more important to use the resources that were utilized in their making to help the ones in need and feed the poor on the streets.

Pope Theodorus III, also known as Jorge Bennedeto Antonelli was a high ranking cardinal before he was elected as the new pope after the untimely and mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the previous leader, Pope Francis I a year ago. Jorge used to be a poor man who turned to religion to save his soul from the surrounding his life injustice and sin. A son of a Argentinian carpenter and a Italian mother, he lived in poverty and strife, a foreboding life of struggle and hunger leading him to steal bread from the local bakery to feed his family and people on the streets.

And till this day he had continued with this practice, never to forget his roots and life of poverty. He wasn't proud of his life so he turned to the Bible wholeheartedly and vowed to himself to make a change for the better.

He stepped with Rudgard following right behind him in his residence, walked the up the stairs and directly headed to his private chambers with leaving his ward before the door.

Jorge removed his zucchetto off his head and placed the wool cap on the nearby drawer and removed his cassock and prepared himself tea in the humble kitchen on the other side.

"Who are you? " he tensed up by the presence of a young man with dirty blond hair and a black jacket with sunglasses. He hadn't noticed on how this man had passed through the property without any problems and on how he knew his room. Jorge had the feeling of this mysterious man having waited in his room beforehand.

"Now, now your Holiness. I have not come to disturb your tranquility. " the young man bowed down respectfully but he knew it was a facade, nothing more than pleasantries and the like." I have come on the behest of my master to converse on private matters. "

" I do not know who your master is but i shall kindly ask you to leave." he poured himself a cup of tea and took a seat,his eyes never went off the young man who was sitting on the window.

"That is not quite polite, i have come on good terms to negotiate. " Diodora Astaroth gave him a lax smile without removing his glasses.

"Do not fret and be alert, he is my companion. He means no harm to you. " the unrecognizable voice from before had appeared behind him,Jorge didn't turn away and went to place the curtains.

"I did as you requested. What more is there for you to ask from me. I have payed my debt to you so how long would you continue to haunt me."

"Just a bit longer,be patient my friend. Don't forget you owe me, i was the one who made you Pope and i could just as easily demote you from your post. Choose wisely, Jorge. We are beneficial to each other so let's keep it that way."

"Fine. So what do you exactly require this time around. " reluctantly Jorge agreed to the terms they had entailed in their contract- for him to be made Pope and he would offer his services to this unknown being of power.

If it could be said - it was like the Devil and an Angel, female and male as well. But it was not at the same time. Something different, something beyond human understanding, above the depth of the narrow minded and feared by the wise. Only one thing was certain, it wanted the retrieval of the fragments and the prosperity of the Church. Or it was a paradox.?

"I want you to let this fellow, whom i received from a dear friend of mine, to fake an assault on the court of Cardinals to ensue the plan we had drafted long ago. For that, Saint Lucca must die at the hands of a Devil,I know about his deployment to Japan. I heard that from one of your cardinals,Giovanni it seemed. He's playing dirty" it was cryptic in it's speech,it was alone without it's other companion with whom it appeared always.

"You know that would spark a war between the factions. The rest would believe it to be a work of the Devils and would cause climatic damage if war was to break out. " he disapproved this ploy with the hope of averting his children's involvement in this conflict.

"So what of it? Don't you think there are far too much Devils and Angels who restrict the freedom of people. They deserve to die,it is too much to bear. So do me a favor and cut them up a bit" Diodora stretched his legs a bit and belched out this conviction of his.

"But aren't you a Devil yourself? "

" **2 Peter 2:4 - For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast [them] down to hell, and delivered [them] into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment"** he waved off slightly, "Don't you think it's fitting for them to perish? " he didn't suffer from chanting this excerpt of the Bible.

"I am. What of it?" The Astaroth collector pulled down his glasses to show his yellowish green eyes to the Pope and elaborated,and made a questionable gaze and gesture at him.

"What of it? I'm just the same as you humans do,a victim of bias and rejection. So of course I'd hate them,you humans slaughter each other for the miniscule of reason there is when you're all of the same species. So how different is that,how difficult is it to understand? " he put on his glasses again and snickered akin to a Chesire Cat with his eyes lit up behind the dark shades.

"And for it to be more believable, what's the death of a Pope to people? Nothing. " it said bluntly, "Do it!" ushering a command to Diodora to strike him down.

"As you wish,my Meister." and brought out a demonic blade from his back pocket and stabbed the old man in the gut,leaving him to die.

"This is exhilarating! I didn't know that by working for you people would be so rewarding. It was as he said it", Astaroth cheerfully took out the blade from the body of the old Jorge and licked the blood off it." What's next? " with curious eyes behind his glasses he asked in anticipation.

"Retribution..."

And they dissappeared into mist and fog...

The bleeding man slumped on the ground, with whatever strength he had left he crawled to the drawer and took out a hidden phone and dialed with difficulty a number. He spewed blood on the floor, he accidentally sprawled the drawer's contents with a picture of him, Xenovia and Asia at the sea.

He grabbed the picture and awaited for his call to connect...

 _"* I made a mistake... Please forgive me,Asia,Xenovia... Your old man inadvertently caused Hell on Earth. Survive no matter what...*"_ he was losing strength from the severe blood loss...

 **[** **"** **It's me... We have no time to waste, They're here...Stop them...Sh-shidou..]** and the call ended abruptly..."

XXX


	10. Act10

Act.10 Wine &Whiskey

20th August, Kuoh Academy roof, 13:45 pm

"Yo,want some juice, man?" Motohama asked him with a courteous tone of tranquility. As usual the trio were hiding on the roof where they would indulge in their lunch time with heartfelt conversations about the meaning of life,human suffering and nature, emotions and finally but not least boobs.

"I'm okay. Thanks anyway for the offer", Issei politely turned down his offer as he wasn't thirsty at all. It was a beautiful day outside for some perverted antics to utilize but strangely he didn't feel like it at all. _"That girl was useless... But it's possible that she was just an unwilling participant in this case but the question is what were they doing back then in my house? I'll have to find some evidence on that day,I'll ask X maybe he could know. But it is possible it was him?"_

"Are you spacing out again? It's the forth time this day. Something's definitely shaken you up so just breathe, you're safe here with us. " Matsuda tried to make him feel a bit better about everything and it kinda worked.

Motohama stood up and touched his glasses while being in a weird pose and declared to the world what he had thought, "What do you guys think of the two new transfer students? Hm", his gaze was sharpened by the intention of his question. It was like he was another person when it came to the word of debauchery.

"Pretty fine I'd say", Matsuda scratched his head in uncertainty over his words," they don't seem to hate us yet. " he was reminded by past experience that after a week, they'd get beaten by every girl again so it wasn't anything to worry about.

"For now... " Motohama sighed and sat down again. "But let's be honest, the people who don't hate us could be counted on 1 hand", he started counting down, " our parents and Issei. And that's that."

"Well, there's no way I'd hate you guys. Despite knowing how i am with people, you still give a damn about it. Of course I'd care." Issei protested and confirmed his thoughts with this declaration. He had something like friends now,it didn't matter if he was hated anymore. But friends were the best material for traitors so he knew he had to enjoy the time he had while it was still there.

Both boys were visibly pleased with what they heard. Motohama as the more emotional of the two shed a single tear that escaped from his eye and streaked down his cheek. The spark for perversion hadn't been extinguished from that time at the disco,it would never leave their hearts until the end of times.

"So what are you doing after school? "

Issei placed his hand on his chin in a pensive way and took a second to think of something. He wouldn't have minded staying with them other for the fact that he had to visit Sona at her house to deliver her pills and prepared blood for her condition. Plus he had to make a delivery...

"Sadly i won't be able to join you, guys. It seems i have some work to do for this afternoon. Ahh." he gasped a bit in discouragement. He would have wanted to spend more time with them but he was required to act as mediator in a conflict at Boston. And he clearly disliked leaving the girls alone with these Executors living by next door. It sure was a handful.

"I understand. It can't be helped, right? " they both answered in unison.

"I'm really happy that we had that night together, it was like i felt i was alive for once and not being seen as some disgusting freak. If it was to be correct, it was because of the alcohol that those girls came to dance with us. If it wasn't that,then it would have been a different story... " wistful in his words,Motohama watched at the skies with some mixed emotion behind his words as if it was the exact truth. For he knew it was - no girl would've ever liked either one of them if she were in her right mind.

"Still it was fun even if it was fake,right? " Matsuda raised his shoulders in encouragement only to stop for a moment and slump into solemn silence.

"We don't need any fake things because where's the point in it? Being with somebody just for the money and such... That's disgusting! I may be immoral and so but to do something like that,I'd rather not." Motohama answered his question by a small argument to back up his point of view and make the conversation flow better.

Issei didn't remain silent in this short exchange between opinions. It was natural for him to speak up whenever he believed it to be so, and thus started slowly with the question, " But what is real and what is fake in life? Sometimes we think of something to be the real deal only for it to turn out nothing but a idealized bootleg copy. So where is the real deal in all of these fakes?"

"Maybe there is something,somewhere. But i wouldn't pin my hopes too high..." Motohama drank a bit of his juice with a stern face as that of ice, " after all we can't just magically escape the bottom line and turn out to be the cool can't change to something that isn't ourselves just to please the masses. We're like the shadows; hidden in plain sight but we are there. No body likes to be in the shadows. We were never born with that grace..."

Matsuda confirmed this dictum of his with a simple nod of his head. He was the quieter one of the two for a reason - he tended to listen first then talk. He was the mediator, the glue that kept them together and balanced things out. And gladly helped whenever he could.

 _"Everyone carries a shadow and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is."_ the words of the doctor resounded in Issei's mind once again like it was the answer itself. There was much more to it than he gave it credit for.

"But the shadow is necessary for there to be light. If you'd think about it,people like us", Issei crossed his legs and arms," are needed for society to function. People would band together against loners and work more efficiently with someone to ostracize. Therefore loners are required for the prosperity of society to maintain it's order. " he was really good at pointing out the obvious.

"It's better to be different and truthful to yourself, isn't it? Because you can't be anyone but yourself. The rest is just a fancy, ornate mask that you'd place to stay in the safety of the pack, but we aren't carnivores or herbivores - we're nothing but lone wolves in a den of lions..." Matsuda spoke up.

"I'd wonder,why did someone say humans are social animals when they are better on their own? Take a look at us and you'd see we're doing fine. It's of no matter whether we would curse our fate and cry over it, whether we would be happy and enjoying life- the world wouldn't even care as everything will end with a flash. And you'd be nothing but a deadman in a coffin at the end of your life.."

"Human nature is truly strange. We'd desire impossible things, set the bar so high that we'd just get disappointed with ourselves for not having reached our bigger the goal you set, the greater the pain you'd get." Motohama sighed heavily, he was feeling somewhat tired but they still had time to eat.

A screeching noise came out from the other side of the roof like the door was left open. Usually it was the hiding spot for the Pervert Trinity to spend their big lunch break and talk about various things on the go,people knew they went there so they avoided contact with that place on every conceivable occasion possible. Fellow classmates of theirs would throw trash and carve out swear words onto their desks while they were upstairs, it was a common school body practice to shun the trio akin to a plague, some didn't even know them.

"It seems peaceful. Let's go in" a female's voice echoed through the entrance. Sweet and a bit quirky it was nonetheless quite pleasant to the ears.

"Fine fine. It's not like anyone would be here." another girl spoke up with some ire in her tone.

 _"Guys,hide. If someone comes around I'll deal with them somehow."_

 _" Got it. We'll go around there,follow us."_

 _"I'll be right behind you. Let's go_ _._ _"_

The boys utilized their pervert telepathy with weird gestures and mimics, some blinking and eye movement and slowly moved away to the other side of the room where a small building was perching up from the cemented slid behind it and waited, if they were caught they'd get beaten again..

Ravel Phenex passed through the distance between the entrance and the fence with Xuelan right behind her and headed towards the spot the boys had occupied a moment ago. They sat down with some food and drinks, intending to spend their time in peace. On Monday when they first came to school as it's students, they were met with courtesy and joy- they were girls after all so they became the object of desire. It was 3 girls in a month - it had never happened before.

"Honestly, these people are so annoying. The way those girls looked at me like I'm an enemy was quite the predatory glare they had." Xuelan took out her drink and busted the cap.

"I see. Humans tend to cater to the pretty ones in order to acquire status and protection. Like some helpless animals." Ravel fiddled with her hair and sagely expressed her own opinion. In her class,Koneko's class, she was barraged with questions and some fools trying to gain her benevolence in being popular. She didn't like the people so she called Xuelan to go to the roof for some peace.

"I agree. People are just like that." Motohama's voice came out subconsciously, he had forgotten they were hiding and due to his inability to resist with the urge for this theme,he dived in uninhibited.

 _"You genius! Now we'll get more slack or get kicked off the roof_ _!_ _"_

Xuelan rotated her head in every direction but didn't see anyone. She was on her guard and stood in front of Ravel just in case; to her Ravel was more important than everyone else. Raising her fists, she took a stance and stretched her left leg a bit and adjusted her standing point. "Show yourself! I won't hurt you "

"As you wish but don't hate me for my appearance and identity. " Motohama fixed his glasses with one hand and stepped out while telling the others to wait,if it was a angry mob. He was fine with just himself being the victim so he pushed them back.

"Who are you? " Ravel felt slightly confused with this sudden eyes twitched with eyes twitched a bit as the sheer thought of someone being there puzzled her. She had heard of the Trinity but didn't exactly know how they looked like, other than Issei being a part of this lust driven,perverse version of the Trinity.

"Just your average guy who spends his time on the roof. " calmly retorting back he turned to the defensive, he was sure they knew about them and expected Hell to break loose.

Issei and Matsuda slowly revealed themselves, they wouldn't let Motohama take the brunt of the situation. Camaraderie. That was how they functioned.

"Issei?" Xuelan squeezed in surprise by his sudden appearance. She knew well about his reputation but didn't take it for something to judge him on. Her father had taught her well but she couldn't hide her surprise anymore as she dropped her juice and spilled it on the cemented floor.

 _5 minutes later..._

"Would you like some juice, miss Xuelan? " Motohama had a spare one and offered it as a gentleman would to replace the one she spilled in her surprise. He carefully asked the black haired Rook while trying to not look at her bountiful chest in a tight uniform, he didn't hope for her to see them as human at all,it didn't go through his mind once. In fact he expected the worst.

"Thank you... " surprisingly Xuelan took the bottle of apple juice without flinching or being disgusted. Her eyes weren't filled with hate and scorn for them; she viewed them as normal people with a high sexual drive and nothing else. And she didn't expect them to be well mannered and polite to her,she even noticed how they kept their distance and eyes away from her.

"I haven't introduced myself for which i am pleased to be excused for my bad manners," Ravel stood up and common courtesy pulled the hems of her skirt and made a simple bow, it felt somewhat weird as her regal disposition and mellow persona were quite contrasting with each other,"My name is Ravel Phenex and nice to meet you ",and sat back on the cement next to Issei.

"We have heard about you, miss Phenex and miss Chen. You're quite the sensation among the school body so of course we would know when it is so obvious. " Matsuda spoke quietly, his voice was somewhat lax and his tone reluctant but carried on.  
Both boys responded accordingly to her greetings and continued to eat their food while offering the two girls some biscuits. And Ravel loved human food,especially chocolate with hazelnut and raisins.

"Aren't you disgusted by being near us? And how are you acquainted with our fellow Issei? " Motohama made the infamous Gendo Ikari pose with his glasses shining by the rays of the sun,his gaze was like that of a mother lioness, protecting it's cubs from stood behind him like a guard,it was comical yet terrifying to look at.

Xuelan stopped Ravel from speaking and took up the task herself. She didn't intend to tell the truth about them being Devils , she used the typical word combination she used to answer questions of the like," Well, my father had to go overseas and we moved here to Japan as it was better suited for his work. I'm staying at a cousin's house nearby. " she gave a short answer with the general information that would be asked of her.

Ravel interjected, "Why should we be disgusted by your presence? You're people too,Issei had told us about you so feel relaxed. We're not so shallow to pick you on the fact that you have a desire for females. Nothing wrong with that if you don't go overboard. " she slammed her arms onto her thighs gently and gave them a serious look, not one of pity and repulsion but a normal, friendly reaction.

"People always tend to go for the appearance and money while disregarding the notion of personality, the first impression... " Issei decided to mingle in this conversation, " but let's not talk about school matters, that's just small talk."

"So what would you like to talk about?" Ravel was curious, her lips curled in a teasing yet halfhearted smile as she cocked a weird brow and her eyes locked down on Issei.

"What about relationships?" Matsuda proposed with innocence.

"What is there to a relationship? You get close to people, they stabb you in the back. Having no bonds with anyone grants you peace anf quiet, no excessive drama and pain." Issei swung his shoulders in disinterest and leaned backwards on the wall.

"I'd like to think relationships are a important thing for people to have. Because you can't live your life all alone, that's not how we were designed to be." Ravel fiddled with her uniform in a nonchalant manner while she pushed her legs forward with a pleased look on her face.

"I would object to that; you're born alone in this world and you'll die alone in the end. Despite being "social" animals, people are destined to be alone because relationships aren't forever. One day you think you're friends with someone, you're happy and the next - you'd be a rotting carcass in a dumpster. " Issei felt the need to express himself, even if it was with some difficulty. He was stabbed too much in the back to believe anything else than that.

"Happiness... Huh.." Xuelan dropped her gaze to the ground with a pensive look on her face as it reminded her of what she had lost - happiness and comfort. She grew to believe that it didn't really exist for she had felt she was deluding herself to keep going only to realize it was pointless.

"It doesn't matter if you'd laugh or cry,this world doesn't give a damn about it. We're so small and insignificant compared to the universe that it would make us feel like there is nothing worth it. So why should we care about what others think of us,what the universe thinks when it certainly does not. After all, we're just a bunch of people who were born and will die one day. So let's make it worth it",Motohama tried to make it positive and keep the conversation going but he felt a tingling pain in his chest, " not for the world but for ourselves. "

They were surprised to see that the Pervert Duo was quite the philosophical and well argumentative bunch who weren't just thinking of sex and girls all the time. No one would have expected them to be more so than they appeared... They weren't stupid or the like as others thought of had revealed their true nature - hurt men who were looking for a place in this hostile world of lies and deceit.

"I expected you to jump on us and molest us but appearances do lie. You're not bad as they say you are," Ravel praised them not with false conviction but with a surprising respect for their beliefs, " but you shouldn't peek at girls so much. Just kidding, a man is only a man when he knows what he wants! "

"We may be perverts but we have our own moral code. We won't attack a girl to conduct our desire, that is disgusting. You may be thinking that we'd peek on girls because of wanting to molest them but it wouldn't be something real,would it. I just fancy female beauty and grace, they're not objects to be taken a possession of so that's why i ogle girls but wouldn't touch them. After all would there be a girl who'd let us near them, a girl who'd love us no matter what. But there isn't. " Matsuda took the words out of Issei's mouth, he said them before even Issei could react and answer.

Devils weren't raised in the conservative ways of the older generations, they were beings who fed on the lust and avarice of humanity but still had common sense and morals when it came to this. Desire,freedom and capability were their modus operandi. And as there is a mass practice, there is an exception for everything - for example the Sitri and Belial families were akin to the matriarchal order of a human household while the Phenex and Gremory were mostly the same,only that the males were usually figureheads of the family, while the ladies bossed around. Madam Sitri was a fine example of this practice.

"Are people here so shallow to act all friendly and try to get on your good side just because you're a girl and possibly popular? " Xuelan had never been treated this way, she used to be a normal girl 4 years ago before she was taken in by Lord Phenex. She hated being in the spotlight and being an object of people's interest. It felt like she couldn't get any privacy at all.

"More or less. Let's take for example Prince Charming Kiba; girls swoon over him just because he's handsome and cool, looks and smile. But I'm sure such a perfect guy is sure to be a fake,a mask. He's just hiding behind that smile,repressing his desires and self to please someone else. And if he does something bad it's overlooked with a light hand because he's good looking and tall."

"What about Rias Gremory? " Ravel was curious on their opinion of the redheaded girl who crushed her brother's heart. But she wouldn't deny it was forced and she felt grateful that he could finally move on and get out of his obsession with her.

Something in Issei snapped, by the mention of Gremory his chest tightened in discomfort - he was still on a leash by these stupid Evil Pieces, Asia was as well. It was common sense to say that both used each other for their own reasons, otherwise what would it be than that? Issei had thought of running away and becoming a Stray but that would leave Asia alone with her and she was needed in the bigger game for some reason, otherwise he wouldn't have saved her if he didn't know. He was still looking for a way to safely remove the 8 pieces that were in his heart so he had to be patient - find a way and escape without anything hindering his goal, get intel and a harem.

"She's a spoiled bitch... " Issei voiced out his thoughts to them, his arm was shaking in a tight grip with the thought of running away lingering, " i went through undeserved humiliation at the gates not so long ago,just because she's hot and all doesn't mean she could just get everything she wants. I'd rather we didn't speak about her." his face showed visible petulance at her recent actions. He was nothing more than a toy for her,even if she had good intentions it was just her greedy need to control.

"Figures." a short reply came out of Ravel's lips. She wasn't a fan of Rias in the first place but had to act well mannered due to their families long standing friendship, heck her mother's cousin was the daughter of a Gremory that wed in the Phenex family.

"Plus these two gentlemen next to you kicked my ass for having been close to her." not sparing his bluntness, he jokingly mentioned the kick he received from one of them- it hurt like hell and he received a lividity from the sheer strength of the kick.

"No head starts, we would be together in it. Plus it wasn't fair... Sorry for that Issei... " the one who kicked him apologized," you can kick me in return to be fair."

 _"What would've happened if i ever told them about that time on the beach or th_ _at_ _Saturday. Ugh, i don't want to remember it or it will stir me up. I tried my best,i used damn logic and reason but she still went on with it but atleast i somehow prevent it. It was an act of pity,guilt. Nothing else than that."_

He shook his head sideways to get a grip or he would start thinking about what happened - her smooth skin and generous bust, the embarrassed and seductive expression of hers would fuck him up and drag him down in his thoughts. He didn't want that at all,he was done with anything of this variety. If _"Raynare"_ hadn't appeared to him back then,it could've gone worse but now he had a really good reason to stay away aside from the main one- she was like the rest...

Issei raised his fist and flicked his mate's forehead enough to hurt him a bit, " No need. I would've done the same thing as you did." he tried to make a smile but it felt lacking and painful so she stopped midway and left it as it is.

 _"I didn't expect these two to get along so fine with the girls. It was the right thing to do,maybe it would give them some happiness a bit. But who am i kidding, we know that it's not possible after all. One thing is better for them..."_

"Isn't it time to go? Lunch break is over so we should go to our respective classes, shouldn't we?" The blonde girl pointed out the time,rose up and stretched her arms to Matsuda and Motohama to help them stand up. No disgust,no contempt. Just being Ravel- her opinion on them changed somewhat and she felt comfortable around Issei's compatriots of perversion. And let's be honest, Issei was a comfortable hugging pillow to sleep with aside from his lower body temperature but nothing like a blanket or two couldn't fix the problem.

Xuelan tilted her head in approval and continued on,she grabbed her juice bottle and turned backwards to see the young dragon. She gave him a reassuring sign to follow up as he was falling behind them and they'd be late. She appeared to have enjoyed these 30 minutes with them and wouldn't have minded for it to be a common practice for she couldn't stand the people in her class.

"I'll be right behind you. I just need to fix my shoe lace." Issei crouched down to simulate tying his shoe lace, waiting for them to close the door and standing up still,he turned to the other side. Where the fence on the roof remained perched into the cement.

Raynare was leaning back against the metal chain fence with her right leg pulled ahead,comfortably in a bored position with her face distorted with a subtle thin smile on it. She looked at him with a mix of bewilderment and boredom in her ghastly sharp eyes straight to his. Issei felt cornered and ready to run away from her clutches only for her to bring up her glove clad arm and lick her fingers with desire. She stopped doing that, her fingers cracked with a crunching sound and she gave him another subtle smile as moved them to her face with a _Shhh_ gesture...

XXX

20th August, Kuoh Academy Occult Research Club room,14:37 pm, Wednesday

3 days had passed since the appearance of the Church's elite Strike Force had intruded into the Devil's territory, namely Rias Gremory's domain of Kuoh as per the verdict of territorial establishment. And the ensuing chaos that was to burst like a bubble was a given.

Rias clattered her shoes on the hard surface of the floor with her arms crossed in annoyance. Yuuto hadn't shown up for more than 3 days despite how hard she searched for him, he had hidden himself well enough to prevent her from using the homing beacon function of his Piece to track him down and beat some sense to his stubborn head. She was sitting on her chair with a distant look, not paying attention to what was being talked to her at all.

"Hello? I'm right here you know", Akeno waved her hand before her King's face in reluctance. She was a witness to the events of Saturday, she felt bad for Kiba and just a little bit for Issei... But she had to do something to fix up her solemn King's mood on the go.

Her eyes moved up a bit and locked on Akeno's attempts to cheer her up. Sadly she wasn't feeling well,but atleast she brightened up a little if not more. She slouched on her spinning chair and rolled over to the opposite side of the room to hide her frustration with her powerlessness.

 _" I want Yuuto to be happy but how could i even help him with that because of me? I want to kill those Exorcists and grant him peace but it would only lead to a third war between the factions. The balance is shaky,one small transgression and it's over. If i could only think of a way to avoid that and give him closure but i can't think of anything..."_

"You're thinking about Yuuto,aren't you? I'm worried about him as well. " Akeno's eyes flickered with an expression of sympathy for the mental state of her King,she didn't tell her why Issei hadn't even once showed up to the club room. Or why it would cause more harm than any good - but Akeno wouldn't feel so bad as Rias used him to break off the engagement but she knew she used him as a pillar and a object of her sudden desire, the one who read through her like a book and gave her some hope even with his choice of words.

Rias gave her pained expression of sadness and shrugged down in was rather reserved with her words and emotions in a futile attempt to look strong and respectable. "I am. You know how much i want to kill those Exorcists and grant him some peace of mind but i can't. Forget about it being moral and so, this treaty prevents me from acting on it or a war would break out. I feel so powerless, i want to break from this endless cycle of hate and save his mangled soul. So what could i do to help him?"

Akeno stopped and stared at her with sympathy for her intentions, Rias was ready to go past the line just for one of her own people but she thought it was strange that she hadn't placed so much attempt to do so for Issei. Well her attempts were mostly fruitless anyway so she understood Rias well on that.

" I can't say anything because I'm not the right person. I feel bad for Asia as well... "

 **[ 16th August, Hyoudou Residence, Saturday night ]**

 _"Asia, what are you doing here? These people are Devils! Run! " Xenovia didn't try to suppress her voice at all,it was more like a scream than a polite request to the blonde former nun._

 _"I can't... I can't come back and face our father like this...I'm sorry... "Asia's complexion visibly changed as her brows scrunched together in resignation. She tried to look calm and collected but her mask of sweetness was cracking at the edges with regret and pain. She was a Devil and she could never return to how she was before... "* I won't go back to be a tool for these old fools. To be a tool of a God who never cared for me,one who never loved me or gave me anything good. I won't come back so I'll take you and papa with me somewhere away from the world..."_

" _miss Asia..." Irina tried to reach her consciousness in order to get them to go home together._ _"_ _I couldn't find my father but atleast I'll bring you home to your family. Your father misses you so much, I'll make it right. Atleast one of us should smile."_

 _"I can't allow that ", Rias's voice echoed through the street like thunder. Her commanding presence elevated the atmosphere with tension of demonic particles as she stepped out of her teleportation circle with Koneko and Akeno in tow. She rushed to Kiba with immeasurable speed and slapped him on the cheek only to hig him tightly._

 _"Don't you leave me like that otherwise I'd be lost without you. I don't want you to leave me,please. " tears of honesty dropped from her eyes onto the black suit Kiba wore. She tightened her grip on him, like if she let him out of her embrace he would fade into oblivion._

 _"Let me go, President. " Kiba mumbled under his breath as he slowly removed her arms off his back and stood up ashamed with himself. He didn't say anything to her and ran away in the darkness._

 _"Koneko! Please don't leave him alone. Go after him!" Rias pleaded the small Rook to chase after him with everything she had, she would have sent Akeno but she needed her "strongest" Piece with her for moral support._

 _The young girl quickly chased after him and was out of plain sight, far away from their senses to register her presence._

 _"You?! Why did you attack my Knight all of a sudden and now you want Asia? " the crimson haired girl was infuriated, "Talk about cheeky to barg_ _e_ _into someone's home and beat_ _their family on a whim just because they were Devils!"_

 _"We were left with no other choice but to defend ourselves as he was the one who attacked us in the first place", Xenovia gave her a broody gaze as she gripped the pommel of her sword in advance, " and just so you know, we dealt with some of the Strays from outside the barrier. We sent a message concerning our wish to be granted entry but no answer was given. So don't blame us for doing your job,miss Gremory. " with a sarcastic tone she told her what she had to say while never taking off her eyes from Asia._

 _"So what business would you have with our dear Asia?" Akeno raised ghe question with a unsightly grin._

 _Irina stepped up to answer in place of Xenovia for she was unnerved and would trash the place if she wasn't given her sister back."Asia Argento is a nun of the Vatican so we have come to get her home where she belongs. "_

 _"Wasn't she excommunicated? Then what going home do you speak of? She's home right here with us." Rias stood up to her with a condescending look, befitting that of her regal birth. She wasn't going to give up her Bishop without a fight, not after she was hurt so much by the ones that used to be something like a family._

 _"Is that true? " Xenovia's eyes widened in dejection, she couldn't believe what she heard, she didn't want to believe it at all." So you chose to be a Devil?! How could you, you were the most kindred Saint that everyone loved! The Twilight Maiden to turn into a Witch ...You're not my sister anymore..."_

 _The dignified mask she wore fell apart when her face twisted with pain by the sheer magnitude of this realization. She felt betrayed by the one whom she would have never expected, even once in their live only to see it lips contorted with rejection, pain and her eyes turned away from the blonde knew she was the one to blame for not having reached her that day,she desperately wanted to change the outcome only to fall into despair. The Durandal wielding girl turned away and told them," We would like to deal with the theft of the holy fragments in this city so I'll ask you kindly not to involve yourself... " and she left with a saddened Irina to her house next door..._

 _Asia burst into bitter tears from the rejection of her own sister, she was a monster in her eyes now. Her legs lost strength and she fell on her knees with swollen eyes from matter how much she tried to hold in the pain,she couldn't help but cry for herself and her father. How was she to face him when she was like that? In her shock she bit her lips and her lips were dyed red with the color of her blood._

 _Issei sighed in bitterness over the watching the hurt girl he lived with. He wasn't good with comforting people so he kept his distance and gave a sign to Ravel to bring her in the house. Ravel supported the feeble girl and entered the house, leaving Issei and Xuelan outside with Rias and Akeno._

 _Issei placed the hood over his head again and made a sign to Xuelan to leave him be and head back to the house and have someone comfort Asia while he would do something else while the situation was tense._

 _"What are you planning to do?" Rias shook her head in uneasiness. She was putting up a front before these Executors, and after they went away she took a deep breath and relaxed a little_.

 _"Nothing that would concern your attention. Just a light walk around the city and visiting my clients, nothing more. Are you a stalker as well?" annoyed he turned away and dropped his wounded arm, the sliced bit of his arm was regenerating a bit slowly and in that moment she realized what he could mean by a light stroll around the block._

 _"Wait, are you going to leave the poor girl all alone?"_

 _[_ _Issei looked up at the King's eyes and saw concern and sympathy, " She's not alone anymore..."]_

Rias spun in her chair like a kid and turned her back to Akeno, she was thinking of Issei's words and actions. He threw himself in front of Kiba judging by the wound he had on his arm, he saved him and she didn't thank him. Mostly because she wanted to be the one to help Kiba with this but she was powerless while he was not. She was envious of Issei...

 _"She's not alone, huh? If only things were like that between us... This time for sure,I'll be the one to make a difference and swallow my pride. No more empty promises, no more expectations."_

"Akeno,i think i know where Yuuto will be today. There's only one place that we've missed from the map - the other side of the city, the old theatre. That's the place if taking in account the information the ArchDuke gathered. We'll have to gear up and put an end to this tonight. For Yuuto!" she felt energy course through her body, her spirit was elevated by her new conviction and this time she would do it right. She turned around and she cupped her hands on her lap.

Akeno smiled, "We'll have to bring everyone together in order to do this. And by everyone i mean Issei as well." her voice mellowed down a bit when she thought of him for a second - she vividly remembered his look and consideration for her,true she may have been affected that time. Even so she would do it again and this time she was intent on going to the end with him even if he didn't want to,he was at fault for having changed her life and mindset so she would have been glad to pay him back for this in her own way. Plus he had an irresistible hip line as a matter of fact,that she knew perfectly.

Satisfied with what she wanted to hear,Rias stood up and announced with pride." Tonight, we're going on a hunt. 21:00 pm i want everyone at the school entrance and no playing hooky."

"As you wish, my King Rias. " the black haired lady bowed down with respect and grabbed a cup of tea to satisfy her thirst.

 _" That's the spirit! I won't allow anyone take more from me. Not today,not tomorrow! It's time for this girl to show what she's got."_

XXX

20th August, Hyoudou Residence, 19:35 pm

Ravel was sitting on Issei's chair in his room with the door locked shut,Asia had one more class left while Xuelan was fixing herself something to eat in the kitchen. The blonde younger girl had an agreement with the moody dragon to check out the new stuff on his computer while he went to Sona's house for some reason he didn't disclose.

" _I've informed my family about this culling. Safety measures and security have tightened and martial law has been ensued in atleast 2 's going as planned."_ she was typing on the keyboard meticulously as her attention was fixed on the messages that she found in a secret folder.

And she received a new message from their mysterious benefactor X – **"** **I see that you have joined the fray,little miss Phenex for which i praise you. You have mettle but enough about that...The head of the Vatican,Pope Theodorus III was a victim of a unsuccessful assassination by a Devil in the ploy to cause a new war between the factions and to hasten the Apocalypse. Watch out for the hooded figure,it will be sure to strike again. The Astaroth... They're involved in this...I'm sure you have warned your family about it and be careful. There are dark forces that lurk in the shadows, be on your guard and trust no one for the enemy is always watching. Go to road 491 in the United States on 31th October and you will find some answers. Tonight - at the old church of , go there with Issei. That's the only way you'll survive. "**

Ravel was worried deeply by this ominous message, her first reaction was to stare with a empty gaze at the monitor and when she regained her bearings she moved backwards to decided to write back to this enigmatic entity with the following :

 _-_ _"_ _Who are you and why are you helping us? What is your intention in all of this? Who is the enemy? "_

 _-_ _"_ _Just a friend. I don't have much time left so it doesn't matter. The enemy is one of the 72... I can't speak much as we're being watched, trust no one. Things aren't the way they seem to be. Ars Goetia... "_

\- _"_ _How could i trust you? I don't know you but so far you've helped us to avert more deaths from occurring. So would you ever show us your face? Can we meet? "_

 _-_ _"_ _You can't... Sadly not yet...But I'll help you... The twin tailed Executor had her memories erased so I'd like you to retrieve something of importance- The Church of Sainte-Catherine-de-Fierbois in France, you'll need to retrieve a weapon from there. She knows what happened that night but she doesn't remember it..."_

 _-_ _"_ _How is this related to me?"_

 _-_ _"_ _In more ways than you think. I'll tell you a secret- God isn't dead,it was the god the church believed it to be,The Demiurge...The third World War is starting. And the Harlot is here to cause havoc..."_

 _-_ _"_ _Who is she?_ _"_

 _\- I don't know yet. Not yet...Good luck..._

 _"Dear Satan! I have to tell Issei about this."_

XXX

20th August, Astaroth warehouse, 19:30 pm

"Phew,that was fun!" the young man sighed in exhaustion and dropped a adolescent brunette to the side of his bed," Who's next? " turning around to give a look at some of the girls he had kidnapped from a church on the way back.

They were tied up and lied down helplessly on the gigantic bed of his,they squirmed like maggots on a tea spoon and struggled to escape,all means of escape being cut off. And only pleading was left for them to do only for the collector to give them a silent hush, "Now,now no sound, only dreams now." and he gave them a dissatisfied look.

"Who would've expected it to be more interesting than trying to kidnap a girl and then nothing. A purpose is what is required to define a man,isn't that right?" giving off a sly look to the girl he had copulated moments ago,he tried to make her answer him. She only nodded in fear.

"You know, I'm in quite the good mood for some talk,wouldn't you like to hear it?" he leaned back on the bed and yawned in delight.

" I used to be the third wheel between my mother and brother, it was like i wasn't worth shit compared to the splendor my brother had. But still, i loved my mother with everything i had - she was still nice and gentle to me but it was probably all an act.." he placed his hands behind his head on the pillow and looked at the roof.

 _"* I-I'm sorry, mommy...i won't ask for anything.. I won't, stop hurting me...i promise i won't... Stop hitting me,mommy. *"_

 _"* Why can't you be like your brother? Stop playing around and do something with your damn life for moment. You're a disgrace, you're nothing but a meaningless worm to leech off me.. Stop crying and man up,you piece of shit! *_

"Yeah,it was quite the life i had. But it was bearable at least." he sighed heavily as he stretched his arms up.

 _"* You're nothing but a fuckin loser,your brother's a Satan while you are nothing but a disgusting slob of meat. You're good for nothing, useless and stupid. Go die in some hole, you freak!*"_

 _"*Look at that idiot- playing with dolls. You're a Devil, not some lame ass sissy! I'm sure your brother would be so proud of you, Diodora. To have such a useless brother as you, he must feel grateful that he left the house to become a Satan. I wouldn't doubt he's embarrassed by a mistake like you. You're_ _ **worthless**_ _!*"_

"If they treat you as a monster,why not give them the one they deserve? Well I'm just showing you what you really are- nothing but deluded jerkass bitches that tried to suppress their desires to try to be better than the rest. But you're just a bunch of hypocrites- to believe in something that never even heard your prayers, never answered your pleas for help. That's so dramatic." Diodora opened his eyes and he looked with distraught. He was pondering on something.

The kidnapped nuns didn't dare make a sound or they would suffer more than they had in store for them- he already had some fun with one of them anyway. He was quite unpredictable as to say,no one knew what was going that skull of his; at any given time he could just kill them despite their begging for mercy.

"Is it so wrong to be different? To be yourself and not some shadow of your siblings? Tell me,what is it to be loved? How does it feel to be loved despite those disgusting masks you wear over your faces?" his eyes went over to the naked brunette that was lying on the velvet cover of the bed, he stared at her with a interested look on his face desiring an answer to his riddle.

He pulled over the white cloth he used to shut her up and let her speak freely, expecting every reaction he had been given before. "So how does it feel?" his inquiry was indifferent and still he desired to quench his curious.

"It's wonderful. It's not a mask,it's the truth. There is nothing wrong in being different - God doesn't divide between people. Please let us go,we haven't done anything wrong..." she was trembling and begging him to let them go home, she pleaded that they innocent only for him to give an tired,broody blink at her.

"You're right! You're not wrong about it,you haven't done anything wrong... But you're still a fuckin liar! God clearly doesn't even care for what his creations are going through - he's dead! The damn fucker is dead! " he smiled and then went back to bored," Maybe if it wasn't so unfair for me, I'd turn out just like the rest of them- damn liars with their fake smiles and condescending looks at people like me, thinking of being civilized while killing each other for fortune and glory. That's just stupid, this world is fucked up. And about love- there is none in this world! It's just what you're being brainwashed with, tell me isn't there enough inequality and prejudice already? "

"It's clear you don't understand what it's like to be treated as a unneeded, useless and stupid piece of meat..." retorted the young man as he swirled his fingers on the hair of one of them.  
" Aren't you the ideal nuns - beautiful, benevolent, obedient as sheep. But that is all a mask. Give a man a mask and he'll become his true self." and he removed the cloth, drapped around the mouth of a blonde nun.

"You just wanted to be loved,don't you? Because it's clear- you've never experienced love or being loved, you can't make the difference between fake and real love and you try to substitute it with kidnapping unwilling girls to please your ego." the blonde nun growled with spite, " So you just want to be acknowledged, to be loved even if you do bad or good. You're just a lost lamb searching for a purpose in this world. "

"You're right... Maybe i am. But still... Where's the fun in that?" he grabbed this nun by the neck and pulled her closer."Let's have some fun!" his eyes glowed with a disgusting glimmer and he shoved the unfortunate nun to himself.

The nun waved her hands in a struggle to get away from him only to aggravate the Astaroth heir even more as he pressed her face harder, he felt the need to teach her a lesson all of a sudden to make an example not to fuck with his feelings.

"Oh, this bitch sucks at sucking. So far for a nun to be a horny dog! I'll make you feel so good you'd never want to go back to being a nun. I do need some new materials for my collection. " he hit her on the leg and clasped her head with both hands and pressed her face closer.

She was gagging, trying to breathe, her body was squirming with pleasure but she was resisting it. She was leading a battle against her own nature in her head; to sacrifice her chastity and submit to the human, carnal pleasures she had abstained from or to die a martyr in the name of her faith. She bit him hard and he let her go,tumbling back on the bed as she broke free and fell to the ground. She grabbed her cross from the nearby chair with clothes and slammed it to his face.

Diodora Astaroth snickered wittily with a grin at her and removed her arm off his face. The wound inflicted by the silver cross burned brightly and for some reason he didn't flinch or feel pain."Don't do that." as a pained growl escaped from within his throat, "Another rejection, oh well! " with a mischievous smirk he grabbed her by the throat and burst her head with a destructive orb of energy that swelled up from within her neck. He dropped the corpse and relaxed a bit.

"That was quite refreshing" he gasped in pleasure. "Let's see what work awaits for tonight but first...", he looked at the other girls," the night is young! Let's have the party 's going to be fun..."

XXX

20th August, Sitri Family House, 19:30 pm

Sona Sitri had skipped school for 2 days straight which was an unusual act for the stern, professional StuCo President as she was notorious for her straight record and lack of absences, excluding the time she spent locked at home after the massacre took place. The Madam of the Sitri Household was quite against the prospect of her leaving unaccompanied, her sister Serafall was adamant on being her watchdog if not for the workload of being a Satan pinning her to the management of political affairs and business. Sona didn't mind either way, she knew it was for her own good but her consciousness wouldn't let her endanger someone as the matriarch of the family neither the Satan,known as Serafall Leviathan.

"I brought you the daily dosage and the new undershirt you required. " Issei passed through the door with a hesitant step, his face was serene with no worries showing up. But he was just hiding it- it was painful to visit her now as it was a reminder of what had happened with this magnificent girl he knew.

Sona was sitting by the window with a ever so lost in thought visage,looking through the window as if she was searching for something beyond this world but couldn't find. "Oh,thank you for stopping by." she said with a cold tonality to her otherwise pleasant voice. She was garbed with the black undershirt he wore and some baggy pants to his surprise. She had not once removed this sealing mechanism until her very own had been crafted by the Timeless Swordsman himself with his understanding of the force of magic.

She didn't look at him, she was scared and embarrassed of what transpired a few days ago. She had locked herself up even more so than before, the weight of her regret and burden were taking a toll on her psyche. It was due to her sterile, Ice Queen personality that she could function somewhat in capability or so it appeared.

"I'll leave these here on the table. Sorry to disturb you while you're not feeling well. " it was a robotic inquiry of a pre recorded plethora of words he used not so ever often, sarcasm and bluntness were more to his liking.

"I need someone to talk to. Would you stay with me for a moment? " she turned around to face the oddball teenage boy and shot out a mellow plea to his goodness, if there was any left. She knew that well,there was some left inside of him but with every passing day she was drifting away from that thought whenever she saw him.

"Fine by me. " he closed in to her calmly with his iconic walk, sadly she backed away from him and anxiously offered him some tea she had her butler make. Issei kept his distance out of consideration for current fragile state of her mind and took a seat at the small tea table and handed her the pills he was tasked to bring her.

Sona took them and crushed two of them with her teeth and gulped down with a audible sound from the back of her neck. She exhaled a gust of air and feebly said,"Thanks... "  
It wasn't loud enough yet he heard it and gave her a sympathetic look to try to soothe her apprehension.

It was odd,the way they sat and the way the room seemed to be in his eyes with a sterile, purged of warmth living space of a room with it's lack of life and vitality through the walls. He remained quiet and patiently waited for one of them to try to start a conversation for they were moody as hell and it didn't feel right.

"Issei, I want you to help me with understanding the changes that have occurred with my being. " embarrassed, she stated this two folded question through her teeth, stammering and assuming the worst. Her face looked pale and lifeless like the face of the human like mannequins the German used for various reasons. God knew what he did with them.

 _" A part of me is saying it's a open invitation but it's not. She needs more blood, it must be awful to rely on a reckless jerk as me. If it didn't happen, if only it didn't happen she could've lived a bit better with it..."_ he knew exactly what he had to do,he read through her intention like a book and pushed away his chair a bit to make some space.

Issei transformed his index finger into a scaly claw and ran it through the wrist of his left arm to draw out blood before it had evaporated on contact with the oxygen in the air. He had to control his regeneration to halt the closing of his self inflicted wound and had a small container to collect it in and prevent it from dissipating. He handed the glass canister to the stressed bespectacled miss and waited for her to finish with it and continue from where they left.

"I don't like it; the way you do that. It hurts, doesn't it?" she removed her glasses to wipe them off and unconsciously looked at him the way she used to gaze at Tsubaki Shinra,her late Queen and best friend. Tsubaki was the first human she acquainted with on a summer night a few years ago at the end of a bridge. The rest was just memories...

He stopped for a second in precipitance by the familiar way of swiveling he had noticed on a few occasions. Her lax but tense positioning, the small changes in her movement couldn't have been unseen by his perception. Quickly tracing her whole body, he found a weird side effect that was noticeable to his own comprehension - despite the black garment she wore being two sizes bigger than her body frame, his lustful eyes for the beauty of women notified a solid change in her bust size; from the previous **B:77** in a few days she had switched to a more hefty size of **B:** **90** and the reason being her transition from a nornal Devil to a Dragonette. The more advanced Dragon species were highly endowed to compete with one another in the course of evolution for the attention of stronger males and thus had evolved to enhance their charm and desirability range to ensure the birth of strong children.

And her hair appeared to have extended in length, her bob cut hairstyle was now more similar to her sister's silky smooth hair with her fringe being longer and the bangs going down to her neck. She was probably thinking of what to ask him knowing him,he surely had noticed the visible changes in her physique and to be honest she was actually quite glad despite all of the other denouement, Rias had subtly insulted her on the lacking development of her chest once but she didn't care. She perceived physical beauty as transient and nothing more than a shell for the persona,and now she had more of a chance to stand up to her.

Sona responded sullenly to his rubbernecking." I know what you're thinking, i look somewhat different and i can't explain it. Even though i try to be calm,I'm scared of this change. I feel like I'm losing more and more of myself the more i change into this feral beast, I'm scared."her hand shook in anxiety.

"It's alright to be scared of it... To change is to surrender yourself to this crapsack world in order to fit in. But it's still not going to happen... " Issei raised his brows instinctively,  
" Everyone is afraid of something, it's natural to feel fear as that is what keeps us alive. The fear of the unknown, fear of death, fear of abandonment... If we didn't feel those how could we even survive? "

"Well in a world as fucked up like this you have to ask yourself if it's worth continuing to live while sacrificing every thing you live scared of the things you might lose..." Issei's arms shuddered, "If you do, you might just be alive on the outside but in the inside tho... But then you need to keep living until you find another reason to live, until you have sacrifice it 's how life is- a cycle of gain and loss with no meaning in either... "

Sona wanted to say something,anything only to recall the feelings deep within her mind… She knew that,she believed that it was natural and yet irrational to be afraid as it stood aside from the logic of her very own being. The sewn shut eyes of her late friends was a nightmare she woke up to every night, so what was it for Issei to see it even awake?

"I'm scared too. With all of these souls inside me,I'd wonder if it's really me or one of them is thinking to be me. I can't help but be afraid of not being me at all; the Welsh Dragon is fighting back from the inside, i feel like I'm slipping away from sanity the more i use it. These past possessors are devouring me piece by piece and i can't fight it; it's compelling, demanding blood and murder to satiate this never ending spiral of delirium... " dark thoughts he couldn't dismiss or cast away...

"I want to find out the truth but i fear it would even worse than what i know. What if all of my memories were erased and not just a portion of them? Yet i want to know the truth, no matter how ugly it would be as she is a cruel mistress and the lie is just a nice girl. " he had not just once thought of the possibilities within the answer to his ever growing questions of a mountain. He wanted the harsh truth, no sweet talk and dismissal. Nothing more than that...

Sona's eyes flashed in uneasiness, her business like face was now upset with how things were going. Dissatisfaction, Anger,Confusion. It was hard to define which one was it. "But i know you and who you are. It doesn't matter who you are underneath, but what you do is what defines you." no insult or sarcastic remarks, she said what she felt really and wiped her eye off with her sleeve.

"It doesn't matter what i do. It won't change anything neither would it bring back the dead..."

"It won't. But let's do it for the ones that are still among the living. It means sometimes it's the only choice you've keep living while suffering the is nothing that can take the pain away. But eventually, you will find a way to live with it. There will be nightmares. And everyday when you wake up, it will be the first thing you think about. Until one day, it's the second. " she found the words she wanted to say to make him feel better. She was capable of emotion, repressing them and thinking clearly was more like her...and yet they felt warm despite being the brutal truth.

"Did you love him back? Saji... He clearly liked you..." Issei showed some concern like never before, he wanted to hear it from her personally; they were like her family after all.

"I knew he had those feelings for me. I knew it and i still acted like i never noticed for the sake of his two admirers. I never had a chance to respond to his feelings and now he's dead..." her features were morose, swelling with regret and anger," If i only had a chance to tell him the way i felt... I'll make the one who did this pay,the real culprit that is." she bit her lips in torment not to show any weakness and go soft; she had to be tough.

"What do you want to know? " his eyes bore into the violet pair of shades. His voice sounded more like an offer she couldn't resist than an explanation of the sort. His face was blank with no emotion behind it other than being like a preprogrammed machine for trivial tasks.  
He had nearly forgotten about his tea and he didn't pick it up for he was preparing himself for the worst to come.

"The Brand you and i share now. I want to know everything about it, no skipping over the details and also... I've wondered " she touched her cheek and leaned on the armrest ," You've unlocked your Balance Breaker so why do you have this Brand when you clearly have wings in the Scale Mail? " it was a question that had piqued her interest since long and it was just appropriate to ask now.

He leaned on the side of the chair and elaborated on what he had found and studied about this phenomenon, " The Brand of the Y Ddraig Goch is the testament of me having devoured and replaced the Dragon in this reality. If an Original Being, who was born before the existence of mankind in the events of Genesis, is destroyed or devoured by another being... The being in question has to take the place of the Original with all of it's powers and responsibilities - for example if you were to devour the physical manifestation of an Aspect ,you would have to replace it as it is necessary for the continued existence of Reality. "

Sona was intently listening to this info dump as she was quite engrossed into learning. If her comprehension grew enough she might have been able to control it and not worry him with her own problems.

"This brand of scales is the Euler's Identity, the absolute truth that there is only one being known as Boosted Gear was an intermediate, a limiter and this is the i was just a simple vessel for this being to exist in reality but after having devoured Ddraig it appeared on my back as instead of a vessel to hold it,i became the living incarnation of a being from before the Conception and this is what keeps me anchored. It's from where we derive our power and authority for it is a driving force behind nature - thus it enables you to transgress through metaphysical laws and between planes of existence." he paused to take a breath and continue with his lecture.

"It's just an abstract concept aligning with that of the first Sephirah,Keter as it is with no definite shape or contents and can manifest in a form by the desire you place into it,bringing it to existence but requires the other Sephirah like Malkuth to function otherwise it's not usable. " he touched on the matter of being an Apostle with Keter as his correspondence from the tree of Sephirot and things were starting to get clearer by the minute.

"And concerning your question, " he took a deep breath and relaxed, " I only use it when it's necessary, it's nothing more than a remaining product of the Boosted Gear in order to access it's powers further if you were a normal user; i could fight without it just by bringing out my draconian features but in so i risk to be devoured by the past possessors of the Boosted Gear as they and the Dragon are still inside, no matter if they are being suppressed. And as a side effect i am stuck in a **semi** **-** **Juggernaut Drive** but it is manifested by the principle of Imaginary numbers and by the emergence of a past user through the Brand in a myriad of shapes." he was starting to grow tired.

"I've been having problems with using the Scail Mail as of recently, it's just to acclimate and transition fully to being a Dragon as i haven't fully lost my human form and identity. And to survive the Void between dimensions. The undershirt and pills are to supress the dead from emerging, albeit to a certain degree. And the normal wings aren't so fast, the Brand can manifest into different forms depending on the purpose. "

He removed his uniform and released the seals a bit and asked for a knife to present a demonstration. Sona gave him a butterfly knife she received from one of her relatives and stood

back as he lowered his hand to his back and it his back protruded a large amount of black blades with red eyes in the form of a mystic code, arranged in the form of two tentacles with spiked then made them fade away and took out the knife and returned it to Sona.

Sona gasped in awe by the principles that laid in his demonstration. She comprehended every last bit of his extensive explanation and also came to the realization - it was a double edged sword. It could only manipulate the space around him,teleportation wasn't included in it. It could not prevent death and only worked with the use of logic and imagination, not being able to create life or things that couldn't exist even as concepts therefore he could die. His heightened senses also lead her to believe that he could suffer if he didn't consciously maintain an exact state and sound could hurt him and he could accidentally cease to exist in this state and return to nothingness.

"I'm curious about something, "he continued unperturbed with a bit of wonder, " Is it possible for someone on the scale of Primordial to be revived and anchored back with a set of eight normal Pieces? "

"It's not normal. Old man Tannin required a Queen Piece with the power of atleast an Ultimate Class Devil to be reincarnated and there was still a chance for it not to work. It means that it should equal atleast the power of a Satan to make it happen, even two if possible. " she mused with a more serious expression. It was impossible to revive such a being with just a normal set of Evil Pieces unless..." You died as a human due to the curse of Ddraig, right? "

"Yes." he stated with some pain in his voice. It wasn't something he wanted to remember for it brought out Raynare in his head and she still didn't let go of him. And the worse was the final fluctuation that the Dragon of Wales had beforehand mentioned - he could cease to exist was the most harmless one; the rest were thinngs worse than death.

"Then it's possible to be revived with a normal one as you were a normal human when your draconian nature shut down, you were reset to the mundane human being and after being revived it is logical to assume they have turned into 5 Mutation Pieces and 3 are still to turn. " it was logical but still it felt unreal.

"But it's still not normal... " his mind was troubled with dark thoughts he had kept in. He never trusted the Gremory girl for a second and neither Sona's resolution of her being normal would make him believe so.

"Do you believe that anonymous associate, X? It's clear the information we have received was quite helpful and for a reason i feel like it's something we've been overlooking. How does he know everything that happens," she brought her fingers to her chin and tugged her legs together, " or what if he is the one that is causing them? Trust no one, even him/her/it as instructed."

"I've went through the cogitation of them being the one who is pulling the strings all around the place as we speak. He could be the real mastermind behind everything and by giving us this warning of our death sentence to trust him/her," persuasively he began to hypothesize the goal of this friend. It was beyond suspicious why someone would help them without a reason; everyone wanted something and help wasn't free for sure," it would be easier to send to some location and have us killed. "

"It is quite possible. We have went through this deduction multiple times and accounting the information concerned, " she pushed her glasses back to the ridge of her nose," it is beyond a doubt that he/she could know everything about us which leads to your guess. And on the prospect of knowing both Angel and Devil affairs equals to someone who is with both or a organization of said people. It could be a lie to say it's just one person because of the writing style.

" I acquiesce. Touji Shidou and his daughter; isn't it possible that X and Shidou are the same? His daughter showed signs of having her memories of that day erased aside from having taken the picture. And the other man... We don't even know anything about him. " his brown eyes squinted, giving them the aura of a dead fish on the land. His arms crossed in a bored manner and his visage was full of contemplation.

"What about the involvement of the Church's strike force in here? I don't believe it's just for the retrieval of some fragments and miss Argento's return to the Vatican. It must be connected somehow with everything but i forgot about it."

"There is no need to be concerned with them. I plan on finding out myself soon; i had a accomplice of mine fake a Demon ArchDuke's private message to Gremory with a fake location, that would keep her busy for a while. " he had planned this all along. He knew the other girl knew things and he could use that to scope out the situation at the other side of the scale.

"You don't like her at all, do you? I wouldn't forgive her so easily like that if it were me so i would assume you couldn't bring yourself to do it; she would want the things i had when we were little and vice versa. And after she found out we knew each other - she wanted you more than ever. " what she said was backed by her childhood with the younger Gremory of the two siblings, she knew her well and so did she in return.

"Of course not. I'm just going through this for my goals; once a way to remove these shackles of the Evil Pieces is possible, I'd take the chance without anything stopping me. I could right now but it wouldn't give me any information neither peace, I'd be bothered with being a wild game for their other hunters around the globe. I could spend some time in between the void if i could control that..." unmoving, unrestrained and possibly unchanged his opinion of this predicament was.

"Atleast you have a place among someone... " she closed her eyes in a languorous manner with a small sigh for air.

"I don't think there could be any welcoming place in the world. A wandering soul has no need for a place to belong. And yet nobody could understand the feelings of being in a liminality between two breeds, belonging neither to the human one nor the supernatural. It's like I'm the protagonist of Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa or the Crossbreed from the works of Kafka." his visage locked in a austere mien of negligence, they say the eyes were the window to the soul so what would someone see in his? Carnage,Serenity and something unexplainable in the dull, fish like gaze he had.

"I could never imagine the weight you have carried for two years... My suffering has been of recently so i shouldn't complain when there is someone else who's been having it far longer than i have." she didn't give him sympathy nor pity, he hated those the most so she tried to keep her pokerface as much as possible. " And you're not the only one in between two worlds now; we are to be in this together even if it's just my self gratification and wish to live. "

Issei had nearly forgotten for what he came for - he handed her the new undershirt matching her size; it was a black top that would cover the upper body from above the midriff to the neck and it had no sleeves akin to a crop top, covering the minimum and being unnoticeable.

"I want my shirt back." monotonously responding, he was intent on receiving back his trusty black garb because he liked the black color. It was some time to change the conversation into something less serendipitous, or maybe he wanted to relax and pick up his thoughts.

"Fair enough. You saved me back then so it's the least i could around, i require the need of privacy to change. " she waved lightly and rose from her seat with the new undershirt in hand and went behind the curtains to change.

 _"I must resist this temptation or i shall be damned forever. She's beautiful but she's way beyond the scope of a freak like me. I knew that our bond was through suffering so it was nothing more than that. A relationship of mutual benefit for the sake of survival..."_

"Feel free to turn around now" she said in her calm tone. It sounded like a tease with some mix of emotion behind it's meaning. She looked calm and collected despite being dressed in nothing but pants and a short undershirt top, she really didn't care about it anymore. The seals manifested from the back and she turned around for Issei to tune them and boot up the locking mechanism.

Though a bit unexpected, he eyed her again only to make sure his eyes weren't lying him- she was quite the looker now,he would rate her with a best girl status if possible. Her semblance to Serafall was more pronounced than before, only that she looked quite mature and didn't wear magical girl costumes in comparison to her sister.

Issei complied with her request - he manipulated the system of restrictions, rearranged the Latin sigils to the maximum level and added a little twist to the scripture. He had to learn some Latin in these two years to use magic despite his not so abundant mana resources; he couldn't do magic past 3rd tier with his natural reserves unless he used magic strengthening drugs to push the limit with an overdose equaling death but it wasn't required due to his draconian nature boosting his capabilities. And yet he had some drugs in store if the curse cut off his power and was rendered powerless. And he learned English to communicate with his fellow club members.

She was above charming in his opinion ; a pretty girl with a sharp mind like a razor with the aura of a librarian or a businesswoman. But he never saw her in any other light than the two of them surviving, the rest was beyond his thoughts as he didn't have time to think about anything else. Now if he could say it with certainty - she looked hot with longer hair.

" Remember how we first met?" she turned around to look at his face.

"I don't want to remember that incident. So don't remind me abo- his phone rang with a loud noise,it was someone calling him on the secret, magically untraceable number."Excuse me for a moment " and he picked up to answer the call.

"I understand. I'll be on my way, wait for me at home. It's tonight. " ending the short call he had with Ravel,he fixed the colar of his uniform and dusted off his sleeves.

"Was it a emergency or a message? "

"Yes. I'll send it to you as soon as possible. I have to take care of something. " in a hurried pace he took his accompanied paraphernalia and walked fast to the door.

"Wait. I'll accompany you. "

"Not this time,StuCo President. Not this time... Not in this condition so stand rationally and you'll come to the conclusion and sorry ." he shuddered back at her.

" Wait!" she was feeling dizzy all of a sudden. She gave the tea a glance only to realize he had used the moment of her changing clothes to lace it with sedatives. And she fell asleep.

"Please keep her safe." he turned politely to her butler William Basset.

The butler nodded and gave him his word to keep her safe until he returned.

 _" She's gonna hate me for this. Can't help it, could i?"_ andsoon he left the mannor.

XXX

What is a purpose? What is that feeling that drives you through the gutter in a attempt to feel better and keep living in a dark world of shadows and fake smiles? Everything has it's worries, if they didn't have any would that mean you're just a perfect, idealized being? I would say no,just a pretty mask and smile to cover your grief and sadness.

But the mask- everyone has one to survive and protect their respective feeble self from the deleterious consequences of revealing yourself. So you'd hide behind the persona you grafted from various chunks of memories and ideals and comform to the demands of the masses. And the worst thing was - i wore a disgusting, smiling mask all the time just to make her feel better. Just for the girl who saved me to feel good... To be something of a replacement for a lost love... What about me? There's nothing much special to the man known as Yuuto Kiba.

Just a charming face with a warming smile- that's what you'd think of me on first sight. But beneath the cover lies a wicked craving for one singular reason to live. That is to die... After all, when revenge is the only thing you have left and you proceed with it; what is left?

It's bitterness... An empty shell of the man i used to be. I was sure this farce would end one day and i would surely enjoy it because there is Yuuto Kiba, that's a fake name for a faker taken out of the bloody snow. There's only Adam and the hatred for Excalibur, the rest is just some made up lie and charming words- just as what you'd expect of a fake persona with a fake identity.

Maybe I'll find it...Maybe i won't. But it's worth the try, i don't have anything left so there's nothing to lose, right? And thus i will fight and die or maybe I'll keep on living and cry? Choice. That's the last thing i have but I'll do it nevertheless. Because i owe it to those that died- and before a Devil, I'm a human and I'll never forget it because Adam lives and Yuuto Kiba will die...

XXX 

20th August, Kuoh Theatre, 21:15 pm

Xenovia and Irina were heading out to the abandoned theatre after the former had followed the Cardinal's advice to check the church and only found large heaps of decaying corpses and a single letter with the directions to the theater.

They weren't suspecting what was in store for them when they arrived.

"You there! I can sense your fear pumping through your veins. Did you really think I wouldn't have noticed the way you snuck in? " before them was a being with white armor and blue wings of transparent energy wisps with it's yellowish eyes of delirium. "If you wanna die,come at me. I'll make sure to send your Vatican asses back to the hole from where you came from."

Xenovia didn't have time for words- she unsheathed her Durandal from it's case and stabbed a syringe with specially designed booster drugs to enhance her performance and leapt forward at the white armored being in a flash. She swung her sword in a pressurized air vortex when she was just behind him only to receive a brutal kick from within it, sending her flying to the ground where she stood on her knee with her sword in the ground.

In that second Irina transformed her Mimic into a pair of wakizashi and tanto and moved directly to her enemy, slashing him at the neck and chest with the metal sinking deep into the white armor pushing it away for the now risen Xenovia to hit it with the blunt edge of her sword and stomp him flat to the ground.

The White One's wings stabbed her and pushed away the sword in her hands and wrapped it's clawed gauntlet around her face to throw her at the end of the stage into the final row of seats.

Irina jumped to retaliate with inhuman strength, derived from the drugs she used and slammed her sword at it's head only for Vali to shift her faceplate into a pair of jaws,to bite the sword hard enough to dent it's before she managed to throw her around, Irina took out a few daggers from her thigh strap and with a fast maneuver inscribed a scripture of the bible on it's shoulder and after having done that she jumped away to the stage and in that same moment clasped a pair of guns and shot at it. One of the guns jammed but the other one did it's job.

An explosion broke out from the shoulder area of the Vanishing Dragon's Scale Mail,surprising and amusing Vali enough to shrugg it off and fly towards the twin tailed Executor. She didn't care to avoid it,she knew it was nothing but a light sting to the power of Albion, she was just bored with this.

Irina braced herself for the impact and casted a barrier around her to delay her attack. She had planned it all along; they were leading this battle crazy beast into a elaborate trap. Vali crashed head on with the barrier like it was a thin layer of paper - Xenovia at that time had moved away and grabbed Irina's sword unnoticed, with her tapping into the holy aura of both swords to shift to the spiritual plane and attacked by flickering between dimensions. Vali was smiling underneath the faceplate,her radiant lust for blood seeped through the whole building and she turned around quickly to retaliate.

She dodged the first strike with ease, flew away up high and concentrated her magic into a single spear of light and threw it to the ground to confuse them, it was nothing more than a simple light spell to blind them. But both Executors were relentless in their assault - they coordinated with each other and jumped off the walls with Irina providing cover fire with her working Magnum and Xenovia phasing her blade through the armor of Vali and materializing in the real world to use Retribution on her.

Vali divided the magnitude of her spell to the level of a small flame and used her wings to slice the blue haired Executor on the wrist while kicking the other in the sword was negated as she had a constantly switched Divide and Albion was resistant against Holy Swords and 8th tier magic - he was a Heavenly Dragon, an original being for a goddamn reason.

Both fell to the ground like flies, Xenovia was losing strength from using Spirit Drive- the longer she used it,the closer she was to permanently turn into a ghost and be swallowed up by the void between realities. Vali came back to the ground and shoved her razor tipped fingers into the ribs of the Mimic user and lifted her in the air with a kick,clenched her fist with a gust of air and rammed it into the chest of Irina with such strength, breaking her ribs and pinned her to the ceiling. Xenovia stood up and tried to swing her sword at her unsuccessfully with Vali breaking her left arm, drove Durandal through her legs, spun her in the air and violently slammed her at the stage lights and blasted the scenery with a focused beam of light.

The wounded Irina crawled down and with whatever strength she had, she used a summoning circle to invoke the power of an Angel,summoning Ezekiel with her blood,anchoring him to her lifespan as the barrier rejected the presence of Angels from the was a suicide tactic - she was going to make herself a bomb as the mission had failed and it was the only thing left to do..And she fell down unconscious. She was bleeding profusely, her ribs were sticking out of her chest and she was dying of oxygen deprivation and shock. The pain was so great that she couldn't scream at all even if she wanted to,not even the drugs they used could fend off the pain despite their numbing after effects.

Ezekiel raised his arms and devoured the light from all of the corners in this closed space and threw the light spears away at Vali. The oxygen in the room burned by the presence of this holy instrument, the hydrogen in the air exploded in a massive chain engulfing the host of Albion in a large heatwave with everything burning down in colorless flames of mystical energy and miasma.

Vali crashed into the Angel and grabbed it by the arm,using it as a battering ram to destroy the roof and finish it off spread his wings and burned brightly with flames encircling both, Vali felt the heat through her armor and divided it's effect in half - she twisted her head halfway and bit the Angel through the neck, tearing through it's adam's apple and subsequently jumped behind it with her arms going through it's chest like a knife to split it in two.

It twisted it's neck and exhaled tainted miasma at her face,Lightning crackled through the skies onto the White Dragon Emperor with the barrier shattering like glass and making more room for Angels to assist it. It required the energy of the Miracle of Separation - it had switched from the first anchor to Xenovia in a selfish attempt to stomp down Vali and then kill whatever was left down there. He didn't care about the poor girl who summoned him,he just wanted to spread the name of the Lord and punish this transgression of divine law.

And he summoned a horde of heavenly beings at each side and declared, "Do not mingle where you must not,White Dragon Emperor! Stand aside or perish like the Heavenly Dragons had once ceased to exist!" with an authoritative monotonous voice, Ezekiel threatened to smite her if she should continue to mingle in their affairs. She was a wanted criminal to both the Devil kind and the Heavenly Host alike, she was an existence to be eradicated in the name of keeping the balance scale intact.

"Yeah,yeah. Shut the fuck up,i have to be home by 23:00. I'm just doing it for the lols,I'll fight God one day." with arrogance she hissed at the white clad beings through her faceplate, she was thrilled and annoyed by them so she raised her hand in the space around her and divided the electrons to produce a electric whip of electron clouds," i hope you have prepared a new skirt cause that one is so ugly! "

"You filthy heathen! You shall pay dearly for the sharpness of thy tongue. God forgives but also punishes so be wary of thine wrath,dirty lizard!" he growled. Angels brandished their blades of light and sieged her from every angle , leaving no space for her to run.

 _"Albion, that fuckin feather brain called you dirty!_ _"_

 **[** **They seem to have a idiotic streak in them, Vali. Let's teach them a lesson. And I've heard everything - don't you go for the boy on my watch!** **]**

Back at the theater...

A mysterious old man with a well groomed bear and a cane to support himself went through the desolate remains of the room - everything was charred as coal,there was only rubble and dust in each corner of the room. A few fiery tongues were seen to burn indefinitely the remains of this once prosperous theater, the smell of scorching wood and metals could be traced in any way and for some unimaginable luck the two Executors were still alive,suffering 3rd degree burns, if not on the brink of death- Irina was still unconscious and bleeding so he took her first and urged the figure that entered the room after him to heal her. He took the liberty to snatch Xenovia from the other side - she was barely among the living with her protection at the last moment saving her but she was suffering unbearably from being drained by Ezekiel.

"These two are perfect! Prepare the operation table and the altar. We'll be having victory tonight." the old man happily exclaimed through the fabric that covered his face, protecting him from the toxic gases.

"I hope you know what you are doing, Valper. It was a good idea to hire Vali - the unsuspecting Azazel must be pissed. I can't wait to look at his stunned face when the war breaks out. We can't risk to make this plan a failure. " the other figure sprouted two pairs of black feathered wings and carried the comatose Irina in his arms. His black long hair framed his face with a grim warning of death and lunacy,his reddened eyes glowed like those of a cat, it was his superior vision that alowed him to spot the girls in the darkness.

"Don't worry. My associate shall make sure that everything's going smoothly. It's time, more will come so let's do this fast. "the Genocide Bishop Galliel Valper waved off his hand like it was something unimportant, his attitude was quite haughty but at the same time contradictory.

"What about that Saint? He's chained and won't even talk. "

"Don't worry, he'll be taken care of. Otherwise why would i be so calm? " he grabbed the bent Mimic and Durandal and both disappeared in a flash.

It was all a trap- he was actually in cahoots with Cardinal Giovanni and they had a deal. It entailed the prospect of Xenovia turning into a soulless killing machine under his command while Valper would be venerated as a Saint for his works in preventing the corruption of humanity. Both hated Devils and pagans, they believed the way the church is now is corrupted and wrong but their methods weren't the best, it was all in the means to avert something and gain power

At the other side of the room was Kiba Yuuto, garbed in the black suit he had used at the Rating Games against the peerage of Riser Phenex. He had heard everything **; " Do you want revenge? I can help you with that- the theater is the place you must visit tonight. The rest you'll find out yourself "** he had received a call from a mysterious individual earlier that day. At first he was reluctant and doubtful knowing it's a trap for which it was but he had this one lead to the Project. He knew if Excalibur wielding Executors were in this town,there was clearly a reason for it otherwise they wouldn't have been here. He had received a message concerning the reemergence of this wicked experiment not so long ago.

 _" It's tim_ _e._ _The day for revenge has come upon you, Valper."_ and he faded away into the background.

XXX  
20th August, church of ,Basement, 21:23 pm

Valper Galiel began the ritual; on two separate crosses Irina and Xenovia were nailed with bloodied iron binds to the palms,they were barely kept alive for the procedure despite their wounds being healed. Both were hanging on the crucifixes in a perverse variation of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ,upside down and dressed in white robes to emulate the process with crowns of thistles branding their foreheads with the stigmata appearing on their heads with blood.

It was the same room where Asia was tortured and raped by the lunatic Freed Sellzen,it was the very same space where her human life ended and where she began her life of freedom as a Devil. The red carpet was stained with blood, the torches burned with a green ethereal flame like the pits of traces there were of the mountain of corpses was cleared away, still there were the traces of the massacre that took place here; the windows were still shattered and for some reason it was quite windy.

It was brimming with Exorcists and Fallen Angels who were under the command of the Bishop. Some of them were holding their weapons while a portion of the mass was guarding the perimeter to ward off the expected arrival of any rescue team that may dare come to save the unfortunate girls. But to his knowledge, an Executor or two could be replaced so it wasn't much of a loss if the Vatican would lose two fighters only if they were normal - Xenovia was the Saint Quarta,Maiden of the Durandal while Irina was a natural born summoner with the ability to summon high-ranking Angels. Devils and Angels themselves couldn't use Summoning/Invocation to call forth others so they just had a familiar or could order lesser members of their races. Unlike them, most Humans had the innate ability to summon higher beings and used them as guardians for example a Witch or a Heavenly Summoner like Paladin Shidou.

"It is almost complete " with a stern tone the old Bishop exclaimed as he hummed to himself a cheerful melody. He placed his hand over the sword fragments that made up Excalibur Rapidly, Nightmare, Transparency and Destruction which he stole from various branches of the Church.

Excalibur Destruction used to be Saint Quarta's weapon before she was given the more efficient Durandal and was locked at a vault until it was stolen. There was no way to breach in unless someone granted them access.

Valper placed Excalibur Mimic in the center of the formation, akin to a cross as the shapeshifting properties of Mimic could bind them together and keep them from falling apart. The swords flew into the air before the blue haired Executor and started draining her from her Light Affinity as they required a spirit with enough holiness to merge back with Synthesis. She was still unconscious and she was dying as her life force was being devoured by the blades.

A black curved dagger flew up to the Exorcist, aimed at her chest to kill her in one go with the intention of ending her misery before the full completion of the reformed Excalibur had concluded. The blade was stopped midair by the effects of a light barrier in front of the Bishop Gallilei and exploded into a burst of reddish flames, knocking out some of the Exorcists in the front row.

"So the errant son has returned to the father. How surprising of you, Adam.I didn't expect you to have survived" the fat Bishop's voice echoed through the dark walls to the crowd. It was a wild guess given how he managed to escape and no body was found neither in the gas chamber nor in the woods 5 years ago in Germany.

No response was heard yet. Kiba was among the crowd masked as one of the priests, having killed a guard and taken his clothes to merge with the crowd unnoticed. He raised his Presence Concealment and struck at the right moment he thought. But it was for naught; he was going to be discovered soon when the missing body was found so he went through the masses with a small khyber knife, killing some of them before they even noticed.

 **[ 16-20 August ]**

 _Kiba had avoided detection by the function of the Evil Piece, he had hidden himself under a lead and concrete bunker for a few days and nights and occasionally came out of hiding to confuse Rias by appearing in multiple locations. He had strolled through various places to find evidence only to be left dejected until he received a anonymous call from someone with based evidence._

 _ **[I know who you are and what you want the most. Listen carefully to what i have to say because it may be your only chance - the reason for the deployment of Excalibur wielders is as you guessed it... The Project... He's here with the Fallen and will try to fuse the swords back in order to spark a new war. I'll give you the coordinates- Kuoh Theatre, 20th August at night. ]**_

 _ **[How could i trust you? It's obviously a trap and how do you know this?]**_

 _ **[Because I'm always watching, everywhere. I hope you'll remember**_ _ **about**_ _ **me somehow, Adam. After all I'll give you a bonus- you're not the only survivor, Tosca is alive... Goodbye and good luck Yuuto Kiba. ]**_

 _In the following days he observed the actions of the two church dogs as he would call them; he suited up and tracked them down by their specific signature to the theater as per his information, waited for the aftermath of the battle judging by the roaring noise and overhead everything the Bishop said. It was just a matter of time before he reached the church where he saw horror incarnate in the face of the Shadow. He killed a guard and hid the body in close vicinity, masquerading as a priest he went in the once a holy abode,now ruins and mixed with the crowd.]_

Yuuto charged forward like lightning to strike down the old man who tortured him so much, the one who ruined his life and ravaged his soul for his twisted up the black blade he created to combat the Holy attribute of Excalibur, he swung at the throat of this abhorred existence with all of his might. His sword clashed with the radiant barrier of light, shattering through it despite the aura of the now complete Excalibur bringing him pain and spitting blood,his whole body felt like it was ablaze with his blood boiling like water.

The priest held a blade of gold accents and a impossibly white edge of mystic steel in the form of a traditional sword. Sheer magnificence rivaling that of the original weapon, it was ornate as a ceremonial sword but yet a weapon of mass destruction. A foreign language to man was etched onto the length of this masterpiece with glowing blue runes of the original creator, venerated as the Lady of the Lake.

Valper extended his hand with the reforged blade and countered his assault, deflecting it by a slim chance and went to the offensive with a kick to push him back. He didn't get away unscathed - he spat more blood when he had taken enough distance from the renegade priest but his consciousness wouldn't let him run away and throw away everything he had fought for.

The priests attacked with a fierce offense - some took weapons while others fought with forbidden curses to restrain his movement. Yuuto pushed himself harder to spawn more blades with his weapons shaped like stakes flying over their heads and twisted back to stab them in various areas, killing or subduing most of them in the process.

"My,my what a bad boy you've grown to be. Is that the way to treat your parents? " Valper mockingly taunted the blonde boy with bringing up the past; Yuuto was adopted by the wicked man with others from a orphanage in Bremen and used them as material.

The Devil didn't respond with words,he brandished his blade and took a stance relying on his superior mobility to overpower his former caregiver and end this tragedy once and for all.  
His body was jerking with agony, his face was contorted into a hideous mad visage of malignance with blood dripping from his mouth.

The old man happily obliged to this animosity with sheer pride over his results. Gallilei tapped into the aura of the sword of Arthur, switching to Rapidly for the attribute of speed and swung the blade in a circular manner akin to a buzzsaw. "Come and meet your maker,boy! Become the masterpiece i made you to be!"

Both charged at each other with metal singing a chorus of clanging sounds and fiery sparks from their contact of light versus darkness. They were eye to eye now, locked in a battle of attrition and dominance. One side pushed only for the other to respond accordingly. Thanks to the enhancements of the blade,Valper was able to keep up with Yuuto and even overpower him at a moment.  
Despite his age, the elderly Gallilei proved tenacious and switched to Destruction to slam him through the wall by the sheer shockwave his sword produced, stunning him for a second enough to stab him in the shoulder and toss him aside into the dust outside.

 **[Matt 11:28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.]**  
His voice echoed with divine power as the sinful wretch raised his sword with the attribute of Nightmare morphing it's blade into a sleek black scimitar made of horrid thorny bones, imitating the thistle crown of the Son of aura exploded into black tendrils of shadow matter, stripped down of their holiness to burn with the holy wrath of God.

Yuuto flexed his muscles, the stab in the shoulder amortized his whole hand with pain and coursing through his brain. The wound was burning, he could feel his stamina and vitality dropping by the minute until it was only a matter of time before he was lying on the ground, dead and battered. He only knew he had to destroy it no matter the cost- even if it meant certain death but atleast he would enact his revenge for which he had lived these 5 years.

XXX

"Where am i?" Kiba looked around and only saw the room where he used to live with the rest. And next to him was Tosca; she was looking at him with a sympathetic expression while she stood on the chair nearby.

"Home. " she answered shortly while she leaned forward on the chair. This girl was dressed in a plain black dress with a white colar and the usual shoes they were all given." Don't be so scared Adam. You just had a bad dream. It's okay now." she addressed his worries with a smile.

"It's not real. There's no way we're here. It's all a trick. " he touched his left pectoral and traced the buttons on his shirt. Nothing had changed, it was still the same. It looked exactly as it was left- the white walls,the unmade beds and the wooden floor he couldn't forget. It was all brimming with forgotten memories of the past,his previous life and identity were there all along.

"Is it now, Addy? Just look around you", Tosca sighed with frustration, " how could you forget? That hit to your head must have caused you amnesia. "

"There's no way this is real. What time is it? " confused by everything around him,Kiba reluctantly came closer to the black haired girl and touched her wrist - it felt real,it was real to his senses but he was sure it was just a dream.

"It's 21st December, 2010. Did you forget that Christmas is in 4 days? My,you don't thinking this is real,do you Addy?" she gave him a light chuckle as she stood and went to hug him. Her heart was beating faster than usual yet her embrace felt so warm he could forget everything for a moment and rest for a while.

"You were always a sucker for maternal embrace, weren't you, Adam?" her voice changed to a masculine one, similar to the voice of an old man with it's raspy timbre and power.

He felt pain. Burning pain entrapped his whole body with flames of scorching heat, enough to make him puke blood and spasm over. Yuuto took another look with his horrified eyes only to register the Genocide Bishop having lodged his weapon deep into his abdomen, he was joyous and chiding.

"Even you can't help but fall prey to an illusion of the one you love,isn't that right? I knew about your feelings for her ever since i took you in. She's dead alright. " under his breath, the fat man muttered his own sentiment of disappointment with amusement combined as he pushed his blade further into the stomach of the blonde Devil. "You'll make great material to work with. You were my favourite for a reason, you know that?"

The duo was surrounded by a squad of servants with anti-demonic crests chanting a sealing ritual to bind his limbs with chains in unison. Kiba fell to the ground like a dead horse with his hand losing it's grip on the projected blade. His legs couldn't support him anymore under the brutish raw power of his dreadful foe's sword, hurting him even more so than he could take. He was a Devil after all.

The old man dragged away the boy by the colar, his strength was sufficient enough to support himself and the sword despite his need for air,he trotted with a heavy step towards the hole in the wall. His entourage stood behind him with their weapons raised up high, seals and barriers of light were erected from the ground in the shape of a dome to ensure a safe passage for their leader to continue from where he was interrupted.

A crunching noise echoed through the premises of the church, it was loud and disturbing like the rattle of broken bones and metal clanging. A dreadful presence of the worst vices came booming from the opposite direction with enough flair to distress the evil Exorcists by it's own malicious felt like a natural disaster coming their way but not in the mind of their leader.

He forgot for a moment about his new toy and graciously turned around to greet the person he thought had returned, either Kokabiel or Vali but it felt more like the latter.  
"I see you have dealt with the problem,miss Vali. I am grateful for your kindness in having taken our proposal. " with a arrogant smile he addressed the being in the shadows.

"Not quite. Yeah, i did take care of them anyway so let's begin with you. " stepping forward from the shadows a young man with a knife revealed himself only for the Bishop to fall into despair. It was beyond his belief to process what was happening,it was something beyond this world could ever contain despite it's vastness.

" You!..."

"Yeah,me." and everything faded into darkness.

XXX

Xenovia and Irina were lying motionless on the marble crosses with their limbs nailed to them by some wretched magic, still unconscious and drained of appeared that Ezekiel's anchoring was dispelled by the White One's onslaught above the burning theater, in the process saving their lives indirectly from the horrid drain used to support the Angel inside the barrier.

It was noisy outside as the screams of the unfortunate fools who dared to get in the way were being ripped through their lungs with utmost care to ensure they suffered enough. While inside, it was just peaceful if it could be said in this situation - it was just the two girls and no one else. Well that would be a great occasion if it weren't for a single figure in a black dress with what appeared to be Devil wings leaning towards the two girls with a pensive look.

She scrutinized their bodies to determine the severity of their wounds- one couldn't walk with her damaged legs while the other one was damaged as well. They looked deathly pale as if the life was sucked out of their bodies, their heads were adorned with a bloody crown of thorns that dripped blood on the floor. It was an perverse sight to behold, they were definitely tortured to speed up the ritual process of extraction. And to it's curiosity there were stigmata on both of their foreheads and on their limbs in imitation of the wounds suffered by Him.

"You poor thing... Just look at what they did to you - used,hurt and discarded with no hope of survival. You see, this is what they did to me as well. I didn't know anything because of their lies and deceit. But not anymore. " the figure rose up and took a step back to prepare something from it's pocket but before that uttered something in a dead language no one would have understood if they were present.

Xenovia's binds loosened, the reddened nails were telekinetically removed from the palms of her hands and from the side of her legs and dropped body was rotated back into it's proper posture with her head upwards and her wounds being healed spontaneously with a green glow.

"That is better. Time to wake up now, Saint Quarta. We have work to do." the voice had an inhuman vibe to it's timbre like that of a possessed individual's Devilish tongue other than being more gentle and authoritative, swirling with power and utmost respect.

"Hm,what to do with this girl then? She's a friend of hers so should i save her? Well it wouldn't hurt but first to finish things here." before it could proceed with what was planned, an unexpected guest arrived to spoil the fun.

"So you finally have revealed yourself it seems. It has been a while since we have met,haven't we?" a tall robed figure sprouted from the darkness, knitting it's self from black flames and shadows that gathered underneath the black robe that obscured it's face from view into a vague humanoid shape.

The other one wasn't surprised at all. It was like expected to happen so no worry or fear was present, only hostility and rage flared up in a dark aura as chains of blue hellfire pierced through the space behind her. "To whom do i owe this pleasant surprise? " with a chiding tone she answered but prepared her chains to strike it down.

"I haven't come to fight; i just wanted to congratulate you on your awaited return. " it answered with respect and courtesy but the air around was thick as black miasma started to linger and ooze behind it in the form of black flames. "And no need to ask; after all we both know who we are - isn't that right",it cackled, "Asia Argento or should i say the Twilight Maiden?" in a distorted voice it tried to make her feel uncomfortable but she responded with the same courtesy as it did.

"If not to fight, then for what hat thou came here at this hour?" with a raised brow Asia looked at it's face and made a surprised look," I didn't expect it to be you, the one who burned down the one place i called some royalty you are you're quite the lazy one, aren't you Earl? There's no way I'd mistake your palid face,you grave robber!" the room was engulfed by a dark light by the power of her voice.

"So you can perceive me even though the World can't? That is quite the frightening power you have there. And don't blame me for the fire that burned down that orphanage, "the Earl calmly retorted with some flair,"That place was infested by this Devil lot, those children were possessed by that trash! You could say i saved you by appearing that day and you unlocked your power that evening in a flash,engulfing the building with flames. After all, only you two survived. Maybe i should have killed you that day so you wouldn't have awoken and get in our way. But sooner or later you will understand that you can't save anyone despite being born for that reason. "

"But you couldn't even if you wanted so. I don't know how you accomplished to pass through the veil and manifest here but it won't be for long - because you will lose just like the first time. " Asia moved a bit forward and stared at it's hidden face with a prideful gaze," You cannot beat them nor could you take his place... After all you're just a lowly being that got trapped and served a human for not so long. "

"Isn't it quite ironic; the one who was venerated as a Saint was actually nothing more than a Witch. I can't wait to see you fail miserably in what you're trying to pull off. " he giggled with his surreal voice, dualistic and admonished. The Earl swung his arm as the darkness erased any presence of his identity. " It is a good thing you stopped time for us to have this chat. But you should hurry before someone sees you. " and he faded away from existence. Only then did she lower her chains.

 _" That fuckin bastard! Now i won't have enough time to keep this up. Let's get on with it."_

she ignored the threats and did what she had to.

Asia removed Irina's constraints and let her fall to the ground slowly and knelt before Xenovia with a Bishop Piece hovering above the palm of her hand. Yet it was emitting a different aura than the original one with some Latin scriptures among it's surface and time was running out; both the time limit of the barrier and Xenovia's life were in jeopardy. She pressed the Evil Piece into her chest and several modified seals glowed above the girl like a clockwork mechanism,ticking and rearranging back and forth with chains sinking into her body.

 _" First let's break you enough for this thing to work at full capacity."_

Asia theorized the compatibility of her sister with the Evil Piece she snatched away from the floor that night at the lobby after the Rating Games ended. She showed signs of energy drain and she was left with almost to none Holy element in her being, it was wrung out of her almost till the last drop of it was used in the merging of the sword of King Arthur.

The piece accepted her as it's compatible host and morphed her physique, erasing the damage done to her soul and body in a flash. It was easier to do so per the modifications done to the devilish tool plus it had some hidden code within it to make it appear she was just a normal human, the species lock was removed so it was easier to hide her wings and be left in the dark.

It was what she aimed for **.[Boot up Evil Piece:Bishop 03 Custom calibration: host found. Species Lock:Demi-Devil. Restart.]** Xenovia regained her previous vitality as blood rushed through her body and returned her previous complexion. She regained a healthy look and barely through squinted eyes, Xenovia looked around to see Asia in front of her with glowing arms and she hushed to her "Sleep". And she complied.

 _"My work is done. I'll let the others handle the situation while I'll get the spoils"_ she levitated the body of the blue haired Executor and placed it again on the crucifix while imitating the wounds with an optical illusion. She left Irina as she was and dissappeared, letting time flow back to normal. Only a few seconds had passed in the real world while 15 minutes had passed since time froze in the church. She left for a place unknown, most likely to Rias's side not to arouse suspicion.

XXX

Exorcists were being cut down left and right in a circular manner with a burning knife of gray steel of some unknown metal. The young man dashed up close to one of the garbed priests and grabbed the colar of his cassock with a terrifying grip, raising the poor bastard in the air only to break his spine with his knee. Blood gushed like a fountain, spraying his face with the warm liquid of the now dead man. He showed no emotion whatsoever; only a unmoving face of a man who had killed too much things to say he cared about the count. And it equaled from the most wretched beings to the ugliest evil he could see,human and paranormal respectively.

Another one came to attack him with a oversized demonic scythe of green and black. It was most likely stolen from a vault of confiscated weapons by the Vatican's special section; The 12th Holy Battalion, the same squad that Saint Lucca belonged to.

This foolish girl attempted to slice his head off in a clean swing only to suffer from his comeback - blocking the scythe with his knife, the man in dark clothes spun to the other side straight to her her back, swung his left arm to her neck and crushed her throat with ease just with a simple squeeze of his elbow. She dropped the scythe in her attempt to breathe, it was so painful she felt like she was dying constantly from the monstrous choke he had used on her. He grabbed the scythe from the ground and rammed it through her chest to kill her quickly in an act of mercy. He killed fast so they wouldn't suffer much, almost painlessly.

Upon slicing through the neck of the 3rd unholy servant, he attacked by 3 others with demonic blades of miasma and shadows. They ganged up on him, swinging their weapons in three directions in what appeared to be a impossible to dodge strike. Their weapons engulfed the space around him before they had cleaved him into pieces and suddenly a holy aura unleashed hell upon them.

Two white wings of splendor ripped through his back in an attempt to get some distance; only were they just for show. They bathed the area with holy radiance as he turned around and with a brutal spin slapped their heads off their bodies with fountains of blood bursting through the dark glimmer of the moon. Though his wings suffered damage and the devilish aura of the scythe clashed with the brilliant light of his wings.

He retracted his wings back into his shoulder blades and a second pair of black demonic wings ruptured through the holes of his suit with them stretching out with blood on them. It wasn't the most pleasant process but it came with the power he had.

"Just die already!" screamed a maddened black armor clad underling who appeared to be the ringleader of the lesser priests, judging by his clothing and weapons. He unsheathed the vile blade he carried from his scabbard and took a stance,relying on mobility and swiftness to overpower this unholy mix of dark and light. He ushered an incantation and summoned a heap of Stray Devils of the worst kind with a special ring to control them. Bloodbath was about to ensue tonight.

The remaining assailants rushed towards him in one final suicide attack to slow him down enough for their comander to finish the job. They were indoctrinated zealots who believed it was for the greater good if not for their own desire for power. Seals manifested on their heads with a ticking mechanism and a closed off barrier to entrap this monster that came out of nowhere. They ran and ran- they fell to the ground one by one, struck by the bullets of a Colt 1911a1 Navy from the back side of the man. Then a couple of more fell as the other fighter swung a Benneli M4 Super 90 and ripped through the horde of bodies, riddled with bloody holes from the gun fight. And a explosion followed afterwards.

" Never bring a sword to a gun fight, my boy." from the back emerged Arthur as he fixed his hat and gave a look at the scared commander. He began loading the gun for another was all in their prediction - Azazel was acting as intel gathering while the other two men were cleaning the city of whatever ravenous monster there was. Never to be seen,never to be recognized by anyone in the World for they didn't exist - the World had removed all traces of their existence, they weren't written in as human even though they were. Even Heaven couldn't track them with their best dogs.

"At-attack... Charge!" the other side hissed at the Strays and they began their retaliation.

"You should rest a bit,young lad. You don't have enough demonic energy neither holy to use for this moment. I'll handle this,you go take a bite after i finish." tipping his hat, Arthur gave him a serious look and from within his trench coat he pulled out another gun and took a step forward, "Tend to the doctor. I'll handle this one." he gave Castor a command to part ways while he could; the old man was about to bring havoc and slip the dogs of war.

XXX


	11. Act11

Act.11 Mojito & Bailey's

20th August, Kuoh Theatre, 21:20 pm

Rias and the remainder of her peerage (Akeno,Koneko and Asia) sans the presence of Issei were standing before the now ruined theater; a once popular gathering of the wealthy and highly respected members of the town until a tragedy happened. The play of Macbeth was the last drama that was ever staged in this town before the mysterious death of one of the actors. Now it was under the jurisdiction of the laziest of the 4 current Satans,Falbium Asmodeus and his sole daughter, Christina Glaysia-Labolas but she was too busy to deal with it.

"What happened? I received a message from the Archduke so it couldn't have happened,could it?" Rias walked in a circle while she was deeply engrossed in thought. She couldn't locate Issei at all, like he was on the other side of the world; he didn't respond to her messages neither Asia could tell her where could have he went.

"I wouldn't doubt the credibility of the Archduke but it could be a trap " just as Akeno was speaking a large explosion of light was spotted among the night sky, making it seem like it was day.

A spear of light almost hit Koneko as it fell from the sky with a white sleeved arm consecutively falling after it hit the ground. No doubt was it - a fight up in the skies was most certainly the cause of this. Through their minds various thoughts of it being Yuuto worried them but it was unprovable as he rarely flew to such heights and he mostly fought with swordplay.

They hid on the other side of the corner like little kids from a stranger. It was far too dangerous for them to enter the building but they had to otherwise what family would they be to the broken boy. A family made of broken toys... That was the most accurate presentation of their being as a whole.

"Wait... I'm sensing something. Faint Devil residue is in the air; you could mask your presence but not the dark particles of the craft you use. He was here." Koneko quietly whispered to Rias's ears as she stood on her toes to be able to reach her. She was quite worried for the blonde boy as they had a closer bond than with the rest. He would be the one who comforted her the most out of everyone.

"Maybe you're right... He's not going to give up without a fight. That's our Kiba-kun for you. " despite the gravity of the situation the buxom Queen Himejima would let out a somewhat positive response to keep their morale high, especially their hope since it was growing weaker with each day.

The booming sound stopped all of a suden. The flashes of light were extinguished so it was of a much different magnitude, the atmosphere around the theater was normal as if everything had happened in a flash and never existed in the first sky returned it's former dark color and clouds hid the moon.

"What now? Should we enter the building but there might be nothing in it."Asia made a point. She was doubtful that it was the right place; it was just wrong. Her intuition was telling her it was somewhere else. Actually she knew where Issei was- he had departed to the local church to save Kiba's ass and get more information. After all it was connected to everything.

And just as she finished her sentence -bright light with the glimmer of the sun flashed at the horizon on the other side of the city. It was certain - it was there! They had some trouble in gathering before the front gate of the school but now it was beyond surely there. Otherwise it would have been idiotic not to think of the possibilities so Koneko took the risk and went into the building.

After 3 minutes of going through the whole building, she returned with the answer,"It's not here! Follow the light, I'm sure of it. I'm betting my life on it."her resolve was quite strong. Her eyes showed nothing but determination, no worry or fear, just determination.

"We must hurry if that's the , come closer..." Rias's voice was strained as she urged the girls to prepare for a Gremory Crest revealed it's self on the ground with sizzling red energy, intricate patterns of devilish aura burned bright and surrounded them in a red flash and they were gone.

XXX

20th August, some unknown place, 20:35 pm

A tall young man with European features; auburn hair and dark brown eyes with greenish circles surrounding his pupils had the appearance of being nothing more than a swiveled corpse right body was well toned and his musculature well defined and flexible. And he had a very pronounced lower jaw and a mole underneath his right eye... And he was dressed in what appeared to the remains of his battle uniform; his sleeves were torn and bathed in blood, the black jacket was now only a rag and he was with no shoes or anything decent to wipe off the still fresh blood on his back.

He was locked away in a white room of tiles all over the place and a immaculately cleaned floor sans the blood trails on it, leading to the prisoner in illumination was poorly maintained as it was barely working and the buzzing sound of the neon light was annoying and fiddling with his consciousness. There were no windows at all,making it a death cage with only one exit which also doubled as the entrance. It had the innate feeling of having been the last place of many; it was sterile and smelled of bleach to mask the nasty scent of blood and innards from the previous victim. The walls of this room were soaked with the deathly throes of it's past time residents, the scent of blood could be traced back to the corpse that was taken out earlier.  
It was like a morgue, for in fact it most likely had been a facility for the autopsy of cadavers before it's closure.

It had been 4 days since Saint Lucca was imprisoned and tortured by a group of Fallen. Every day and every night he had his skin chipped away with a pair of shears and healed back , his nails were ripped out with the help of a toe shredder. Leaving them to rot and just then repaired the damage but not enough to mitigate the pain to prolong suffering as much as possible until he would eventually was pure agony - the maggots they poured into his open wounds were driving him crazy as he couldn't remove the shackles at all neither could he use any of his powers due to the seals on him and a special collar on his neck.

"What would the nice guy of a Saint eat for today?" a tall man with long straight hair and deep red eyes opened the only door to this complex. He was of a dignified stature and pale skin which was made more menacing by the lousy light in the torture chamber. He had a grim smile of amusement and acerbity as he layed down the tray with bread and water.

Kokabiel. He once used to be a benevolent angel until he fell from grace for some undisclosed reason. Known as the Angel of the Stars, he was said to have taught astrology to his associates. And it was a reason for his military success as being venerated as a tactician who used the positioning of the Heavenly bodies to utilize divination in his stratagem. But he was prideful and battle crazy - he would never forgive Azazel for having pulled out their forces in the second War. Only that he didn't knew it wasn't the same Azazel he once knew, it was the real one who escaped Dudael 20 years ago and reclaimed his rightful place.

Saint Lucca didn't talk at all nor did he reach out for the tray. He wasn't going to let them make him suffer from further humiliation by eating, a most certainly, worm infested food. His attempt at using the cyanide pill he kept on his person was thwarted so he was left alive for interrogation. It was by pure luck that he was found by the forces of Kokabiel. He did know exactly know why they held him captive and possibly why his plane crashed on one of the Japanese islands and he was found by a swarm of Fallen and brought here.

"You will pay for this..." faintly, almost to the end of his strength, Lucca snarled at his captor with defiance. No matter how much they tortured his body,his soul was fighting against giving in for he was aware that he would be killed right after the interrogation.

"Really now?" in a somewhat dull and dismissive tone he questioned this thirst for justice.  
The Fallen Angel leaned against the wall opposite of the now imprisoned Saint . He positioned his arms against the walls his and crossed his legs in a disrespectful atleast he had some respect for the adversary of the Devils as he was known to have _"released"_ a dozen of their kind.

"Sooner or later you will talk. After all" he made a slight gesture of annoyance, " you're a human and humans have a threshold of pain to withstand. So tell me", his voice was like the melody ot two rocks grinding against each other, " what does the Church plan to do!? Would they be sending more fighters to cause a mass scale conflict or should i kidnap some more to do it?"

"I would never tell you. Is that why you need those Excalibur wielders for?"

"Well…" with a slight readjustment, the Cadre spoke in a relaxed and quiet tone to make it more dramatic. "Why not? To use one of the beloved relics of a centuries old,filled with decay institution just to make them bite back? Of course... But you still don't know why was the original plan shut down, do you?", with a dismissive tone he tried to spark the interest of the priest just to make his stay even worse than it was,"So I'll tell you what happened as you'll be dead anyway. "

The young man didn't talk back, he remained solid as a rock to the psychological attacks of his tormentor. But something in his gaze spelled the truth - in fact he didn't know anything else about the Project other than it's horrid practices of adopting orphans for test subjects and it's goal until it was being dismissed. He wasn't given the remainder of the information regarding it for some reason.

"Oh,so you didn't know?" he was mocking him. It was his amusement and disgust to the badly informed Saint that drove him to further ridicule his opponent. " I'll tell you why- the reason and why it was at first started." the black haired Fallen went out to bring a chair and returned to the room with a simple smile.

"It all began 5 years ago in Germany. The executives of this experiment were gathering orphans from various orphanages around the country with enough holy affinity to use for the making of an artificial user, who could use relics that normally would kill them." he began slowly as he readjusted his legs," but at the same time, it was discovered and just because of that damn Paladin it ended prematurely... " with some disappointment in his voice,he thought of the possibilities it could have granted them if it wasn't interrupted.

Lucca widened in surprise by the mention of that that he knew well, better than everyone else could know. He knew who it was and how he stopped the project but not the reason. His arms stretched out to the sitting Kokabiel in a unsuccessful attempt to get him closer. But the rogue Cadre remain bored with his foolish attempt and slapped his hand back."I was just about to continue. Don't interrupt! " he roared in a disgruntled voice that matched better with his now twisted visage of fanged teeth and reddened eyes of blood and sliced off his left hand below the biceps.

"Yes. Paladin Shidou exterminated the original staff of the project but only that old man survived... Shidou wasn't just there to bring an end to it..." his voice was hoarse and raspy but still strong enough for the physically constrained individual to hear it well enough, " He went there to save his little daughter who was kidnapped by Valper Gallilei,also known as the Genocide Bishop to you people. And right now she will return to us once again to continue what we started. Irina Shidou is in Japan just as planned - the first prototype of the Artificial Holy Sword Project has come to stop us!" he laughed maniacally to the sheer thought of their creation trying to stop them. It was pure irony - the being created by their hands to destroy impurities has become the one who would hunt them in return in their conquest against the Devils and the Angels.

It was the last straw- Lucca was enraged at his higher ups for having lied to him about everything - the obscured information on Valper, the possibility of such a inhumane method just to procure a weapon that costed human lives disgusted him to no end. The wound was sealed by Kokabiels magic to prevent him from bleeding out.

Touji Shidou was his mentor, he considered the man as a surrogate father who taught him everything about life from his own experience. And his daughter, he was protective of the young girl of his mentor as an older brother would. And he had pleaded to be given permission to join the send away squad to Kuoh City just to keep her safe.

"Oh,my? I haven't finished the story yet...", Kokabiel was amused with the powerless struggle of his prisoner. He took great delight into his insanity slippage and added more oil to the fire in order to break him finally. " The blades and bullets you use are a byproduct of the Holy Sword Project; many people died in the process of manufacturing this craft,not unlike those of the Devils. Despite having renounced it as a crime against humanity, you people still benefited from the spoils which in turn led to the rise of other Artificial Users, didn't it? Hypocritical, isn't it?"

Strength was fading from the body of the unfortunate man called Lucca. His real name was Luciano Alba but he chose his moniker out of sentiment for the birthplace of his mother,the city of Lucca in Tuscany. The dim lights and buzzing sound were tingling his senses, creating nothing more than a vague darkness around him.

Having finished his small business with Luciano, Kokabiel relaxed his muscles and leaned back on the chair elegantly to honor his guest with utmost courtesy. He gave a look at the flayed skin for the first time, having finally turned enough to acknowledge his presence. "Tell me,do you believe in God?", with a curious look he referred to the young man.

Through his shivering voice, the sicilian man looked at him with a tired gaze full of weariness and talked slowly. " I still do... Even if it's hopeless or stupid to you... ", he spat blood violently with a cough," I'd still believe in the good side of things... "

"It's rather foolish of you to believe in a flawed system as that. There is no good or evil,it's just the deviation and perversion of one's own desires. Nothing much." with his voice of a melody,Kokabiel uttered something he believed to be a fact. It could have been possibly, " But the truth is with many faces; to suit the nature of those who see it ad they see fit. And for me- it's to fight and win over others. "

"You're nothing but a deluded old fool..."

"Am i now? I'm just following my nature, flawed as it may be but free. I do not cater to some idealized version of how a being should be just to gain entry to the better part of the you honestly think you would have been good if you weren't thought that doctrine,would you?"

" It's not just being good. It's about doing something good in your long accursed life,Fallen Angel. We don't need a god to be who we are...You are nothing but a zealous imbecile who wants to kill and destroy the lives of others just to please your ego."with a steeled gaze he returned back the words of the tactician.

Feeble and damaged but not defeated. Broken on the outside but never on the inside. Luciano was mostly humble except for his fame as the sharpest tongue amongst the fighting mass of the Vatican. And he was known to be annoying as hell, even his comrades avoided talking with him at daily basis.

The centuries old Cadre was visibly unnerved by that last slip of the tongue. He even took the liberty to summon a light spear and throw it with precision with it's edge against the left side of Luciano's neck, grazing him lightly just to shed his blood more and show him he could easily kill him with a flip of a finger.

"Watch your filthy mouth, foolish human! For you are nothing but a speck of dust compared to us. And i used you to craft a very special blade...You'll like it." that last sentence horrified the auburn haired servant of the church.

"What did you to me? Answer me!" his eyes were flickering back and forth with rage,his chains were rattling but he had no strength to stand up.

"Hmm. Nothing much... Just a bit of a new toy." having returned to his previous composure, the leader of one part of the Grigori cracked his index finger in a amused manner and remembered took the arm he severed and said," It seems my time is up. That girl is growing restless so I'll have to give her part of the bargain. Enter the room, Vali!" he pushed the chair away and with his raspy voice of flawed heavenly song ordered the young girl to enter the room.

And without further ado, the charming girl returned from somewhere with something in a black suitcase. She looked calm but there was this monstrous aura of tension circling around pressed the door knob and slowly moved inside while letting enough space for the Fallen Angel to go out and close the door behind him.

Lucca was a bit surprised by this sudden change, she looked like she really didn't care at all. Yet she was most likely there to torture him in order to learn some of the secrets he knew about Heaven's affairs.

"Oh, this is annoying. Why do i have to be the one to guard this guy when i have to beat the Red? Such a drag..." visibly upset with her duties, she took the liberty to sit on the now empty chair and readjust her legs in a comfortable position. She held the briefcase over her lap and started tapping on the hard surface of it's was silence...

After a while she was bored with this dull atmosphere and glued to the door to eavesdrop. No one was outside so she calmly returned back to the suitcase, grabbed it and came closer to inspect the prisoner. She leaned over him and gazed upon him with a disgusted look." How could someone do this just to get out a stupid secret or two? Fuck,i just want to fight... Not torture. "

She pulled him by the neck and almost as if her voice was gone,uttered **[Divide!].** She used Divide atleast a few times and removed her grip off his neck and let him slump back on the wall. She took a step back to let him regain his senses. Lucca looked puzzled by her actions; she had divided the pain and severity of his wounds to a minimum, leaving him with enough health to be able to stand up. She even removed the maggots from his wounds with some small scale magic she learned recently.

"Why are you doing this?" having recovered fully but still drenched in blood, he stood up but couldn't help but question her agenda in healing him.

"Shut the fuck up! Do you want them to hear you? " she came closer and hit him with the briefcase on the stomach. She opened the case and drew with his blood the following coordinates: **STPTRKUOJPCH773.**

"There!" she said with annoyance and punched him against the wall but not before having slid the key to the shackles and collar into his mouth. Having finished her job,she kicked the suitcase to reveal a set of light blades and appropriate clothing. "Good luck. But remember... I'll beat you next time!" and she left through the door a minute later...

 _"It seems my luck has returned... Hmm. How to escape now?"_ he was thinking of a feasible escape plan but nothing came to mind. He unlocked the cuffs on his arm with his teeth, and legs with difficulty and loosened the colar a bit. And thus an idiotic idea engendered in his head- he screamed like mad to get someone to open the it worked...

After a few minutes of screaming like a rabid dog at the top of his lungs,a female Fallen with red hair was tasked to see what was happening with the prisoner. It was a meddlesome task to do as she was clearly unwilling to deal with such a nuisance as a simple priest, be it a infamous Saint or a generic nun.

"Shut the hell up! Down you fuckin mutt! " she was already inside the room and started kicking him with her black boots in the ribs. Suddenly he fell on the cold floor with blood, his hand stretched back due to the chains and he shrieked in pain.

"Finally! God,how much i hate dealing with crazy priests and dumb peo- she turned her back to him and proceeded to leave. She didn't see him as a threat for he was chained and powerless. So she was arrogant to simply turn her back to it was her downfall.

The Saint jumped on his feet within the fraction of a second, tripped her with one of the chains and charged at her back with ferocity. He started slamming the blade he took from the suitcase on the chair into her skull,ramming it deep enough to split her head in two. And for a testing stab,he drove the blade into her spine just in case - they were superior in durability and every other aspect than humans. He dragged away her body and chained it with the cuffs,placed the now removed colar on her neck and quickly dressed with whatever was in the case.

Fully armed and on his feet,clothed with a simple uniform and holding his blades in both hands, he stepped to the exit and used the key he obtained from the guard.

"Phase A complete. Now what to do for B?"

XXX

20th August, church of , Entrance, 21:23 pm

The teleportation circle of the Gremory peerage spawned on nearby the entrance of the Church of once again. It was probably the second time they were to fight again in this so familiar place where they saw terror in it's purest form and as it was natural - to be reminded of the same.

"We're 's go in." Rias ushered a command to her team to be on their guard and to proceed with caution. It was within her calculations - she expected tight security around the perimeter so she charged up her Power of Destruction and made the others prepare themselves as well.

Akeno brought her hands together and shaped her Lightning into a set of two daggers with a handguard and moved to the back of Rias to act as the rearguard. Koneko clapped her palms together to focus her energy into swirling fists of blue energy and took the left side while Asia stayed calm, not even being stressed by the situation. She slid her arms under her skirt straight for her knee straps and gently clutched a few curved steel daggers within each of her fingers.

"Stay put. They know we're here." silently Asia whispered to her King as she tensed her muscles and held her breath. Her eyes sharpened by the presence of something around them; she was sure it was there in wait to make a move just when they were to enter. Multiple auras of vile miasma were streaming into the air like a dense layer of hostility.

Asia closed her eyes to get a better feeling of the space around them,she remained static and frozen in one place- her hidden abilities granted her a extra sensory perception which she used to her benefit. Koneko and Rias didn't pay her any attention, they were too engrossed into the expected delivery than to watch what she was doing. And thus violently opened them...

The counterattack wasn't delayed - two male Fallen Angels with spears in their arms jumped from the bushes in an ambush. They lunged their spears at the girls in the front but were stopped midway by a barrier with the spear sticking out of the other side,close to Rias's face. It was by a hair's length. More Fallen began to emerge from the shadows, surrounding them in a circle with a myriad of light spears aimed at were in a bind but the blonde nun didn't seem intimidated.

"I guess we'll have to cut our way through them,right? " Asia made a slight move with her hidden behind her back arms. But it wasn't a far fetched bet that she was still scared. She made a slight tap with her index finger,causing a shockwave of air to push away the horde of ravens.

"Now!" Rias screamed at the top of her lungs and her Power of Destruction split into a few small orbs that ripped through the eart in the form of spikes, barely scratching the armed forces as it made them flew higher. And in that fraction of a second - Akeno delivered a devastating blow to one of them with the heel of her shoe,pinning it to the ground. She used her Lightning daggers to create a cackling spear with wispy tails of electricity and threw it at one of them.

Koneko leapt at a Fallen who was ready to pierce her King in the back. Her metal gauntlets bore deep into the shoulders of the former angel, twisted his arms in a 360 degrees radius and with a quick flip, she threw him at the others. Asia moved away from the group and immediately knelt down with her right leg pulled forward and her arms backward with the steel daggers in a claw like fashion. The next Fallen targeted her on his own, weapons ready to stab her in the legs to which she dodged, jumped on the spears and stabbed her knives into his neck,twisted them and with a flip broke it's spine.

The majority of Fallen were frightened by her brutal tactics, she was fighting unlike the others with such peace of mind that it made them wonder if she was a Devil at all. They were losing their calm in the face of this former nun- erratic attempts to get her were made only to fail as she created a barrier with her vast reservoirs of magic.

Then a large presence of darkness from within the shadows sparked their attention. The other Fallen stopped for a moment and moved away to make space for the incoming threat which vastly overpowered them - and thus a tall man of dignified stature came upon their eyes. A being with blue eyes and short spiky hair of the blackest pitch, dressed elegantly in a black leather jacket with spiked pauldrons and black moccasins waved his hand to the others as he made a sign; a sign to move back or get caught in the crossfire. 5 sets of black feathered wings like that of an owl sprouted from within the darkness behind him and fluttered with heavy pressure, ripping through the air like a tornado.

"It certainly has been a while since i have left the bunk for a little spin around, don't you think? " his voice was Kavalierbariton and low but still having a piercing sound to it. It was beautiful but the timbre behind it was menacing.

All fighting had ceased. It was a battle of will at this very moment. He didn't attack nor did he let anyone else mingle for it was his desire just to speak or to it seemed to be.

"I have come to get a grasp of the situation for i believe the contractor has been acting on his own accord despite the agreed upon terms. So what could a silly little devil be doing here,killing my people? " with a slightly berating gaze from his steel blue eyes he gave a question straight to the perpetrator,in this case Rias.

"To save my family, of course. They kidnapped a member of my peerage so it is expected for us to come and take him back,even by force if necessary. " Rias felt intimidated by the sheer strength that was surrounding his persona. It was a guess she made on whether he was kidnapped or just a possibility but she needed to be sure for he was here. Concerning his condition, she didn't know was leagues above Riser Phenex, that she could tell he was surely to be a Cadre, judging by the way he spoke and his display of nobility.

"I see. Your claim is understandable but i would have to express my feelings on the matter of your act on killing my people. I advise you to leave while you can,miss Gremory. I have to speak with my contractor over the violation of our treaty." he took a step forward with grace and fixed his jacket colar with one was far from over.

"Then i shall demand to deal with your contractor, Valper Galilei as he has intruded upon my territory without any consent. So i would kindly ask you to let us pass and take the matter into Devil hands. " she was trembling but still held herself strong, she needed to display she wasn't weak. She was the sister of a Satan as expected. The other girls stood quietly in fear.

"I didn't introduce myself. 11th Cadre of the Grigori, Armaros. It's a pleasure to meet you, sister of the Satan Sirzechs Lucifer. " he made a slight bow and his face remained like frozen in a disinterested expression. It was just some courtesy and nothing more- he didn't plan to leave the Genocide Bishop in their hands. The old man didn't do his part of the bargain - create a duplicate Excalibur that a Fallen could use for it was only a human who could wield the holy relic of King Arthur. " And concerning your request - i refuse. "

Before they had a chance to register and think upon his answer, he rushed towards the center of their group and with a fast maneuver of his wings pushed Koneko to the left while Akeno brought up a barrier to protect herself from his fists. She was still pushed back in a corner. Rias casted as much of her Power of Destruction orbs to surround herself in a rotating shield with the configuration of 4 at her back, two that circled around her arms like snakes in a pair of clawed constructs with wisps of dark matter to act as a shield. And the rest as a circle of swirling bombs.

She moved forward to attack him first with her stationary orbs; the orbs flew towards him and morphed into black and red stakes of pure energy to strip him of his wings with a few landing on point. She then drew her left leg a bit backward and pounced of in the second she thought was suitable. Rias's claws of Destruction slashed at Armaros's face with the intent to kill. Yet he dodged it with a calculated move and brought his fist straight to her face with one of her orbs expanding into a concentrated shield to prevent his fist from connecting with her jaw. And it shattered, she was thrown away but his hand was severly damaged.

Koneko was back on her feet and with her energy charged punches struck as fast as she could. Each strike was precise and magnified by the presence of her energy and with a slight chance she kicked his crossed arms in a guard, ducked and made an opening for the Priestess of Thunder to strike him with a lightning from her fingertips.

Dust and smoke diffused in the space around him. It was unsettling. Their attacks no matter how concentrated, were probably ineffective against the likes of the Cadre.

"You do seem to pack a punch,little girl! " his voice was quite displeased and a bit dust settled down by the small breeze his 10 wings produced. Armaros dusted off the specs of dirt which glued to his clothing and sighed, " I guess I'll have to play with you a bit then. Time to get serious. " the beautiful voice turned malicious in a flash.

Two trident shaped spears of light were now in his hands with a cyan glimmer emanating from their surface. A wide smirk painted it's self onto his beautiful face unlike before. He was known to be in a constant state of frowning ever since the Second War and to have a smile at his point... It was surely something to be wary of.

" _You're not an abomination. I won't let you die. You are you."_ her father's words were mixed with those of the dragon, she was hearing them loud and clear in her head. It was at that moment she decided to reveal herself and use the power she was born with.

Akeno placed all of her passion into the iconic of her Father element, Holy Lightning. She revealed her true heritage by the appearance of one black wing on her left side and a Devil wing on her right. Her left wing was an exact duplicate of Barakiel's twilight colored wings.

The Fallen made a cheerful smirk all of a sudden.

"The daughter of Barakiel!? I never expected you to have survived?! So it was true; the reason for his suffering for 7 whole years. Then I'll help him by getting rid of you, mixed breed trash!"

His cyan spears aimed for her as they spliced through the brought her arms together to focus her Holy Lightning into a large spear of her own with a glaive like blade and countered his site was bathed by the two auras of their respective weapons, burning like brimstone.

The clash made their spears crumble, the rebound threw both of to a safe distance away from each other.

Others joined the fray and attacked the small Rook but the spikes on her metal gauntlets nicked them,either wounds on various places or the smallest scratches on their armor. Rias was back on the siege as she used her remaining orbs to form dark whips of wispy darkness and ensnared a few, slamming them on the ground but she was damaged from a light spear in the right leg. She slouched down,the pain it brought was an opening for a few to gang up on brought her arms to the ground and waited the exact moment to use her Destruction in the manner of a living creature of spikes from the ground, acting as a shield and a medium range weapon.

Her makeshift piercing weapon broke through the gap with enough potency to aim at Armaros. He was occupied with her Queen while Koneko was brawling with a few. But she was perplexed to where could have Asia went, she was just here a moment ago. She knew she was just a healer with some skill but not a combatant. The tendrils reached Armaros and stabbed through his wings in order to pin him on the ground. He flipped his damaged wings forward to break free, doubled his speed and punched the Queen before she could even react with a brutal barrage of fists,knocking her out to the ground.

Koneko was next. The frowning Cadre dashed close to her. Her answer was to kick him only that he grabbed her leg and spun her in the air then threw her into a tree with such strength - she was spitting blood and the sound of cracking bones was heard loudly. He turned his attention to Rias Gremory - his own experience gave him an edge against the Power of Destruction and so he made a small spear and drove it through her leg. She was cursing her own weakness; Issei was probably leagues above this detestable Angel but she still was driven in a corner. She may have been a pureblooded Devil but the weakness against light was always present. Just a few seconds had passed...

Rias was feeling dizzy and spat blood due to the light attribute of his weapon, her mind was shutting down from the strain despite her best effort to stay awake. It felt like it was the end- she was being drained of her energy and couldn't maintain her Power of Destruction any longer but she had a hidden orb nearby.

"Should i finish you or just leave it be? Well, a war or two wouldn't be bad so why not?" he turned to her with courtesy and made a slight smirk. It was just for a moment but enough to surprise him.

The hidden orb sprouted from the ground and impaled his eye in a quick manner given his wasn't accurate as she wished it was,it didn't get his head. Not being able to support herself, Rias gave out and succumbed to her fatigue. A lesser Fallen came closer to his leader but was stopped by the hand of the blue eyed was enraged and cursed at her with a heavy voice of murder,with some difficulty he cleaned his destroyed eye and his hands morphed into light blades and prepared to stab her.

It was hopeless... They were going to die if something didn't save them.

Just before his spear drove into the head of the crimson haired Gremory, a small hole pierced the space above her face and the light weapon sunk in it until it was gone like it had never existed. And in return another one ripped through the space continuum with the same trident going through his wings fast. They were stripped of most of their feathers,it was just flayed skin and gashing blood veins and arteries with some occasional feather on it for beauty.

"Well, well if it isn't the old fart Armaros. How thou art been?" a female voice of respect and power boomed through the ears of the centuries old man. It was human and yet so inhuman with it's dualistic timbre of two voices mixed into one. A more normal female one and a scarier voice of a little girl with a monstrous was like the melody of a possessed only that it was rational,calm and more so threatening that any of the noises he had heard in his life.

Armaros looked startled when he turned back after leaving the girl as she was. Neither of them were still conscious so it was safe. Before him stood Asia Argento with a serious look of curiosity and spite.

"How do you know my name, girl?" he steeled his resolve further. He wasn't scared by all means necessary for he had battled far more fearsome beings since the two wars that had transpired. But honestly he felt a nagging feeling of terror in the back of his head by the peaceful look she had. But his pride was above all things.

The blonde girl leered," Isn't it obvious? I received the name from those Fallen and other schmuck i killed a while ago. You see", she paused for a moment to catch her breath, " i hate Fallen Angels a lot and those old fools who used me. And you know what- i heard you were involved in all of this by being a part of the group that killed me. And i can't let you have your way with this...to kill the people i grew to love."

"Oh? So you were that girl with Twilight Healing that got exiled? What a pleasant surprise - i was going to make my appearance that day but some business came out" his voice and behavior were cocky to the max. He was clearly underestimating her by her looks and background. The rest were standing still, awaiting the command to strike her, even in fear.

Asia wasn't amused in the least by his snide remarks and presented herself as a feeble girl and by nothing did she reveal her emotions. She was like a glass doll,empty and transparent." Why do you want to fight and spark a war so much? Is it just to please your ego or you're working for someone? "

"Does it matter to you girl?," he removed the spear from his wings and took a dignified stance in belittling her on her misfortune. " You were just a girl who happened to have what we needed. And the Project - that was just a wonderful idea. "

The Fallen blinked and gazed down at her after he took a deep breath. His wings had regenerated during this short exchange of words and he flapped them in a repeated sequence just to make her reconsider."To think a nun would turn into a Devil? Such a disgrace! "

Asia slowly removed her artificial skin gloves and flexed her black limbs with blue gems glistening with a bluish tint. She was serious all of a sudden; the previous countenance she had was now of a much different essence. There was sadness in her eyes as her lips curled in a melancholy smile. Sad but beautiful as the full moon on the dark skies.

The Fallen showed no interest in her whatsoever. But her face sparked his curiosity as if whether his words had hurt her. It was what he wanted. To tantalize her, demoralize and kill her and then find the Bishop and kill him too while taking the spoils. He could always find a new researcher to finish it.

"You took so much from me,you took my chance to be reunited with my family. And now your people are going to kill them; both the ones i love and the new ones who accepted me. " she stretched her right arm to her chin. She appeared to be in a trance with the rest of the world in the was being registered in her blank eyes as if she was spirited away from this land to a faraway place. Neither the light nor the darkness made any impression on then, something within her stirred and her attention returned to the Fallen.

"You'll pay for this. In God's name i pray for divine wrath! " she suffered a headache.

"God is dead,you foolish girl!" he laughed maniacally at her perceived stupidity.

"I know. I'm not praying to him,I'm praying for myself. "

Holes within reality ruptured with a pitch black from the other side, dangling chains of blue hellfire and mystic metal were poking through these holes of the Abyss like flames contrasted with the darkness of the night like a candle on the other side of the shore. The heat was rising fast as these flames were burning through the frames of reality with such glimmer,bathing the girl in black with bluish light. For these flames were the hellfire pits of the other side.

Rias,Koneko and Akeno were nowhere in sight as of the moment.

"Oh,what a surprise. So it wasn't just bark,you had some bite too... little girl" blabbered Armaros. His wings flexed, extending to their full length and with a flick of his fingers- multiple tridents were knitted from light above his head. He gave a small sign to his fellow warrior and yelled," **KILL HER!"**

They flew up high with light emanating from their hands, mystical chains to bind the Devil and armaments of various shape. Their combined power was like a sun with it's brilliance bathing the surroundings in light. It was sure to hurt her. They flew down in rage over their dead comrades in a flock of black and yellow tornado of blades and chains.

"DIE, YOU DEVIL!" bellowed the horde as they threw themselves at threw all of his spears at her.

The former nun-turned-Devil responded accordingly. Her eyes shifted in various spots before they came crashing down to her. Her chains flew up to intercept them, stabbing a few and burning their whole bodies like cinders. The majority of them dodged her attack easily as she was leading them to believe she had poor aim. It was just a buzz away before she was going to be sliced in pieces by the incoming assault of theirs.

She closed her eyes for a moment and teleported at the last second. She was drained by stopping time earlier plus the energy required to revitalize her sister was in large quantities. And she wasn't used to her true power as the Witch of the Void yet; teleportation caused her dizziness and pain,stopping time was even worse. But she still had her chains to use and her wits to utilize.

 _"This is bad. I don't think i have enough energy to maintain the chains for more than 30 seconds. I have enough for a few more teleportation holes but that's all. If i don't kill him now, everyone would die"_

 **[Hellfire Chains of Doom!]**

A few meters away, she was right behind Armaros with her chains behind her. She was trying to kill their leader to make them surrender.

He wasn't going to let himself get killed so easily; just before he could be hurt by the sharp tips of her weapon of choice, he spun back with his blade to sever her head and with the other to hack off her torso in half. She bended her upper body spontaneously and with her chains blocked his blades as blue and white clashed, creating a green light. As fast as she was even with her boosted parameters as a Devil, she didn't manage to react in time to his subsequent kick that brought her on the ground.

All assailants rushed to his side again with him going for the kill. She rolled before he could retch her heart and started running towards the woods. They followed her like wolves after a single sheep. It was her improvisation skills and brains that would help her now. And it happened - they were relentless in their bloodlust so much they forgot to slow down. Wide openings engulfed them from the behind and closed shut after they were inside and those led to the Dimensional Gap. And it was just half of them sadly.

She was drained severly,panting and gasping for air. Her throat was burning from the particles emitted from their chains faded away as her stamina was almost expended fully. The kick she received was healed by her Twilight Healing but the fatigue wasn't as it only healed wounds but couldn't replenish her energy. Her instincts were screaming for her to rest but she couldn't. And soon the rest found her.

" You pricked my nerves, you bitch! " Armaros snarled with malignance at the girl who was brought before him. He left all manners and courtesy at the back seat of his heart with all that was left being his primal emotions. She was being held by two lesser minions with small spears lodged into her legs. It was unbearable, it was so painful she couldn't stop it.

 _"Am i going to die again? I had a second chance...w..why? I have..nt finis..shed anything yet...If only i was stronger, i could have seen my father one last time…"_

"Any last words?" it was his own way to break her one last time. He had the habit of letting them speak and just before they could finish- he would rip their hearts out to see their deathly throes before crushing it.

 _" Where am i?" she couldn't see anything but the vast darkness before her eyes._

 _"You're going to die if you don't do something."_ _before her stood the little girl with blonde hair and green eyes. She was dressed in her black gown and was sitting in a room of velvet. The door was opened wide for Asia to enter._

 _"I'm not strong enough to beat him. In the end im useless as always... There was so much i wanted to do,to save papa and Xenovia but...they'll have to be without me..." her resolve was shattered into a million pieces. She was feeling the darkness devouring her slowly, eating her flesh and mind simultaneously._

 _" You're not useless. You're someone who stands her ground and fights for what she loves. Because you're the only one who can do it." the little girl gave her a sympathetic look but with something more than that- there was hope,the will to live seeping from it._

 _"I'm scared... How could i even win?"_

 _"Because you can. You're not alone in this fight." she stretched her arm to her. Her cute face switched into a single emotion. Acceptance. " Take my arm,Asia. Because in the end... You're the only one..."_

 _Asia slowly walked towards her to grab her extended arm. Before she had accepted the truth for it was. Now she had to accept the rest of it... The price that came with being chosen._

 _The little girl grabbed her arm and pulled her closer into the velvet room. The phantasmal space warped into a giant throne room of black and velvet with spiraling cog wheels, visible through the checkerboard floor. The walls were ornamented with large spirals of blueish butterflies leading to the throne. It was the innermost space of the Void; a empty space between realms from which Chaos sprang, the same material the Demiurge had used to create the material world.._

 _"Are you ready to win this and survive?" the blonde girl smiled. Her black dress fluttered like alive. It was her own way of asking whether she was ready._

 _" I am. I'm ready now." power coarsed through her voice. Asia's eyes were locked onto the throne with it's black marble and bluish accents flaring with light. A butterfly flew down to the hands of the other girl and rested it's self on her palms._

 _"Don't forget who you are..._ _ **Because we are... Because I Am...!**_ _"_

Her mind resurfaced from under the darkness back into the real it appeared to be a few minutes, it was actually just a second that had passed and thus she gave him a tired look. Her body was hurting from the strain so much she wanted to scream. Her eyes were closed now.

"Are you ready,Fallen Angel?Do you know who you're dealing with?" her voice was back to normal as it was painful to speak but so she was no presence in it nor power.

"Huh? Don't make me laugh! " the Cadre giggled with amusement. It was like she was pleading him to kill her. "You're nothing but a worthless piece of trash that nobody loved."

 **"Do you know who i am?"** he could feel her gaze sharpen like that of a predator in wait of it's prey. Nothing in her image changed. Her power was the same... Yet something was different, so vile and so flawed... Yet so human and divine on it's own.

Armaros looked confused with her words. His mind couldn't register what was happening around him as he was rendered unable to speak at all. He was scared for the second time in his long life. Until the moment she opened her eyes...

 **"I am the WITCH OF THE VOID!"**

In the next instant, the ground shattered violently,throwing off large chunks of dirt and rocks in every direction of the air around her was being burned by the power that emanated from her voice. The shockwave from her voice was maddening to the ears of the Fallen. The world was spinning like crazy. It was like nature had sided with her as it's avatar of wrath for the wicked.

Her eyes were now with black sclera surrounding her green irises with the look of emptiness. A blue transparent veil with butterflies adorned her blonde hair as it turned to silverish blonde.A blue butterfly bow of the most beautiful fabric was sprung from the right side of her blue fire her black dress was erased, leaving only a dark cyan skirt like that of a rose, blue spiked markings on her stomach,legs and arms covering her body. Black shoes of spikes, blue gloved gauntlets with a butterfly blades addorned her arms and on her neck was a colar of blades in imitation of the fragile insects.

The Fallen who held her were erased from existence the second she awakened. Others fell on their knees, some were thrown away by her magnificence. Others were enraged naturally by her declaration of power, attacking in mindless rage. But were decapitated by a mysterious giant man with a robe and a black rebar rod of reinforced metal.

He had appeared from nowhere. He was killing the agressors with ease with such power as if his body moved on his own, before he could even think of it with his weapon destroying them just by a swing. Heads and blood were on the ground rolling towards the ten-winged Cadre. Before he realized what was happening, the giant man brought his pole to his side in effect. Crushing his ribs and shooting him in the air for Asia to fly high and with the last of her strength comanded hundreds of chains, stabbing him in each fiber of his body.

In the end what stood of the vile general was a corpse riddled with chains on the metal pole of the giant - he had jumped the same moment she riddled him with holes,raising his stick above his head piercing him in the heart as she stood back away.

Asia fell to the ground barely breathing from the insurge of power she tapped into. Her astral dress of phantasm was gone,erased from the face of the earth. She was back to normal,she had tapped into that power for a few seconds only as she had much to learn to control this authority of the could only see her savior,the same man who drove off Diodora Astaroth away from her. Someone had answered to her plea for help.

"Thank you... You saved me yet again..."

He didn't talk at all. He threw her a bottle of Phoenix Tears and just as he appeared from nowhere,he returned back into the darkness but not before leaving a large sign of X on the ground.

 _"Oh, I'm going to need a rest. It hurts so much. *" she drank from the bottle and felt rejuvenated. Her strength was returning. "* It's a good thing i hid them nearby... Let's go save our Kiba-kun. I leave the rest to you...Issei.."_

XXX

20th August,Japan,Kyūshū island:Chikuzen province, 21:35 pm

Valper Galilei had escaped in the last minute with the unconscious Kiba via a teleportation circle to one of the Japanese islands, a deep forest to be precise. He had escaped under the cover of his priests to the true base of operations; he was expecting to finish the last part of the ritual on that island where Excalibur Ruler and Blessing were waiting for him. He just required the two Executors, Xenovia to be exact to piece the basis and then return to Chikuzen to finish. A bold and dangerous move but Kokabiel had proven right with his divination - Kiba Yuuto would come and just as expected. And he had plans- by killing him he would enrage the sister of one of the Satan and would in turn send her head to Sirzechs Lucifer as a token of gratitude. And it would lead to a third war.

"I barely managed to escape but it was worth it," he dropped off the comatose boy on the ground and wiped off the sweat from his forehead with a stroke of his sleeve. " Though we lost some people sadly, sacrifices have to be made for the end goal."

"It is as i have us begin with the procedure, shall we?" From the other side of what appeared to be a room came Kokabiel. He was in a good mood all of a sudden, judging by the look he had when he eyed the semi-complete Excalibur. He was carrying the arm of the Saint in a small container.

"I brought something from the past as well. He might be useful, given his ability to forge swords out of thin air. We could make a hundred Excaliburs with it but we'll have to strip his demonic core to prevent any contamination of the resulting products. "

"Do as you wish. I just want to wield this sword to stick it in their faces and get what i deserve. That damn Azazel betrayed us by pulling us out of combat like we were some cowards... " anger was burning through his red eyes in a glimmer. He would forever hate the Governor for what he did to disgrace their kind.

Valper took a seat across the table and placed the blade on it while trying to relax from the adrenaline rush." But how to deal with your fellow Armaros,was it? I tricked him despite his assistance in stealing the fragments and we would go after us for eternity perhaps. "

"Forget about him; he's just a buzzkill that still can't get it through his head that we are superior to him in every way. I wouldn't have been able to make it this far without your help,Bishop Gallilei. " Kokabiel was polite and respectful for the first time to someone. An odd miracle to be regarded as he was quite prideful and would never acknowledge someone else, especially a human being.

"And i owe it to you as well. Your resources and help have proven most effective in the completion of the Project. And we would have to thank Giovanni as well; I'm glad he helped us with this information and cover for our shared goal."

They would never be able to find this place, it was surrounded by a multi -layered elemental barrier against all elements. The forest was a gathering point for the ley lines of the island so their power was magnified by a fifth and since it wasn't a Devil's territory, it made a great HQ for the allied forces of Kokabiel and Gallilei. Plus it was heavily guarded by 24 hour patrol and all humans in that area were under hypnosis to keep the nearby city from knowing the dirty business brewing there.

"How's our prisoner doing? " Valper couldn't help but ask through a toothy grin. Placing his hands on the blade's pommel with care, he made it resonate just to see if the Devil boy was alive. And apparently he was, so he was taken to the altar at the basement floor specifically designed to be the ritual room by a few Fallen and they chained him with Devil binding shackles to prevent his escape. And placed a restraining colar,courtesy of one of the scientists who worked for the Bishop.

" He's a hard nut to crack. But some time with Vali would make him talk. But he escaped somehow " Kokabiel's voice was merry as a Christmas carol as both men went to the basement through the elevator.

"To have a Saint in our possession as ransom is quite the finishing touch to our beautiful plan, isn't it? It was some great luck his plane crashed here... By the name of the Lord! Such a great day to be we'll catch him again, he can't get past the barrier." Valper spoke with a pleased tone for this stupendous occasion. He was cackling with pleasure, such delight he felt like he would burst like a balloon. There was nothing more radiant than his smile now in the dark basement.

"We have an hour to start the ritual again. It's required for the reforging of the blade otherwise it would break down again. And we'll need more light from a source to strengthen it to it's original strength. " what Kokabiel said was true.

The battle of Camlann was held at early dawn and it was there that the legendary sword broke into pieces. Survivors of the battle gathered the fragments and handed them to Sir Lancelot to hide in a chappel far away in what would today be Oxford where the Heavenly Dragons were killed during the war of Wales and Britain, accidentally coinciding with the Second Faction War. Through out the ages,those fragments were reforged and combined with tempered iron ore to form 7 individual blades per the rules of the Church, one for the most prominent branches to keep in possession.

"Then let's wait... I've prepared some additional light for this reason. We could use that Saint as well, he could turn out to be a better resource for the craft." Valper calmly sat on the altar with the blade in his grip and gave a nasty look at the chained Yuuto.

"That girl is growing restless the more she waits. She keeps bugging me about that Red Dragon Emperor host if i could kidnap him and give her part of the deal sooner. She stole Ruler from that Pendragon kid she said and how much of a nuisance it was to deal with it. She even thought she could fight with me..." a witty smile. That's all the 8th Cadre gave him when he expressed his disillusionment with the damn girl.

"It's not of importance; we have what we need so let us prepare for the ceremony. We've got work to do."

XXX

The last Stray was soon going to 's wings flapped in a futile attempt to escape his clutches. But he opened a wormhole and sucked the vile beast in it,created another from which it's twisted body fell before his eyes, and with the pull of his trigger blew it's head like such thing as skull remained: just a dead body splattered on the ground with blood leaking out of it's neck.

 _"*Ugh, this is certainly a most ungrateful job to do. I wonder how our young lad is doing... The reverse barrier i planted in his house should keep him busy till we wrap things up.*"_ he returned his firearms back inside the holsters on his sides and tipped his head in a polite manner as a sign of respect for the deceased.

He was a bit tired as with each year passing away,he felt his strength and stamina dropping more and more. And he was still at 52, physically active and mobile but he always knew he might one day die from it. As any other being, an Apostle wasn't immortal at all. The reason why only human could be chosen was simple; the most flawed,weakest and yet greatest in both bad and good creation of God was chosen due to their adaptability, their imperfection which made them perfect and unique. And the greatest reason was because they were mortal and cherished life much more than others. Because in the transient, mortal human there was the reason of life and as well the destruction of it.

"I've finished with everything, sir." Castor brought the doctor with him from within the other side of the corner.

Castor still looked drained by a lot; it was time to feed again and there was plenty of nutrition to ingest. It was the price to use his power granted by the souls of his city and father. 20 years he carried them with him and they protected him so well to be known as the "Unstoppable Soldier" to his former squad mates from the Army. The doctor looked a bit jolly on second glance. He was holding Durandal in his left hand like it was a spoon, it was impossible to lift by normal people due to it's considerable weight and dual handed grip while he held it with just one arm.

"No signs of the old bastard. But i found a great acquisition to my research", lifting over the cobalt blade over his head with no difficulty whatsoever, " behold the sword of Roland, Durandal. I think i might be able to pull it off by a sliver of hope. We just have to test it on something. "

"This isn't the time for bullshit, Doc! Arthur can't follow the trail of the target at all; neither could he teleport without the coordinates in mind." the African soldier raised his voice to scold the doctor for his unwanted information about his new toy. Castor sometimes hated him for trying to switch the topic in important matters, not unlike this one.

"It's not for me, i have no interest in swords. It is for our young Dolce man,for Issei's sake. So it's important of course so just fuckin eat already and let's go. I ain't got time to waste here." he defended himself by saying it was for the current Red Dragon Emperor; technically it wasn't a lie but not the truth as well. It was for something far more useful than being a incompatible weapon for the boy. And was still in development.

"Wasn't it the sword of one of the two Executors? Saint Quarta as far as i could remember. " Castor took the initiative to mingle in this joyous conversation.

" 're fine but it wasn't my intention to take them away. I doubt Issei would care what happens with them,right? Plus our 4 charming ladies are a better match for the boy than those zealots." Chesare was referring to female members of the club: Cecilia Elizade,Hilda Shaun,Claire Beaumont and lastly his cousin, Eleanora Florence.

"So you took his request to heart? How much would you swindle from him this time?" with a posed look the bar owner asked his comrade in his little habit of picking him on his high pay for his service. And he liked the reactions he made when imitating some of their beloved characters just to mess with them a bit.

"Not now... Okay, not so much", Chesare looked down at his feet in resignation over the weird face his senior made. It was a perfect imitation of Yotsugi's "posed look" expression that made him feel threatened all of a sudden. " Let's stop the chit chat and get to work. And was i the only one who sensed it?"

"I would dare say the whole island felt it." the strong voice of Castor went through their ears as a confirmation. " That wasn't just a single burst of power. It was like an awakening of a beast, a natural force to be exact. "

"It's her... She has awakened only to repeat the same fate of her predecessors. " there was no doubt in these words because they were the truth itself. It looked like he knew what he was talking about judging by his reserved and cryptic response," It's just as the German said. The new incarnation has awakened but her fate won't change..."

A phone buzzed with a upbeat melody from the left coat pocket of the doctor. "Would you mind if i pick the phone for a sec?"

They agreed.

 **[Yeah,it's me. We're doing fine and you?*] he turned serious. [* I see. It's a promise. Got it. Bye]**

"So what did they say?"

Bringing back his phone to his pocket, MonBlanc took a deep breath in preparation to relay the newest intel he received. It was from Vali of course.

"Kyūshū island,Chikuzen province, the Forest of Dead Leaves. That's where she's hiding with the fat bloke. " in his specific way of speaking he further elaborated about the captured Saint, the number of guards around it and the objective. "It's a 40 min trip with a long distance teleportation circle or roughly a minute if we go the stylish way. But sadly, " he turned towards the older gentleman with comcern," he can't use it so much. So skip this time."

The oldest man protested to such claims not because of their plausibility but but for his own disagreement on someone else regulating his powers. He knew what would happen if he kept using it. It was nothing good, certainly not good for him.

"You haven't told him about it,have you? You can't keep it a secret forever from him. "he gave a blank face while saying that. It was in fact the reason why he was so stingy with the older gentleman - he was keeping a big secret from Issei.

" I don't want him to worry over my health. We don't have the luxury of worry over trivial matters as such. Personal matters,life and etc. are of no meaning to our designation and mission. " Arthur countered.

"Don't go with that again. You should keep yourself steady with no extreme activities or stress. There still might be a way to heal you. " in his best efforts to polish over the tense atmosphere, MonBlanc tried to give his friend some hope even if it was nothing but wishful thinking. He was disappointed with his lack of ability to save his life- neither the greatest healer could stop it from progressing nor his extensive knowledge in human and supernatural biology.

"It's useless; the therapy didn't work at all so how would the Miracle of Separation work? Even if you remove it,it will just come back in time...I don't know how much time do i have left but it's not much... " something in his tone belied the an ominous reminder. It was quite easy to guess what it was if it was given with little hints but Issei didn't know anything about it as everyone kept their mouths had understood it so well it wasn't necessary to say something else. He was the Apostle of **Binah** **,Understanding**.

Just as peacefully as they stood at the other side of the church, a multitude of Auras caught their attention. The extra Fallen who left the inside of the church were preparing themselves to kill these perpetrators and go back to the fortress they had built on Kyūshū island.

"It seems we have company, gentlemen. Shall we make haste or should we yell Bullocks and call it a night? " Chesare's hands slipped under his coat and clutched something from within his inner pocket. With the peaceful mindset of a lake he pulled out a few scalpels and gripped them tighly.

"It seems we must kill more of these poor wretches. It must feel bad for Mayer to be driven to an edge in killing his own men for the sake of peace. I believe we have killed enough for now so let me just throw them away but not before giving them a warning. " he said with slightly taping the wolf head of his sword cane. His words were full of sympathy for the, mostly likely coerced, Fallen Angels. He killed when necessary only when provoked or it was mandatory.

"As you wish." slowly lowering his scalpels down with a tense but relaxed hand,Chesare looked in the distance and suddenly gave an audible shout," We do not wish to kill you needlessly as you are being forced to do this most likely. So please stand down and let it be if you value your life."

Unexpectedly an answer was given by a short female Fallen. Her voice was girly but the emotions behind such voice were nothing but forced protocol to uphold their duty.

"We must kill you or we would be killed by our leader. It's not like we want to do this but we must. So don't hate us for that reason, it's not your fault. "

"Let's just go. There's no need for more casualties than their leader. " Castor shrugged off their threat and took a step closer to the old barman.

Arthur took it as a sign to teleport them away and did despite the protest of the worried doctor. A large wormhole sprouted beneath their legs and they sank in,leaving the Fallen before they could attack them.

XXX

20th August, Japan, Kyūshū island, Chikuzen province, Forest of Dead Leaves, 21:40 pm

"Why hello there, sleepy head. Did you have a good dream?" snickered Valper. He was standing right below the chained boy with a toothy grin on his face. He wiped off his glasses with the fabric of his priestly uniform he wore in defiance over his excommunication. More so out of habit than of any actual means.

"You…" Kiba mumbled under his breath with a strained voice that sounded so horrible it would have made anyone who knew him mistake it with the voice of an elderly man.

He was hanging down from the ceiling, all in chains and upside down with the blood rushing through his head. He didn't have any strength left in his body as the wound he received was still burning. It was some miracle he had survived or more likely to say it was the old researcher's tampering with the blade's power that left him alive.

"I knew you would survive. You always do,Adam. Because you're my masterpiece, i made you into that and you survived while others didn't. You were my favorite for a reason... "

Yuuto couldn't respond with words for his throat was burning with thirst; and as soon as the effects of the white blade reached to his heart he would die surely. No strength was left in his arms and legs being chained. Not even a finger could he move due to the accursed bindings holding his body tight like package. And more so the inhibitor colar he had on his neck,temporary shutting down his demonic energy and natural capabilities.

"I have a simple proposal for you - work under my wing and I'll grant you what you want the most. Even your friends would be with you ", he unlocked a beautiful wooden box from nearby to reveal it's contents to the upside down boy. From the mahogany wood it was carved from to the velvet cushion it had inside; every last detail was highly well made by an artisan in the old days with such skill, bringing any other box to shame just by it's flower ornamented motif.

Yuuto's eyes twitched with anger by hearing this ludicrous proposal. It was equal to betray his own self just to live and serve the monster who killed his friends and almost succeeded in taking his life as well. He tried to project a sword to break loose from the chains and lump off the fat priest's head only for his Sword Birth to fail in it's initiation.

"Now,now Adam. We can't have you doing that while you're tied. It's a good thing the colar on your neck is suppressing your Sacred Gear to the necessary level, so you won't die or be able to kill me." stating it like some casual thought, Valper turned the opened box to show him what was inside. Lo and behold, a small red orb of blood. The deepest red he could have seen,"I told you; you would be reunited with your friends, didn't i?"

Then it came upon him. The ugly truth was born in his mind with sheer terror taking over. The red orb was the container for the souls of his friends. They were stripped of their bodies, their blood drained and mixed together to produce this detestable instrument. After he had escaped in the woods,Valper had an idea- he used their dead bodies, smelted them down and bound their souls in a container to use as an auxiliary light source for the blade he would create in the future; even in hiding, he never stopped researching all of the possibilities to create duplicates of the blade.

Valper sneered."With your assistance i would create something better than the original one. Who said that the blade shouldn't be reconstructed? Not me! Those fools don't even know what they're doing with such a great weapon. Power is power for those who can make the best of it; King Arthur was thought to be a good king but look what he did- he never turned to his people and in the end died as a worthless slab of how was he worthy of the sword, made by the Lady of the Lake? I would say he was nothing but a self made martyr who never understood his people. "

"Well, i guess it's time to begin. Come on in,old friend. " tha bespectacled man turned back with respect to the figure that stood by the exit of the basement. Kokabiel. He had left for 10 minutes to gather the necessary casters for the ceremony.

"How much did you told him about everything? "

"He should know what is going to happen to him. But it seems he would decline my offer... " Valper calmly raised his shoulders and then fixed his priestly garb," He's going to work for us even without his consent or approval. After all" he stopped to make it more theatrical, " once the colar activates he'll kill his friends under your command and then it begins. The new war that we're hoping for."

"Just as planned. Let us begin, shall we?" Kokabiel manifested his ten wings of blackness with them stretching out and fluttering with darkness being absorbed into them. "Is the host ready for the operation? "

"Yes. " he handed him the mahogany box with the glowing red orb and said," It's time. Start the ritual. "

XXX

20th August, Kuoh City, Church of , 21:56 pm

"What happened? Are we alive?" Rias was the first to wake up from the rest with her wounds having been healed by Asia's Twilight Healing. She was feeling woozy and tired as hell so with difficulty she rose back on her feet with some assistance from the blonde girl. Rias took a glance to see what had happened and spotted Koneko and Akeno being put close to each other and waking were in what appeared to be the basement of the church.

"Thank goodness you're ok. I was so worried about you... " Asia moved closer to her and wrapped her arms around her. There was a single tear streaking down from her reddened eyes. None of them were in good condition to fight as soon as of today. They were left with no energy whatsoever so it was suicidal to even delude oneself to continue.

Akeno was finally back to her senses as the presence of the two church girls alarmed her consciousness. They were on the ground, peacefully lying on the cold floor with no signs of torture on their being. "How did we end up here? We were fighting a second ago and now we're here? Just what happened? " questions arose in her mind. It was quite implausible to have been any coincidence or good luck. There had to be an explanation for it.

" We were saved by a giant robed man with a stick. It's the same one that saved me back then." Asia did say the truth, half of it atleast.

Koneko went over to the blue haired girl and shaked her until she opened her eyes tiredly. No other method worked best than this one particularly.  
"Where is our friend? Talk!" the sound of her reserved voice and expressionless face made it feel flat but she got the point across as the Durandal wielder coughed but began to speak.

"I don't know. Let me go you cursed Devil!" it was her natural response to the little girl for she was a Devil. And because of the possibilities of a Devil burning down the orphanage where only she and Asia survived from the fires that engulfed the building.

"She's useless. Let's go." The silverish blonde girl shrugged her off and removed her hands off her white robes stained with blood in disdain. She helped the Queen stand up and called for the blonde girl to tag along.

"Asia? Why are you here?! In God's name why are you here?" Xenovia blabbered. She supported herself by the edge of the crucifix and the first thing she thought of after having stood up was Irina. Whom she spotted next to her on the ground. She rushed to her comrade and raised her body like it was a rag with her hands but felt dizzy and hit the marbled wall.

Asia didn't say anything because she clearly didn't know how to respond to her question accordingly. She thought it would only make things worse.

"You're not in any condition to walk. Even though we may be enemies, we do not lack in compassion like some of your people do." Rias stood between her and Asia to prevent any mishaps though it was most probably useless as both parties were worn out and severly weakened.

Irina Shidou woke up violently and gasped for air until she was calmed down by her friend with assuring words and wisdom. Ezekiel had ravaged her life span to a uncertain extent and not just hers but Xenovia's as well; Xenovia wasn't a Summoner so the toll was greater on her vitality than the twin tailed Executor's. Both were still weak from their respective summon and holy attribute drainage. Irina was just turned upside down to make it fair to the other girl's suffering, judged by the bespectacled man.

"I don't need a Devil's help...Especially your's... " Saint Quarta hissed at Rias while her attention shifted towards Asia. The look in her eyes was sad and betrayed; it was just beyond painful to watch her with that face. The blonde girl would have cried again if she hadn't killed off her emotions as they weren't necessary as of this moment.

"Sorry but i cannot leave them here." she bit her lips in frustration. She may have been the passive one in their group but it didn't mean she didn't have any bite in her. " I don't care if you hate me for the thing i became as it wasn't my choice, but don't hate me on trying to be human and doing the right thing." she didn't cry anymore, she braced herself and accepted it. She may be a Devil but she was still human at her core and never gave that up nor the chance to free her loved ones,even if it meant by force and by the truth.

"Just why?...Why did it turn out this way",Xenovia was hitting her head. She couldn't forgive herself for what had happened with her sister. It was all her fault she blamed herself with. Even Irina's positivity under normal circumstances couldn't save her now from despair.

"Because i died. I wanted to live just to be able to see you and papa. You wouldn't understand even if i tried to explain it. Forgive me." coming closer she used the low tier sleeping spell she learned from Akeno not a while ago, knocking out the sword user asleep.

 _" Sooner or later you would find out the truth, sister. And you'll be free by my side. Everyone... So sleep for now,the Piece would do it's work so don't be like that- you're one of us now."_

She gave Irina a warm smile to show her she was not like them,to show them she was still the same girl they knew and grew up. She left Xenovia to her care and sighed heavily from the stress...

"He never came... I thought he would arrive because he was a good guy and despite his unpleasant exterior he would have arrived to help us." Rias turned away from them dejected and muttering quietly to herself what she felt about this. She had hoped he would have arrived to save them,possibly to assist her in rescuing Kiba and fix things between them. But some parts of it were irreparable from the start.

"He's not here... He was kidnapped. This time I'm sure of it,there's no way he would go down without a fight. But he's not here at all... " Akeno helped the Exorcist girl to stand up and hold Xenovia. Her voice trembled with anxiety and disappointment. _"Where the hell are you, Issei...We need you right here right now. Only you can save Yuuto from the abyss he has sunk in.."_

A violent gust of air passed through the broken door of the basement. It was so powerful it broke through the walls with bricks falling down on the ground. It was a silent but warm wind of a natural disaster incoming. They were taken aback by this unexpected arrival of Issei's. The Scail Mail he wore retracted back into it's compact Boosted Gear gauntlet form and it faded away unnoticeably with no time for their minds to react to the change of appearances. He still looked in red to their senses due to his ability to appear as a shadow until their normal cognitive functions kicked in. From under his arms were Ravel and Xuelan, who had tagged alongside him.

"What took you so long?" Rias perked. She was obviously infuriated with his lack of tact.

Issei released his grip on the two girls and fixed his black hoodie. With not a second to spare he quickly responded, "One word- barrier. "

 _"It was his doing. He helped with the layering of the house with seals and defense mechanisms so only he could have done it. There's a reason why you don't want to involve me in this,isn't that right. Arthur?"_

Akeno made a slight squint with her eyes due to disbelief. How strong of a barrier was is to slow him down so much?

 **[Earlier that night,Hyoudou Residence]**

 _Issei went home as fast as he could, driven by the call he received from Ravel. It was no problem to cross the distance due to his draconian nature and arrived home in a minute. He went to the door with the intention of entering and getting his gear ready but it didn't budge at all. He tried again but to no avail. It was magically locked. *_

 _*From the inside of the house, Ravel and Xuelan were trying to get out but couldn't as well. Asia didn't come back home so she was spared from this nuisance; she went to Rias's house before hand as per their agreement. An hour passed since Issei managed to enter the house and arm himself and his companions and tried to get out but it was sealed again. It took more than a hundred attempts to pass until a large shockwave of power erased the multi layer auto-regeneration barrier giving them a chance to remove the hundreds of seals of the auxiliary barriers until recently they were free and flew to the site._

 _ ****_ **[Present Moment, Church of ]**

Issei just gave them a look and turned back after giving Ravel and Xuelan a sign to follow. Things weren't going as planned at all; he wasn't in the best mood but when was he anyway?

"Where are you going? " the Queen of Gremory asked.

"To settle the score. It doesn't matter. " calmly responding with his monotonous voice without turning back, he manifested his Boosted Gear gauntlet and prepared to switch to his Scail Mail Balance Breaker.

"Take me with you..." Irina coughed violently but despite her weakened state she wanted to fight. She was scared of him to death and still found the strength to stand. It was her mission to complete and her honor to uphold both for her own and Xenovia.

" You cannot do anything while in that state. I would recommend you to stay away from this matter and let us handle it." Xuelan was considerate of the girl so she felt it as her duty to follow Issei, the one who freed her from her chains. Even till the bitter end. She waved her off and made a sign to the Phenex lady with the intention of teleporting them away to safety.

"I insist. Please Issei... I beg of you. If you have anything left from the boy i knew...please let me finish my mission...I'll do anything i have to so just let me go with you..." it was heavy on her heart. She was ready to sacrifice everything for the recovery of the Excalibur in order to save the lives of so many people she cared about. She was even going to cry,her sobbing wasn't left unnoticed by the Gremory girls but Issei didn't really much care. He felt nothing for her suicidal plea,he had to keep her alive.

"Gremory..." he sighed with annoyance, " Get everyone to safety. I'll handle the rest... Asia, can you tend to them please. " he noticed she was the only one with strength left in her. He suspected something but let it go for the moment _."How did they just defeat a Ten Winged Fallen all by themselves with no back up. It's not possible even with their teamwork. There's something fishy,the shockwave and everything. Maybe there's a reason on why the nun is so important and vital to the plan_ _._ _"_

" **No! I'm going with you even if you don't want to**!" Irina dropped her mask of positivism fall down on the ground. She was able to be serious and focused when necessary. She made a angry face and held the sleeping Xenovia on her arms,while being dejected from his cold treatment. She also wanted to make him remember her but little did she know her memories of her abduction were erased as well the memories of that October night.

Issei barely turned around with a slow rotation of his neck. Just one side of his face was seen, just enough to strike fear in them down to the core. His face was riddled with red scales with white worms crawling under his skin and wiggling despicably, some were even sticking out from the scales of red. Bathing his face in impenetrable obscurity with his eye flashing in horrid green. With the spark of cold blooded suffering and murder,the **eyes of Death** itself. His aura was changing into the wretched myriad of the dead within him.

And the only thing he said with a robotic tone, devoid of emotion was, **"Shut the fuck up!"** and turned away with his hands on his hood,lowering it to his face.

"Yes. Count on me. Let's go President.!" Asia grabbed the horrified Rias by the arm and tugged her to Koneko and Akeno. She knew what he was going to do; he didn't need any obstacles to hamper his work. Asia saw this visage for the first time only to realize he was a monster. A true, cold as ice monster with a good heart...if there was something left of it. And it would forever be stuck inside her mind.

Rias's pride was hurt. More so her feelings with everything she wanted to do always failing her. Even if she placed her hope on something it only led to a crushing loss at her behest. She wasn't used to losing nor running away from a challenge- and this was above important for her life. To save her family...

" _I couldn't do it...yet again... I failed him...But he can save him..I believe in him, I'll believe in him for the first time truly.."_

"Issei. Save him..."

Ravel Phenex casted her family crest on the ground under the Gremory peerage with the two Executors in did not say a word as her hand touched the cold stones of the floor and bright light engulfed them, leaving only a quick flash of red behind. They were gone...

She ran her wrist through her forehead and sighed in relief.  
Ravel had dealt with the annoying ex fiancee of her brother with swiftness. It was no secret she didn't think highly of her but still had some respect for the girl. She turned back to her companion and offered him a small smile of assurance. "So where are we going then?"

Issei didn't answer at first; he extended his hand with the Boosted Gear materializing on it. Power was surging through his body in heaps, multiplying and spreading out through his reached to his scars and Brand with his gauntlet glowing green with a strong glimmer as he mumbled slowly... "Balance... Breaker!"

Red pieces of draconian metal covered his body from head to toe, snapping together and locking tightly as a spring mechanism with his face left uncovered by a faceplate. It was sleek and form fitting with green gems on each limb and on his torso,but compared to the traditional users it had a few deep red sigils on it's front of the armor was morphed a bit with the same lines running down and the giant gem that was it's center - modified with additional plating. And made the horns move up above his eyes - in imitation of the Dragon he had devoured to become like this.

But there were no wings on it as he didn't need them- from the back of his armor two red ribbons ripped apart the multiple pieces of his armor guarding the spine, those ribbons extended into an array of black bladed appendages which in turn split,forming a series of thrusters with a green glow in the form of a pair of VTOL engines. And then the removed pieces rearranged back together.

Xuelan grabbed her hood, as advised by the young man who insisted they wore armor and black glued herself to his right arm and clasped the armor by his side with every ounce of might in her durable, trained wrapped his hand around her side while waiting for the young Phenex girl to mask herself and get ready for a lift off.

"We need a name! Because we're like a peerage, a team!" she grabbed the colar of her black suit and placed it over her mouth with the hood on. Her eyes were lively yet serious about this- the two of them were fellow fighters for survival, targeted by the one who is pulling the strings.

Issei grabbed her under his left side, extended his wings in a flight formation with the VTOL engines rotating with green miasma. He tightened his grip on the two girls and brought back his leg to jump up for the start. " **Bloodstained Cross.** That will be our name." through his mind flashed the cross of his mother and the blood on the white robes of the Executors.  
And his faceplate extended over his mouth with the visor covering his eyes in a loud clang of merging back in one piece.

"Chikuzen province, Forest of Dead Leaves. I got it from a good information broker. Hold on tight!" without even waiting for them to prepare mentally for the flight, he jumped out with such speed that left their minds unable to react. And within a nano second he was nowhere in sight.

XXX

20th August, Chikuzen province, Forest of Dead Leaves, Basement, 22:00 pm

The base of the Project was a large abandoned building used before time as a hospital in the outskirts during WWII. Until an accident had it closed and abandoned; there were rumors of missing people who went in the woods and never came was not in the best condition as it was covered in bushes and large grass on each side with a greenish ooze soiling the outer walls of this building. It was not suitable for living but great for a hideout for drug addicts to snort cocaine and get high. But whatever resident went there was most likely dead...

 **[Inside the Basement, Altar Ceremony]**

Yuuto Kiba was lowered down on the onyx altar with his restriction chains unbinding at the base of his left arm but still blocking his Sacred Gear from activating. He had no way to move or bring back his arm away from the bespectacled Bishop who held a specially designed blade of light in his right arm.

Around them were a flock of the dark Angels, armed to teeth with anti-demonic weapons in their clutches. The basement was poorly lit by green light of the torches, perched on the walls of the basement. A black shroud was wrapped around the smaller altar with what appeared to be a limb resting upon it. The Fallen were of different tiers: normal two-winged minions, a few six-winged combatants and a lot of four-winged surrounding the fat priest with white garbs and a wool cap.

Next to Valper was the Fallen bearing ten wings, Kokabiel. He was by the smaller altar with a ceremonial knife in his grip. He looked calm with nothing to worry him over the chances of something interrupting their work. It was actually expected; it was within his calculations of someone arriving to stop them. He had been so sure of himself it would happen so he made sure to welcome them as best as he could.

"Begin the ritual!" with visible excitement Valper urged his accomplices to begin. He waited for a second to activate the sigils carved into the floor - a giant transmutation circle of holy light with intricate layers of 12 glowed brightly, surpassing the beautiful light of the green flames by a chains of black erupted from the ground, binding Kokabiel's left arm and he removed the shroud to reveal the severed left hand of Saint Lucca.

The Genocide Bishop Gallilei grabbed the free hand of Yuuto tightly, pulled it straight and with the blade severed it below the biceps with a clean cut.

 **"For God's might is worthy of thy servant. For thou art been a obedient lamb to thy word of might. Heed my call as the call of the Moses and the Israel for i am worthy. Punish the sinners and venerate the righteous with glory for this Devil had stained your holy gift to us. "**

Words of Power engulfed the air in a maelstrom of divine energy - he placed the severed arm on the third altar as chains wrapped around it and connected to the other limb in a heretic ritual of the most 's blood was becoming tangible with Sword Birth manifesting as a crimson wave of energy, bathing the arm of Lucca in a crimson dye with swords beginning to materialize through the air. Valper brought the fused Excalibur, Excalibur Ruler and Blessing together into the 3 dais, stabbing them on each.

The red orb was between the three swords with red cords of string wrapping around the swords and the arm containing Sword Birth in it's purer form [Blade Blacksmith], connecting them as a square with the light from the orb fueling the merger of the swords - they flew up high above their heads with the orbs melting and rearranging their broken down pieces into one big cluster of metal. It was bright as the sun with it's holy radiance burning Yuuto through the chains. And then Kokabiel hacked off his left limb with no problem and the chains that had bound it; the chains acted as a nexus to the merging blade and the Sacred Gear infused hand with it grafting on the bleeding stump of where his arm was once.

The synchronization began. "Finally! For i have waited so long for this weapon to be mine!" through his beautiful voice came out from atop of his lungs,a victorious growl of power and pain. He jerked in pain as the arm of the Saint was knitting it's fibers with his own, bringing pain and power coursing through his veins like a lake about to flood the was the merger of a holy artifact with a Sacred Gear with the principles of Synthesis: the preformed blade was being absorbed into the hand of the Saint thus fading away and the process was finally completed. It suddenly became impenetrable obscurity..

"It is now complete! " the voice of the Bishop echoed through the vast space with pure joy. The torches were lit up again with their green flames illuminating the basement floor, enough to reveal the aftermath of the heretical ritual of Binding and Separation. They had waited 2 years to gather enough materials and energy for this heavy time consuming rite. And luckily they had a compatible Saint - Lucca was blessed with the Power of Almagalm which could merge a Sacred Gear and a Holy Relic together, be it of demonic or heavenly origin and in a way... Creating a Balance Breaker in the process.

Kokabiel gasped in awe- the operation was successful! His left arm was now a red dyed artificial gauntlet with a blue diamond and five smaller gems on it's fingers. He had achieved a Miracle; something impossible normally but as well so possible, a Balance Breaker in his own possession. Kokabiel flexed his new limb and focused his energy to flow through the gauntlet, creating a European longsword out of thin air. A sword of a white blade and golden accents, with a handguard of two smaller blades jutting downwards. It was beyond beautiful; radiance of the highest divinity made by the most beautiful light and reforged by the greatest ritual, creating a magnificence beyond the normal understanding of a mere mortal.

Yuuto was physically and mentally crippled by the lack of his Sacred Gear. It was destroying his vitality and life force like a plug had been removed, leaving all of the contents to seep out like broken bottle. He slouched down, almost lifeless with no spark in his eyes. He was dying slowly as his energy started to leave his body and mind.

"Quite the toy you have there" a familiar voice echoed through the air. It was a male voice of mischief and playfulness, but still sharp and cold as razor sharp blade.

"Isn't it? I won't let you get in our way, Azazel! You disgraced our species so much you'd dare show up now! Such arrogance!" the Fallen Cadre raged against the Governor of the Fallen, Azazel. His eyes flickered with madness as he readied his Excalibur to retaliate. Azazel had entered the basement undisturbed by the barrier because there was a hidden back door in the seals to make an exit.

"To use a human limb to bypass the incompatibility of the sword. Not a bad idea but it won't do you any good because you won't leave this place alive with it." Azazel smirked with disgust at the ten-winged Cadre but remained lax and nonchalant. He was interested in the product itself as a researcher but had to shove aside his curiosity to get himself serious.

"Such bold words coming from a coward. And you would always come alone,thinking you're the greatest Angel to have lived!" he was ridiculing his "superior" with a irked look of lunacy. He wasn't as stupid to attack mindlessly the Governor for he had obviously prepared a trap. He wouldn't dare attack him head on without a trap.

Azazel took a step forward to annoy Kokabiel even more. He fixed his leather jacket colar with straps with a simple movement and directed his gaze at the Devil boy. "So that's why you kidnapped him. It makes sense now." he calmly stated his thoughts. He clenched his fist and created a golden spear of light, " _Shall we dance_?"

"You won't be able to stop us now,Governor. Your people have turned on your back and came to us. You're not a good leader, are you?" the priest looked lax and elated. No worry was present on his face as he revealed a duplicate Excalibur blade made from the blood of Saint Lucca - the fingers and blood laced with the Almagalm property was used as well as a fraction of Sword Birth he had transferred to himself without telling the Cadre. It was the new weapon they had made from the tortured Exorcist.

 **"ATTACK!"** Kokabiel roared.

An unnatural wind began to blow from the flutter of their wings. Fallen after Fallen jumped to attack their former leader without any hesitation in heaps as he was stronger than they were. Thus reliance on sheer numbers was their respective way to fight him. It was suicidal and yet they had to fight or less they would be killed by Kokabiel. They were left with no choice other than to fight and die.

Azazel just smiled at the incoming horde of Fallen, he didn't look worried which made them nervous all of a sudden and took a carefree position while holding his spear with no intention of parrying or dodging their combined attack. "You got fooled." were his last words before their blades sliced through his flesh. Pieces of meat and guts were splattered in every direction of the room only for Kokabiel to notice they flickered and lost their glimmer as if an illusion. And he wasn't wrong - it was just a physical construct,an elaborate illusion that felt so real even the keen Cadre wouldn't notice it's false life signature.

Both Angels and priest became paranoid - the barrier wasn't broken so how could he even slip an illusion from such a distance when it negated all outside elements. "We've been found! How did they track us here? " Valper was worried and angered, his face was red with wrath for the discovery of his work. He had done everything to ensure their secrecy but it seemed he failed." That girl..." the thought of Vali came up to his mind as a possible snitch. It was a thought based on intuition but was contradictory as she only wanted to fight strong opponents and not so much of a thinker was she in his eyes.

And just as he was about to yell in frustration, he was cut off from doing so by a large clash of a projectile colliding with the barrier. The ground shook like a earthquake had occured with everyone being thrown off by the tremors of the ground.

 **Above the Forest of Dead Leaves,1 Minute ago...**

Issei had flown above the forest while keeping a solid distance not to be spotted for he had 30 seconds to try to damage the invisible barrier before being spotted. It was common sense for a strong barrier to be placed above the area so he was going to test it's durability and range of effects. It took some time to get here due to carrying two girls and if he flew with his usual speed- they would end up shredded into nothingness.

"You ready? " he spoke through the mouthpiece of his helmet to Ravel. She gave an approving nod and he tossed her into the air with her wings extending and she landed on his back put black shades to protect her eyes from what was about to happen, she channeled her devilish aura to his back with his **Brand** resonating and two auxiliary appendages emerged from below his wings, morphed into a pair of two giant railgun rails and clasped their ignition key together around Ravel's arm. It was a large construct of black and red metal made from the **Emptiness** that **Keter** represented with Ravel acting as a basis to give it's emptiness physical form in the material world. It required something to give it a definite shape, for example Arthur's Binah Sephirot, Understanding as each was interconnected to the other and the death of one would affect the other Sephirah.

 **[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]**

He boosted his natural parameters six times the norm while holding Xuelan with both hands was hovering in the air in static,he was taking aim with the Phenex girl acting as the sniper. Electricity and fire were mixing together between each rail,sparks flew everywhere around him and he gave her a sign. Ravel charged her Phoenix Fire simultaneously with his own Dragon Shot,melding the two iconic crafts of the duo into a large sizzling mass of ardor and blood red and both yelled at the same time - **"FIRE!"**

 **[Dragon Booster: Phoenix Shot Railgun Burst]**

Power. Power surged through the ends of the railgun in a wide beam of compressed energy. It coruscated through the space around them with blinding light emerging from the muzzle, bathing the sky above the whole area into flashing lights. The air was ionized by this particle cannon blast but the trio didn't suffer from it as they had prepared an elaborate shield to protect themselves from it's backlash. With the speed of light and the power of a mega ton, it collided with the barrier violently. Causing a chain reaction which almost destroyed the barrier but it stood strong as elemental attacks were it's main forte. Yet the combination of two techniques weakened it enough to proceed with the back up they had in their sleeve.

The time limit they had was expended. The Fallen stationed around the city flew towards the source but found nothing: in a split second Issei had dismantled the railgun formation, grabbed Ravel and Xuelan and dissappeared from the sniping position. It was a well calculated risk- to make them believe the barrier was almost destroyed by an army. Leading them to momentarily inspect the source while leaving half of their guard posts- in order to hide in the city and under the cover of mass panic pass through the guards with less effort than charging straight ahead carelessly. Of course it was dangerous and probably stupid but the risk was worth it,it had too many variables and possibilities but they somehow made it happen.

"Nice shot. It was a close one." Xuelan sighed in relief over the almost flawlessly executed plan. Issei removed his hand from her and left both girls on the ground. His armor retracted back into it's compact form in the Boosted Gear gauntlet, fading away and leaving Issei back to his normal level.

"I didn't think we could pull it off" Ravel whispered under her breath while trying to relax from the adrenaline rush she received. And she offered something Issei would like," If we live through this... I'm going to make you pancakes. You like them, don't you? "

They were in the hidden, dark side of the forest inside a cave as it was heavily guarded by Fallen, patrolling around the area. And let it be known Issei liked pancakes; his mother made him the most delicious pancakes he had ever had. And it saddened him when he thought about it but didn't show it as he turned his face away.

" We have 10 seconds to cross the distance to the next checkpoint." Issei turned back and gave them a serious look. He forced himself to boost six times in order to accomplish the next phase- he placed his palms on both girls shoulders and the announcement of **TRANSFER** sang in their ears. He had transferred the energy he accumulated dividing it by two for each one of them to enhance performance.

He closed his eyes for a moment and when they were open his draconian nature was unleashed. The piercing green eyes of the Original Being replaced his brown, his arms and legs were covered with scales under the black suit he wore and finally his face was framed with scales from both sides with his teeth sharpening a bit.

"On the count of 3..." pulling the two companions together under his grip,adjusting his position into a suitable one for running with his right leg extended. His senses sharpened like a razor blade,his muscles tensed up as he was prepared to make a quick dash across the woods and reach checkpoint B." On the count of 1...2...3! GO!"

Running with full strength he crossed the gap of 700 meters in 5 seconds with additional weight from his company. His presence was non-existent; only a shadow until he reached a suitable place to hide. He was finally close to the barrier; since the previous test shot weakened it and still stood then it was possible to pierce it with concentrated physical attacks as Elemental Barriers were strictly tuned against elemental this case the barrier covered the six natural elements but he wasn't sure if it was effective against physical attacks so he just tried to cause a diversion by attacking it straight ahead. While a Physical Attack Barrier was used against fast CQC fighters and weapon users.

"Now all that's left is the destruction of the barrier. I hope he's alive. Because we might be too late." Xuelan expressed her worry over the young Knight of Gremory. It was quite possible he was dead but as well as alive.

"But if he's dead. Then I'll carry out his last wish in destroying Excalibur. That i could do for the pretty boy Kiba..." Issei almost close to a whisper said this declaration. He never liked the guy so much as to save him but if he could get some information from the instigators of this project, then it would be totally worth it. And the blonde boy was a victim as well so he would do it for him in his stead. To atleast finish one thing he could. And plus it would work in his favor - he could dig up information as a favor from the Gremory Heiress and still further his personal agenda.

"He's alive. I'm sure of it." with burning conviction the blonde girl said. Her eyes twitched in belief of the blonde Devil but it was still possible he was dead...

XXX

The priest rose up on his feet with dizziness in his eyes as the barrier's surge of power knocked them off their feet.

"They're here! It's as planned. It's time we give them a warm welcoming gift. " Valper purred with delight. His eyes flickered with mischief and amusement woven into one weird expression of joy. He even gripped the duplicate sword as a pet and commanded the Fallen who were now back in shape to prepare for combat.

The same dark presence he had felt earlier at Kuoh City was here. It had followed them all the way through here it appeared to have. The barrier was broken down to it's basic components, the crash was heard a mile away. Making it clear enough they had entered.

The flock of Fallen were knocked out in both left and right: some were thrown to the ceiling and falling down bloodied from the impact. Others were sticking out of the walls and some were impaled on the torches,immobilizing them but not killing them.

"You! How dare you!" the Fallen Cadre hissed with spite at the man hiding in the darkness. Kokabiel manifested multiple Excaliburs in the air with the intention of gutting him in each miniscule of flesh he could think of. His voice growled akin to that of a feral beast about to kill it's prey in carnal lunacy. With a flick of his finger - the holy blades flew towards him so fast it could not be traced by anyone in the room.

Without a second to spare, Castor brought his arm to his face with the sigils of his right arm glowing with a golden aura, encasing his body with energy and within the blink of an eye was at the other corner of the room with having gripped two of the Excaliburs thrown at him and with a spin thrusted the holy blades at Kokabiel.

The barrier produced from the red hand of Kokabiel negated the blades as if they were dust,twitching and swirling in the air until they dissipated into oblivion. But before having any time to react, Castor was right above him with a pair of black combat knives ripping through the barrier but he was repelled because there were Devil particles still present in his body and he had to switch to the last thing he ate: a maddened Stray or an Angel he had eaten a few days ago.

Two wings of white adorned his back with such glimmer emanating from their feathers. They swung at the fat priest's hands to disarm hin of his blade but was countered by the properties of the Blood Birth Excalibur. He was pushed back as the wielder of the new Excalibur charged at him with a ferocious swing of his blade,his blade changing into a sleek scimitar and behind his back a rotating shield of Rapidly while his main blade changed to the properties of Destruction.

"Foolish Angel! I don't fear you! You're nothing but trash compared to the might of Excalibur! " Kokabiel snarled, the blades behind his back enhanced his speed enough to run up to the African soldier and swung his Destruction at him at point blank, throwing him back through walls. In thus creating a large hole in wall with him flying over through it.

It was now peaceful. The priest made a run for it but was intercepted by the duo of Ravel and Xuelan by the exit with him swinging his blade instinctively, almost slashing Ravel if not for the kick Xuelan made at him. The aura of the sword of Arthur was draining their stamina and they were about to bleed from being in close vicinity to it's glimmer. But the suit Issei gave them had some seals to resist the effects of Holy artifacts to a certain degree. It were their instincts that made them jump back away from the second slash.

"Hoho? A challenge has appeared before me. Glad to have taken my invitation. " Valper calmly spoke with a gentle voice, belittling the Devils that stood before him. The knocked down dark Angels were back on their feet with their anti-demonic weapons raised to intercept them.

Ravel unleashed her blazing wings of fire,boosted by the Transfer she had received from Issei. They burned like acid with her using them as natural shields against the first Fallen who pounced back at her with his light spear and knife. Throwing a straight jab at her head, she spun in a 360 degrees radius with her wings of fire blocking his blade and she in turn - in the nick of a moment slammed her hand up his chest with a grip she learned from the Chinese girl next to her. Her flames burned him badly enough to make him go berserk with his spear scratching her at the thigh.

From behind her back Xuelan sprang onto the crazed two winged man by using her friend's shoulders to make a back flip and ram her leg in his jaw. A few Excaliburs with the property of Mimic in the shape of blue and gold pikes flew towards her but Ravel pushed her aside as fast as she could, raised her wings around her body and used a fire shield to stop them but the blades pierced through her barrier and wings. She screamed in pain as the tips of said pikes had wounded her legs,hampering her regeneration.

"You're not so strong, little lady? Oh,what a surprise it is!" Valper created more blades with his own Excalibur. He had a quizzical and surprised look when he analyzed their movement and body frame. "Where is that crimson haired Heathen Queen Gremory? Won't she come to save her lapdog and face us?" his voice was quite nasty now as he turned to taunting and each Fallen took one of them and rushed in to surround them.

"I'll hold them off. Go save the boy!" Ravel turned to her with the resolve of a commander, while she was going to stall them and escape. It was crazy and unbelievable but her presence was much more menacing and mature now,giving the Rook the strength to continue on with the plan.

Each struck with their Excalibur and respective anti-devil sidearm in a concentrated attack from each side,leaving them with no chance of escape. But it was well calculated: two physical constructs with black suits blazed through the surface and created a smokescreen, thick enough to dim the light of the Legendary weapon for a single moment.

The smoke was cast away by the wave of black wings, revealing the two suits in their place being stabbed and exploded. The smell of amonia was in the air,the Fallen were pushed back by the bang that occurred and had their bodies blackened a bit.

"He's dead anyway! You cannot run away little Devils. Come to papa you little bastards." Valper's voice was heard. He was walking slowly and with grace; there was no chance of any Devil to oppose him now when he had such a weapon against them as his trump card. Even his glasses couldn't hide the evil spark in his old eyes.

Golems of black soil,stone and metal arouse from the ground. Two feet high and all armed with heavy plating from rocks,they surrounded the old Valper. The Fallen looked around only to notice the suit clad girls trying to break the chain that was wrapped around Yuuto.

"Hurry up! Issei can't stall time any longer!" Ravel snarled with frustration at the tardy work the black haired Rook was doing with the chain.

"I'm working on it!" she countered. Her actions were fueled by the adrenaline rush she received from the magnitude of This predicament. She was pulling and twisting again and again.

Xuelan placed all of her strength in ripping apart the from the ceiling while Ravel was cutting it with her wings. And after an arduous struggle, they succeeded in breaking it apart with the dying Kiba in their hands. The army of Fallen intercepted them as soon as they ripped the chain from the ceiling.

The first Fallen to reach them was on her flank. He swung the Excalibur at Ravel's back in belief she was wide open and vulnerable. Xuelan took a swing, sliding her metal gauntlet across the surface of the blade, bringing her fist up to his 's wings flared with an orange glimmer acting as an arm that bathed the stunned four-winged Fallen in a volley of fire.

The blonde girl wrapped her hands around Kiba with her wrapping her wings around him. Power coursed through her aura with 7 orbs of fire,in imitation of her brother's Living Flame Armor. She shot at the Fallen who were after her,their blades blocking the concentrated attack and storming the ground. Xuelan pushed her through the exit with a kick otherwise she wouldn't listen to her and leave. "Go! I'll hold them off. Live on, miss Ravel! Thank you for having been my friend... " she gave her a sympathetic look and she shoved her further with a barrier blocking the exit.

Ravel felt like she was about to cry. She knew well they could die any moment, it was a given but they still agreed with everything. Kiba was shivering violently, his body was jerking uncontrollably so she had to get him to safety. "Good luck and don't die..." and went through the gap the Rook made for her. There was no mention of Golems in the plan, atleast one objective was fulfilled - to save Kiba. Xuelan was now alone against the army of rock creatures, Excalibur wielding Fallen Angels and a fat priest.

 _"* Atleast i managed to keep her safe. Lord Phenex... Thank you... I think I'm going to see my father now. Hyoudou... Thank you for everything. For choosing me... *"_

Xuelan tensed her muscles, readjusting her stance with her arms raised. She took a deep breath while eyeing the surrounding Fallen in search for a gap in their defense. Nothing escaped her blue eyes as she spotted Valper behinds the small number of black golems. _"* It's come to this, Father. I wasn't really intent on using this but it's not much of choice left.*"_

Within her reach were a pair of black bladed tonfas with a single edge running down the outer side of the sticks. Those were her father's weapon of choice which she received as a last memento from the late martial arts master. Her own suit glowed with red circuits on the sleeves and legs,further boosting her strength and forcefully her speed. She could feel it's effects and was about to utilize the second Transfer she had in store. The enemy was about to strike her and cleave her head off. A final breath she took and moved forward to intercept them with pushing her body to the maximum.

She suddenly became faster and faster, they couldn't see the swings of her tonfas as if she were a shadow. A Fallen saw his sword arm being lopped off before his mind could cope with the overloading actions that ensued - with a brutal kick she brought her right leg to his ribs, crushing them to dust and stabbing her blade's edge into his forehead. She moved to the next one; he was faster than the previous one so he fared better by being able to follow her attack. She made a faint, tricking him to stab her in the heart only to block it with her gauntlet and knee him between the legs. He fell on his knees and she used him as a shield against the third one.

She was feeling the debilitating effects of the unique radiance the Excalibur released in large chunks. She spat blood as her suit didn't fully protect her from it's backlash. A female six-winged adversary switched her blade to Transparency; she was invisible to the naked eye but still produced a small after image when she moved. The Rook felt her right shoulder burn with a unbearable pain spreading through her whole body but still fought ; she gutted one of her accomplices and used the spraying blood to discover her position. She held the body of the Fallen and threw him at her with the blade severing her shoulder area into ribbons. She was growing weaker and tired with every consecutive skirmish in a seemingly endless struggle with their superior numbers.

She moved as fast as she could for so long as her mind could drive her body to keep going despite the pain. She was sacrificing herself to buy time for the two to escape with Kiba. Her muscles were going to tear down, every fiber of her body was screaming in fear and pain. In that moment she was stabbed by the tip of a light spear in the forearm but her gauntlet mitigated the damage, yet it had pierced her arm and slowly began to eat at her flesh.

She growled in pain. Her mind was being held by the desire to draw out as much as possible and shave their numbers as much as her body would allow her to do so. With a quick backflip she took some distance to stabbed her neck with a injector of Phoenix Tears and booster drugs Issei gave her just in case. She hadn't used those yet as her body wouldn't be affected as expected. She was being healed of her wounds somewhat and invigorated by the mix of drugs and healing potion yet the pain didn't go away nor did her damaged areas heal completely.

More and more were going after her, enraged at the highest level and vicious as hornets against a mundane worker bee. They were concentrating and collaborating on their respective attacks, slashing and scraping the chinese Rook but not killing her. They were having their fun with slowly driving her to despair. From the damage she received she was becoming sluggish and her energy was almost used up but she had managed to shave their numbers to a half.

"Fuck...I didn't mana- she coughed bloody spit and was struggling for air. She was drained and her limbs damaged and burning from the light particles still present in the air. Her suit had done it's best to protect her, sadly it wasn't enough. " I guess this is where...it ends for me,huh?" she made a slight smirk while looking at the priest and Golems. In her hand was a detonator - while going through the corridors, Issei snapped explosives on the pillars and walls just in case. And Xuelan stole it. By this time Ravel should have escaped.

"Sorry Father,that's how far i managed to keep going. I'm going to sleep now... " she resigned to her fate, closing her eyes and preparing to push the button. Before her were the Fallen with their swords raised to deliver the finishing stroke.

But some miracle happened - from the roof crashed Issei and Vali, unadvertedly crushing the Fallen in front of Xuelan. She gasped in surprise.

XXX

Before the barrier was about to be destroyed, from within it arrived Vali without her Scail Mail equipped. She was still wearing her black bolero and low cut v-neck shirt, something that pleased Issei's eyes like never before. She looked even hotter in real life than the pictures made her out to be with her silverish blonde hair and cold eyes with the shade of the vast ocean.

"So you have received my message, Red Dragon Emperor! Do you know how much I've waited for this,do you?"  
her voice was quite the pleasant cutesy one only that it was more serious and gravitational than normally. There was some amusement and sheer happiness in it that Issei would feel puzzled.

" I did. To use a ransom letter to get me? Not a bad idea,i commend you for that. " Issei left the two girls and stood in front of them to act as a shield. His tone was monotonous and devoid of emotion but there was something like a sliver of sarcasm in his tone.

 _"She's my type! I'm happy it's a girl and not some sword wielding exhibitionist with a penchant for streaking naked. She's even better in real life."_

 _" He's analyzing every inch of my body to see if he could find a gap in my defenses. Nothing less from my rival - his stance is appearing lax but he's ready to strike in the fraction of a second. I like it!"_ her eyes widened further in excitement just by judging her smile being sweet and a bit maddened. They were eyeing each other meticulously from head to toe, leaving them pleased with each other's physique and might.

"I'm not in a mood to fight with you. So move aside, miss Vali." Issei made a dull expression with his eyes as he hadn't removed the mask and hood on his face. He was feeling a bit annoyed by this obstruction, she had thrown a wrench in his plan.

"I cannot comply with that. I have waited two years like an idiot chasing you around the globe and I'm not going to let this slide. I have a deal with the Doctor so I'm gonna go with it." she stretched her arms and her Divine Dividing manifested from thin air on her back and she turned around, concentrated her magic and crashed the physical barrier in a flash. "Here. This was what you were planning for,right? "

 _"That damn doctor with his weird ass experiments. Fine... I'll return you the favor for saving my ass back then."_

"Can you handle it? I'll have to take care of this girl so go. I'll be back in a minute. " he turned to the girls with him. He didn't want to leave them but of course he knew they could handle it, they weren't weak or helpless.

Vali made a slight nod and gave her word to the young man in letting them pass freely. She wasn't interested in them; only the Red Dragon Emperor was worth her interest as her natural rival. "Be careful; the corridor is guarded by Fallen Angels so take the opposite direction through the torture chamber and through the ground. Good luck. " and she left them through her. She had secretly taken care of the guards to make the fight more peaceful with no interruptions.

She remained static for a second. In the next moment she yelled **[Balance Breaker: Divine Dividing Scal** **e** **Mail ]** charging towards Issei with a brutal tackle,lifting him up in the air.

XXX

Within the next frame of time, they were above the island far away from any buildings or people. She wanted to fight without any inhibition against her rival with nothing getting in their way, just the two destined to fight like the Dragons as the time before them. She even took care of any possible intruders who'd get in her way, leaving only the two of them in the airspace above the sea.

When enough distance was made, she tossed him aside and prepared herself to attack but she was a honorable fighter, if not a little crazed, letting him to use his Balance Breaker for she wouldn't enjoy the battle."Come on,Red Dragon Emperor! Summon forth your Balance Breaker and fight me with all you've got!" her voice sounded manly due to the faceplate altering her vocal cords to match the roar of the Vanishing Dragon.

Issei used a seal to step on and stop the momentum of her swing, remaining static and undamaged from the force she utilized in her throw. He was breathing fine even with the lowered amount of oxygen at this height, his lungs were filled with cold air but he showed no signs of feeling pain.

"Before we start this stupid standstill, let me say something. " Issei summoned his Boosted Gear gauntlet on his left arm and extended it towards her direction while giving a serious glare at her," You have a great ass. One of the best ones I've seen in my life." and his Balance Breaker materialized from the gauntlet, snapping and arranging together to form the Scail Mail within the next second with the lack of wings. But he didn't use his Brand,he was going to keep it as a trump card against her.

Vali was surprised by his compliment, even going as far as giving off a blush under the white faceplate of her armor, before she snapped back to reality and uttered, " You have a crazy good butt as well! You're mine, Red Dragon Emperor! " flaring her wings of blue ethereal energy she flew towards him as lightning, ready to fight to her heart's contents.

 **[There's something wrong, Vali]** Albion whispered to her within her mind **. [ I can't sense Ddraig's presence at all. No signal, i just sense one thing..Emptiness]**

Vali was confused by this warning but she didn't ignore it... Albion was correct; she didn't sense any presence from within his armor as she was getting closer to him, making it all more mysterious and puzzling to the young girl. It made her grin in excitement as her visor's yellow eyes flashed in unrestrained lunacy of the highest quality.

Issei casted away all attempts to talk - it was just hard to communicate anyway so what was left was to communicate through fists and kicks. Clenching his fists up in a boxing position, he was awaiting the imminent arrival of the White Dragon Emperor's strike in a second. She came flying down onto him with her claws digging into his guard with the properties of **[DIVIDE** **!** **]** sapping his his energy reserves in half. He was pushed back from his stepping seal amd began to freely fall, not even putting up a fight or even the thought of flying up. She gave chase.

She caught up to him with her fists raised and ready to pulverize him into dust. Vali was just a second away from trashing him down,she even had a clear view of the modifications to jis armor. It was what he was gunning for- _"NOW!"_

Just before he would take the hit, the armor's red faceplate opened up with a row of white teeth with gusts of fire being mixed in it. And then the blast followed; Issei had purposely let her get close so he could shoot a blaze of fire from blank range, his fire breath scorching the girl within the Vanishing Dragon's armor. It caught her off guard,the pure white color of her armor was blackened from the impact as power filled the air. She divided the remainder of the flames only to receive an adequate response in the form of a straight punch to her face, throwing her off in the air. It was so strong she felt something break in her skull, yet it didn't stop her at all. Just made her more vicious by the second.

Talons of black draconian metal lined in swirling formations, ever changing density and shape in a row of different configurations with the last one being two bladed appendages with red eyes opening with Dragon Shot fully charged and blasting through her arms. Issei shifted his wings to a more aerodynamic shape like the buzzsaw rotating wings he used against the Ice elemental two months ago with them breaking his fall and turning to the offensive.

 _" Shit! It's getting so exciting i can't hold back anymore.."_ she was grinning like an idiot with a innocent yet so vile smile.

 **[ Ddraig could never do that. It's something else that's giving him this power. Avoid those blades at all cost.]**

Her gauntlets were fixed back together in their previous form by the works of Albion. Redistributing the power she stole from him and routing it to her wings, she moved at unparalleled speed with leaving after images from her flight pattern in the vastness of the night sky. But Issei caught up to her with no problem.

Vali used her passive Divide on her armor as she made a 180 degree turn in order to tackle her fist around his chest with dividing his power in two. Vali's other arm swung towards his neck but it was expecting; his mouthpiece again opened to bite her hand on the inner side of her forearm,sliding down and he grabbed her right wing and rammed his own pair into her shoulders - chipping them and revealing the sleeves of her bolero and then with a kick between the legs made her squirm,tossing her away with his jaws.

"Why do you want to fight so much? Is it because you were always told you weren't strong enough and you go against everyone to prove how strong you are? Or is it because you sought power to shut them up because they saw you as a monster?" Issei's growl was booming through the air like the draconian roar it was, only more intelligent and cold with no emotion backing it. It was totally different from a maddened roar or a feral growl of a mindless beast with power beyond normality.

Vali moved again with rage fueling her desire now. She was intent on beating him before and proving she was superior but now it was much more personal. Those words sparked her deeply repressed fear of being seen as weak, as being seen as monster...

 _"You damn monster! You should have never been born, how could i ever let this mistake happen... " Vali's father brought his leg up her chin and kicked her in fear and disgust. He continued to kick her in the stomach and head until she was left to bleed profusely from her nose and forehead._

 _Always crying and bleeding from the daily beatings she received, she was even tormented by her own grandfather's words of scorn." Devils should be vile,wicked beings who'd kill anyone they didn't like. But you're just a weak scaredycat! You're nothing but trash!" On her back she wore the scars of a silver cross and whipping she received from her father._

 _"Mommy, why are you crying?",* through teary eyes she hugged her mother tightly while she cried with bitterness over her own helplessness. She placed her gentle arms,marred with scars from the abuse she endured as well for having given birth to a monster._

 _"Don't be sad my little Vali. It's okay, it's okay. Your father doesn't mean it,he's just being overstressed from work and his family." tugging her child closer to her, with a soothing voice she tried to encourage the little girl to be strong, "You're not a monster. You're my child and i will always love you no matter what they say. Endure and you'll see brighter days, because you're stronger than anyone._ _"_

 _And that despicable day came... Right before her innocent eyes was the sight of her father killing her dear mother with a demonic blade after she had tried to shield Vali from the abuse she about to suffer from. Her head was sliced off her neck with pools of blood bathing Vali in crimson._

 _"It's time to finish this up.", with a deranged look on his face he moved towards Vali with the blade clattering through the wooden floor with a menacing clang of metal against wood. He was over the edge; he acknowledged killing the one he loved in fury and wept tears of regret. But he was going to kill the one who took his wife from him. Vali..._

Moving as fast as light would move, she was leaving all reason and tactics to Albion while rage was being her drive. She was like a teleporter; appearing in one frame of existence in a unoccupied space, only to be reveal herself in another place. Issei's psychological warfare was proving effective, he did the thing anyone normal would do - talk with Azazel whom he asked for help in finding information on her and to his surprise it turned out Azazel had raised her as his daughter. He heard a bit of her story and the rest deduced with the outcome being this.

Fists with electrons circling through them almost slashed through his armor with her arms almost phasing through the red metal."What the hell do you know about it? Huh? You're just a cringy edgelord with no drive to fight! This power you have, you don't desrve it!"

Issei's armor regenerated anew from the received damage. He didn't chase after her, he was waiting for an opening to slip through and straight to the ground. He had taken some distance between them and waited.

Vali's armor began to glow blue with something stirring within her core. It felt similar and quite familiar to Issei's senses so he braced for an impact with the enraged Vanishing Dragon host all the while with him raising the temperature around him to over 600 degrees, burning through the air and acting like a natural shield.

Eight demonic wings of black materialized around the wings of Divine Dividing with swirling orbs of darkness, circling around her with their size exponentially growing with energy. "Do you know who i am?" Albion and Vali roared in unison in a horrid roar of power. It was filled with suffocating power,dividing everything in her wake.

"I don't give a damn about who you are." Issei surrounded his arms with flames swirling like living appendages with his wings creating more heat to form a blazing aura of one of the four classic elements.

This further enraged the White Dragon Emperor with her voice booming like a shockwave,behind her visor was a irritated expression of wrath **" I am Vali Lucifer, the White Dragon Emperor!** " and started gaining speed in her charge at Issei. She divided the air friction in order to gain further speed with her right fist prepared in one mean punch.

Issei blocked her punch with his flaming palm,the scorching heat was being divided but always kept raising the heat before she could even dispel it. The impact of her gauntlet rattled through his armor like a tremor so strong it damaged his gauntlet severly

.

Her wings glowed as the passive ability of Divide began to boost her own strength and reinforce her armor while Issei was being drained. She was gaining strength while he was losing sensation in his body,and all the excessive energies she couldn't convert and process were expelled out of the edges of Divine Dividing. Her black orbs of demonic energy were further growing in size, with the size rivaling that of a small family car of compressed energy.

Vali commanded one of the orbs to ram into Issei's head, cracking it surprisingly easy. She started punching through the frontal armor of his body with such barbarity, passing through it like it was butter. The strength was unreal as the red armor began to crack under the strain with chunks of metal flying in every direction. She used her 3rd orb to vaporize him completely.  
Again and again, in her uncontrollable anger she was absorbing and destroying his armor with no response from her rival.

 **[Vali! Wait! It's a empty shell, there's no one under the armor- look closer!]** Vali was taken aback by Albion's keen observation with her looking up to the dark sky only to spot something horrible.

…And then it descended with multiple arms of tongues,eyes, claws and such with a aura of might she had never felt ,deathly throes, weeping and roars came from the skies thus distorting the frames of reality where he straight ahead of her as she still held the damaged shell of his Balance Breaker. He had removed his real body from the armor when he engulfed the area with fire,hiding behind the fire shield and flying up high before she had even noticed. And then it began...

Issei's eyes turned green with scales covering his face at both sides of his cheeks, his mouth was riddled with nasty fangs of white. His limbs were now scaled with blood red scales with claws ripping through the sleeves and gloves. His boots survived this transformation but the upper back of his suit could not- wretched arms of eyes and mouths ripped through his back from his the point where his Brand was located. The dead were piercing the veil between the Sacred Gear and the world of the living with their curse driving Issei to fight her. And he was uppon her...

Despite her best effort to escape his reach, Vali was slower even with the energy she used to enhance her performance beyond the norm. _" Forgive me Albion but I'll have to use that! I'm scared,it's so exciting that i can't contain myself anymore. He's more than worthy for it."_

 **[Don't! Don't use the Juggernaut Drive! Let's try to escape, it's the first time I'll retreat so we could have a chance another day.]**

Vali ignored his warning, totally disregarding the circumstances as with a single nod hurled the remaining orbs into him, pushing them down and she had a chance to slip away from him. Dark energy consumed her rival quick as a flame spreading through a rainforest with the screams intensifying. And she switched to her Juggernaut Drive. Her armor changed to a more draconian form with a elongated neck and helmet, wings expanding and general shape shifting.

Her rival was already onto her. He had escaped the orbs of energy with his suit further damaged and giving her a full view of his morphed physique. Scaled limbs and shoulders, white jagged teeth like razors and those horrid eyes of his. He even had a tail currently with a large blade ending at it's tip. And there was no voice, only screams of phantasmal wrath and sadness coming not from him but from the dead within his core. Biting in her spine, he began to tear off her armor with his extra limbs merging with her plates and infecting her Sacred Gear with energy,causing a chain reaction of Divide and Boost simultaneously destroying her white armor.

His clawed arm ripped her visor apart and with such a swift swing of the bladed tail removed her whole helmet, shattering it from the impact. Vali spat blood at him. Her armor was being dismantled with precise yet uncontrollable hits at it's joints.

It didn't stop there. He brought his fist around once more and brought it squarely across Vali's mask. The metal broke without hesitation as white and black spots invaded her vision. But, she knew from the briefest of glimpses, her rival's arms received no backlashing damage.

 **[We can't beat him. He's not Ddraig's host anymore! He's...]**

She was sent flying, tumbling through the air as Albion tried to get her back to the fight while repairing the armor albeit far slower due to the previous outburst. Her wings were damaged so she broke her fall by using her 8 Devil wings with multiple seals conjuring dozens of sound orbs,shooting them at various angles while her armor was fully repaired and in tip top shape.

The orbs hurled at Issei's body, exploding and damaging his hearing but he didn't find it any different. Some of them were devoured by the jaws of his semi-constant Juggernaut Drive and were blown away yet recompiling back into a different muscles were torn afterwards, his ears were bleeding profusely but he still stood tall. The suit was ruined further, organs and flesh were torn and yet he stood like nothing happened. His eyes were motionless, dead with no spark of life lustering. He wasn't here, his consciousness was furthermore submerged under the rubble of the dead and seeing the face of Raynare instead of the face of Vali Lucifer...

Issei extended his arms with worms crawling underneath and resurfacing as spikes between the scales, he was subconsciously readjusting himself after taking such brutal damage - Issei took out his trench knife only to place it inside one of the mouths. The gesture was the only warning Vali had. Because when next he moved, he was already upon the White Dragon Emperor's breathing space.

Appearing behind her back, as if he teleported even, slashing her back with the blade of his tail. In the next nano second he brought his fist in the chest area, smashing through her defenses.

Issei was fighting as a berserker with no tactics present. Only the drive to kill her was pushing him to further his goal. The sole of his boot crashed against her knee, crushing the armor and the bone underneath with utmost ease. The pain of her broken leg crippled her; the effect being her loss of balance...and she gave off a scream like never before.

Issei moved again, using the angle of his rotation to remove her gauntlets with his tail; using the absorbed blade earlier, his Brand created 4 tentacles of spiked metal to ensnare her body in a crushing bear hug. Yet her Juggernaut was bigger so to compensate for the lack of reach; his tentacles widened and split in rows by digging through the white ethereal steel and wings purposely letting her absorb his tainted energy. The dead past possessors began to sprout from her damaged armor and started to shove their hands to chip her suit piece by piece.

 **[Disengage Vali. I can't Divide that, RUN!]** Albion roared from within her mind only that it was transferred to the real world as well. Vali dispelled her Vanishing Dragon armor to survive the infection and overload of his vile aura. Leaving only the wings intact.

"What are you?! You're dead, you're dead! Get away from me! GET AWAY!"  
She was gazing at the darkest shadow with one eye splitting from it's abdomen. Tentacles, wisps and wings were constantly produced as it got closer to her. The one thing she was seeing was the Shadow morphing into the a familiar shape; it's smile widened as her father's face was emerging from it's pitch black, featureless face if it could have been said to have a face. She was seeing her deepest fears givem physical shape on the material plane, she was static and frozen in one place. Only her eyes were locked onto it.

 **[It's not real,It's not real!]** Albion tried to calm her down only to fail **.** **[Snap out of it,it's not there.]**

 _~You're a monster.A real monster. "_ the smile grew in size with red teeth, flickering between forms. It's miasma and aura were suffocating her with fear, with her own insecurities and pain.

Issei was seeing the flayed skin of his parents, their skinless faces with black eyes staring at him with silence as Death hummed hymns of a tainted soul. And there it was- the one who killed his parents going for the kill. His memories were commingled and messed up,he was seeing Raynare killing him again and again. It was when the shadows were engulfing his consciousness once again.

 _"* The more the Shadow is distant from the mind,the blacker it is.*"_

Both roared in terror as they went to kill each other once again, leaving them to fight like crazed beasts. Slamming fists and kicks at each other, they both screamed from the agony of seeing their traumatic pasts being fed to them again and again. He struck her on the chin,she rammed her undamaged leg to his neck. It was was like an endless cycle of repeat.

And soon both were reduced to bloodied figures barely held by their wings in the skies. Vali's wings lost their brilliance, Issei's constructs lost their shape due to returning to nothingness from where they came. And yet it was like Hell; Issei moved in as a shadow until he grabbed her neck and flung her down, falling through the night sky as a shooting star would.

Yet something from within brought him back to reality. The _Shadow_ was gone now but within his arms he held the girl with blood dripping from her body. They were falling fast but she couldn't fly yet as she was returning to her senses rather slow so Issei instinctively shoved her closer to his body,hugging her tightly as if he let go, she would die and with a single **Boost** he had power to wrap them in a multitude of seals and his Brand created wings to break the fall. And braced for the impact...


	12. Omake

Omake N1: Even Issei Hyoudou could have a Christmass

Ah,Christmas... A joyous occasion of family and friends gathering besides the celebratory table of finely crafted meals and alcohol of the highest brand, paid with the money of the ever so hardworking father to support his family. It was by this time of the year where people would go shopping like crazed animals in a cage only to fight for the last pair of clothes and other rubbish like that.

It might have been a great day if there wasn't so much shallowness to it's considerable grandeur. Such as... Gifts. An object of exquisite affection to cater to the desires of the beloved lad you would give it to... Only to be shot down with frustration and the gut wrenching feeling of having bought the wrong present for them. Or maybe when you confess your superficial feelings of desire for someone under the big Christmas tree at the mall and get rejected, being subjected to the pity of innocent bystanders who didn't even have the slightest care about how you would feel when their ridicule struck you deep was the trend nowadays.

Well... Since I'm leading this probably weird monologue in my damn head to who knows who in this crapsack world... Then I'll have to finish it with more flair... For a better lack of words.

I didn't celebrate Christmas or the New Year as in fact i quite despised the preparations of buying gifts and decorating the room for such trivialities. To me it was what you'd call a nuisance, a bother as i purely hated the act of barging in someone's house to celebrate since i was alone for two years in a row on Christmas so i was lucky i didn't have any friends with whom I'd celebrate it. I'd spoil the mood anyway.

Matsuda and Motohama always spent their Christmas with their families so it was safe to assume i would be yet alone on this accursed money spending tradition. So maybe I'll just go around the mall to buy a new jacket, buy some cheap alcohol from the convenience store and have some fun by playing games. And when i would think about the people around the world who spent it alone as well I'd say- to hell with the fake familiarity! Christmas is fun to spend on your own!

XXX

24th December, Kuoh City Shopping Center, 19:35 pm

It was a normal day as never before or so it would seem to be. Except for the fact of it being Christmas Eve and a ton of people were running around like crazy to buy their presents in the last minute. Some were tardy of course to get on their buttocks to go and shop for their relatives with the comforting thought of _There's time to go shopping. Let's leave it for the me of tomorrow_ as a true procrastinator would say. And as expected- Issei was one as well. More so than others would believe it to be. After all if he wouldn't be having guests so why should he even go through the headache of picking the right gift for someone who wouldn't even appreciate the thought?

 _"Hmm... I'm just going to get me something nice to wear for the winter months ahead of me. But why does it always have to be so crowded with people who buy stuff at the last minute? So annoying..."_

Issei was walking around the 4th floor of the spacious Kuoh Shopping Center with a annoyed face, befitting his terribly wrong eyes of a dead horse or fish, depending on the person's preferences. It was some routine shopping he did every year for some clothes he thought would be great to buy and for something else... Limited Edition Hentai Specials.

He was the only one with a moody expression; a frown to be more precise as he strolled forward to the nearest shop he would look for if there wasn't a big line before him. It was traditional of course _. "Eh,it seems I'll have to wait a bit to move around. It's a good thing nobody would notice me. Oh shit,i almost forgot my life has running gags attached by Fate. Seriously, go blow up somewhere! "_

It was quite the merry atmosphere around the mall- holiday music was being played throughout the speakers at every corner of the giant complex, it was well decorated with pleasing to the eye accessories and Santa's all around the shops with their iconic laugh to attract the smiles of children.  
Couples were traveling the distance of one shop to the other with thick smiles plastered on their faces, most likely from feeling the Holiday Spirit. If such a thing existed perhaps. Children with their families were looking through the large glass walls of toy shops and squealing for the most popular toy they desired to have under the tree. After all it was all an excuse to spend valuable currency for materialistic reasons such as these...

While Issei... He wasn't exactly sure what to buy for someone other than himself as he had everything he needed from a material point of view. Dressed in a long black trench coat with a fur lined colar, reaching down to his knees and a pair of black jeans with a chain. And to finish the look of a caretaker, he wore heavy military boots and a red scarf to be atleast more weird than usual. That scarf was a memento from his father who gave it to him on his 14th birthday; he never took it off his neck in the winter season despite it's girlish frills at it's ends.

 _" Nah,I'm just gonna skip this one. I'll goad the Doctor in buying it for me some other time_." with a light shrug he moved away from the line to the opposite direction with a heavy pace, expressing his displeasure with the long que. Honestly, he felt it was a mistake to go shopping only to regret it in the end; there was no reason to go and get all emotional for a holiday of the likes. It was all a big mistake he would say...

Having entered a shop he was familiar with, he went through the whole inventory and with much reluctantance bought a beautifully made black trench coat with a row of steel buttons going down the fabric in a large section of leather. It was more akin to a leather jacket with it's riddled with zippers frame but it was the right fit,accenting his shoulders and back just fine. It was from the shop he usually bought apparel for his strolls. And he went through the counter with two bags under his right hand.

XXX

Kuoh City Shopping Center,Caffè Lezhin, 19:53 pm

 _"It's a good thing i have these coupons for the special holiday coffee mix. Such a great time to be alive!"_ he was peacefully drinking from a paper mug with Santa Clause printed on it with a blue straw. It was some luck he had found a free table as most inside tables were occupied by lovey-dovey couples who benefited from the Couple's Deluxe coupons for an extra drink while he was the only one sitting alone on his table with a gaze directed at the ground.

The bags he carried were carefully stacked on the ground in close proximity to his boots in order to be sure of the chances them being left behind were zero. It was quite the pleasant melody he recognized from the booming of the speakers - _"Christmas with You"_ by Artists vs Poets, a song he actually liked despite it's ironic lyrics compared to his own life. Because he didn't have anyone to spend Christmas with. And he was glad for the most part but not quite. He suddenly felt a bit sad more than the usual dose of melancholy he projected in the eyes of others.

"Ah,that was quite refreshing. " he sighed heavily with relief. He began to fix his colar and scarf punctiliously to make sure not a drop of coffee had stained his family heirloom with dirt. Hands were moving like a professional stylist in wrapping his scrunchy properly with both ends of the red fabric gently wrapping his neck. It was no use in wasting time for another coffee since he could just get canned coffee from a vending machine nearby, yet the taste of the special edition was quite fresh to the senses of this experienced coffee drinker. He did have a desire to purchase a coffee plantation in Chile so he would have the product straight away and to live far away from anything annoying that would try to reach him. **Example; Rias Gremory**.

If someone would even think of the reason why was he alone shopping, it was quite simple to say. Ravel was called back by her family,along with Xuelan to celebrate the 25th of December with her family as she was a Phenex; even if she was under Issei's jurisdiction as a prize from his wager with the elder Phenex sibling. It was a family tradition for them to spend Christmas together only by themselves so it was mandatory for every Household member,be it former or married into another family to attend. No exception for anyone. They had left the morning early with Grayfia to escort them back to the Underworld while it was only Issei now.

Asia was summoned by her father along with Xenovia back to Rome in his private residence for the winter vacation - they left the previous day with the last air chart with the tickets Xenovia procured through her special pass as a Vatican Saint. Saints were well known for a reason around each corner of the world so buying a ticket half the prize was a task of no difficulty whatsoever.

If miracles happened, this miracle was most definitely a tainted, twisted version of it's reality defying properties as a manifestation of the Demiurge's power through the hands of avatars, called Saints. A coincidence yet no coincidence as depending on the choice you would go with; as he was about to leave the Caffè, he spotted the twin tailed, chestnut haired Executor Irina Shidou at the nearby fountain.

She was engarbed with a pure white short jacket with a high colar with two circular buttons on each side of said colar, a plaid white skirt was poking out of the hems of her jacket and she had black stockings. She wore high boots with zippers as well as a muffler of contrasting colour to her white colorscheme. If she weren't the girl who broke his heart 7 years ago, he would have most certainly taken her if he had a chance at all. It didn't work the last time, only pain it brought into his heart as he was growing more colder until the day his parents died two years ago, fully broke his spirit. And he had remembered the moment when they took the photo but not the girl herself until recently.

 _"Why am i eyeing the girl who broke my heart a long time ago. Honestly, how hopeless am i to go for this bitch when i can't even handle being touched. It's this nasty atmosphere that's making my hopes go high for the sake of a kiss under the moonlight on a snowy winter midnight."_ Issei instantaneously turned his head around in a botched attempt to hide his face,cracked his finger under the table and almost unheard, calmly said **: Presence Concealment**. It was only possible to erase your presence but it was limited to that only; it didn't offer the benefit of invisibility in any of the light spectrums nor to the naked eye. If once spotted, it would be rendered useless.

Despite how much he enjoyed playing VN eroges to pass every route,he knew his life was no such thing as a game despite it sharing some of his predicament with the development of his relationship with the girls. There was a clear line he would never pass; the line between reality and fiction. It wasn't enough that he had to take medication to supress his flashbacks and panic attacks as each soul and the trauma ate at his sanity,slowly eroding over time until he would go fully insane...

Only that he was seen by her. His Presence Concealment spell was reversed by god knows what had messed up with his intention. And as expected, he cursed his fate of having to deal with this mess. If it was supposed to hide his location from the senses of everyone while now it was enforcing his signature over the whole caffe, Irina was struck by a weird presence of unholy miasma coming from the direction of the cafe. And she gave chase after the presence.

 _5 minutes later..._

"Wait! Why...Are you running away from me!" she opened her mouth in a gasp,she was panting and struggling to catch her breath as she had been running non stop for 5 minutes. Her palms were on her knees with the bags she had on the ground and gave a tired,pained look at Issei's eyes...

"What the hell do you want? " Issei shot a blunt glare full of annoyance towards her. She was chasing him intently throughout the whole mall until they stopped at the 2nd floor,near the lingerie shop.

"Just to say hi", she looked away distraught. Having said that,she rose up back on her feet and continued on,  
" I saw you walking around the mall and i thought maybe you were lonely. " her voice sounded like she was concerned with his mental health but he shrugged it off as some annoying attempt to stir him up.

"If that's what you wanted to say", he groaned out. " You had it. So I'll be leaving. I have shopping to do so if you'd excuse me", with a dull look coming from his melancholy eyes he paused and then finished, " and I'm not alone. I'm just fine by myself so... **Buzz off**!"

Her brows twitched in response to his cold treatment. She was feeling awful all of a sudden; she could never forget him no matter how much time had passed. As she was head over heels for him and was ready to do anything just to have him. Even the sexy Santa suit she had seen in Issei's phone on one occasion where he had left it for a minute and she took a glance at his photo gallery was no problem for her. That was her intention all along - to spend her first Christmas with him as she didn't want to intrude upon Xenovia's benevolence. Her father was still missing while her mother was having work so there wasn't anyone else with whom to spend Christmas with. And to make up for the time they had lost 7 years ago... that was her only wish.

"Why are you so cruel to me? I just wanted to spend Christmas together with you... Is that so much to ask for?" she began to cry like a small child over her broken toy. Issei was still standing with his back turned to her but he could sense her tears with his mind's eye. People were beginning to stare intensely with the belief of him having hurt her which got on his nerves real quick.

 _"Seriously? How much do i hate having to go through this shit all over again. Every goddamn time i have to be between the gutter. This bitch ain't going on my harem list for sure. Let's get over with this quickly."_

Having slowly turned around to see her face,Issei extended his hand towards the crying girl with difficulty; he was awkward and anxious with what to do as he didn't want to make the situation any worse than it was. But he was great in fuckin up in the mood as it was a given,EX rank skill in his loner assets; The Killjoy Maker. The only people he would feel comfortable with being touched were Sona and Sayaka from the girls and his pals unless it was absolutely mandatory.

"Get up. I'm not going to carry you princess style all around the you're exceeding the limitations of my medication!" with some slight irritation his stone cold face made a slight grimace as she raised her head to meet his brown eyes of dispassionate concern. And she finally stopped crying to his relief.

"Do you mean it?" she made a puppy face while there were still traces of tears in her eyes. Her warm, unsure gaze was going to mess up Issei's mind if he didn't do something to shut her up. Those eyes were peering through his soul only for her to dislocate her gaze away as she saw something she shouldn't have seen. She took his hand and gladly took up his offer with a cheerful smirk as she wiped her eyes off any tears remaining.

"I mean it. If you just stop crying I'll tag along with you so just leave me alone after this." Issei was too busy with giving his reply than to pay any attention to her cheerful bullshit. It was then that she grabbed her bags and dragged him by the shoulder to the nearby lingerie store.

"You're coming with me! No buts or running away or I'll cry again." she gave him an ultimatum that would make him look bad but he honestly didn't gave a damn yet he was about to get dragged into something he would surely regret in the course of his decreasing lifespan.

 _"And now I'm someone's bitch. Oh, how the mighty have fallen... This is gonna hurt."_

XXX

Kuoh Shopping Center, 2nd floor, Lingerie shop Satin, 20:15 pm

"What do you think about this one?" Irina called Issei to the dressing room with some shyness in her tone. And he had to comply as he was not a pervert for nothing.

It was quite strange for the two of them to enter the shop together as they were neither family nor a couple. It was beyond awkward for the yound dragon to accompany her to such a place as this. She had picked a few sets of undergarments to try on and went off to the dressing room to change while he stood in one place, catatonic and shocked. Her voice coming out of the corner brought him back to reality and sparked his curiosity to go check despite his bad blood with her.

"So...what do you think?" she bashfully presented the matching pair before his eyes. It was a black laced brassiere and panties with satin in frills, accentuating her slender and sexy body with a unseen charm of an innocent yet predatory vixen in pursuit of her prey. She even brought her hands around her breasts which made Issei's knees melt in return by this bold presentation of bashful playfulness and innocence, enough to call forth the dead lurking within to take a glance through his eyes.

"Allow me to be frank", he began with a dead serious tone befitting his sharp expression as he took a breath to mentally prepare himself for what he was about to say. The world begun to change by the anticipation he was building on purpose maybe. Or not.

"Y-yes.." she stuttered in anticipation and worry. His eyes were motionless as a stone, she was thinking of every possibility he would show her his frightening face of madness or even worse... Kill her.

"Marry me! " was his reply as his nose shot a jet stream of blood. His face didn't match his words at all. He was just taken aback for a moment and unleashed his inner perversion to control his brain. The world was about to break in two.

"W-what... Marriage... Well if you're fine with me..." she blushed heavily. She was stunned by the declaration of his intentions so much she was probably going to squeal with symphonies of happiness. She was having thoughts of their future together; the first date, their first night between the sheets and seeing herself as a mother. Fantasies of this kind while holding her hands up to her cheeks and acting bashful, trying not to sin as much as possible.

"No wait. You got it all wrong.. I didn't mean to say that,my tongue slipped. Hey are you... Even listening? " frustration took a hold of his thoughts but it was useless - she didn't pay attention while she prayed to God in gratitude, giving him a migraine _._ _"_ _It's not because I'm a pervert, sometimes my capillaries burst on their own. That shit is just in anime!"_

All the while ignoring almost everything he had to say.

XXX

24th December, Hyoudou Residence, Issei's room, 00:00 pm

Issei was sleeping in his bed with several layers of blankets wrapped around his body as he was feeling cold, he was a dragon for God's sake so he required external heating to save himself from freezing to death in the cold. Having a few degrees lower than the normal temperature sure was a bitch at times like this.

Yet something in his mind was preventing him from sleeping. It was not the nightmares he experienced every once in a while but a scratching sensation in the back of his head like someone was trying to invade his thoughts and keep him awake.

Nothing happened for a while until the alarm clock hit 00:35 pm. A sudden chill slowly devoured the room, prickling Issei's senses to wake him up. A presence, he could feel a unnatural presence judging by the severity of his burning scars; just enough to keep him focused and in full clarity over what was happening inside. Frost and energy gave humanoid shape to the entity that was able to bypass his fortress with such ease as if it weren't outside but waiting for him to get back home until the moment he came to sleep.

"Issei Hyoudou... " It's ethereal voice was soothing and relaxed to listen with it's gentle timber of an elderly man. " I am the spirit of the Christmas Past. I have come to remind you of what the Christmas spirit is all about. " it was the ghost of the past Christmas that had arrived to return his holiday spirit once more and show him how to spend the holiday with others.

"Will you not change your way,young one? I have arrived here specifically for you so show some respect, dear boy."

Issei jumped out of his bed and on his feet, successfully placing his slippers on his legs and unfurled the sheets to one side while walking towards the ghost of the past Christmas, opened the window and turned back.

"For what reason do you open this window, boy? Do you reject what's within your heart so much? " the ghost started chiding him like a little child over it's bad behavior. He even placed his palms on his waist to express his anger over the youth's actions and negligence.

Issei turned back to him again and said,"Shut the fuck up! I'm trying to sleep!", and with a draconian enhanced kick shoved his leg straight up to the ghost's rear and shot him out through the window with a strong kick. Quickly grabbed his Makarov out of the nightstand, went to the window and unloaded a whole magazine of bullets into the falling spirit, "Don't barge in other people's property, you damn voyeur. Pervert!" and finished him off with an array of Dragon Shot.

And then went to bed,falling asleep soundly until the morning came...

XXX

25th December, Hyoudou Residence, 21:30 pm

Issei was sitting alone at the table in the kitchen with a self cooked meal by his great culinary skills. Though of a humble meal, it was made with enough skill to be considered a fine work of art by some food critic. The red table cloth was sprawled on the wooden mahagony table he had bought after Xuelan broke the last one by accident; a marvelously cooked desert with red fondant, sprinkles and other decorations made with the highest precision and skill. A plate of stakes he bought from the market, some salad and not without the essential - lots of booze. As of the moment he was drinking red wine from Tuscany in a large oval glass cup.

It was a normal day for the boy like any other day of the year. Nothing special at all, just a boring night with him drinking and eating food every year so much, he would get bored with it and go play games at the PS4 he had at the living room to do something productive in his eyes. This year was going to be the same as well; atleast he had left a present for Sona at the gates of her spacious residence to find at dawn with a simple Merry Christmas card on it as he didn't celebrate it at all.

It was within his mind that someone would disturb his peace with it being Gremory, some kids who pulled pranks on him or the mail man,whom he was on neutral terms. And as expected of his running gag as he would christen it as such... The bell rang three times in a row.

"And this is why i hate having to deal with people... Ah,such a drag!" he roared in irritation. His gaze was immediately sharpened to drive off this peace wrecker who had the nerve to ring on his doorbell at this time of the night. Jumping in his slippers with a gun behind his back,he went to the corridor armed to drive off the wretched tormentor of his peace and quiet.

 _At the door..._

 _"Guess again, mailman. I'm not going through that again."_ and with a mighty push he held the doorknob and pressed down.

"Merry Christmas, Hyoudou! I came to keep you company. " merry and mischievous was professor Mayer a.k.a Governor of the Fallen, Azazel. He was dressed in a fine suit of black and a indigo dress shirt with black buttons running down his chest. Azazel had the usual calculating smirk on his face as he tried to make a better greeting and present him with a present.

"Not interested!" he cut him off, trying to close the door only for the white gauntlet of Vali to grab the edge of said door to give Azazel a chance to was standing behind him out of some unexplained emotion which brought her to the house of Issei.

"We brought **booze**." it was the only answer the Governor said with a satisfied tone while showing him the whole bag of various alcoholic beverages he brought together with was sure it would work as planned.

Issei didn't know what to say about that. He took a second to think, only to respond with the fast and solemn reply,"Get in." and he opened the door wide for these unexpected guests to enter the humble home of their host for the night.

He lead them to the living room to take a seat and let them unpack the party juice, only to receive another ring from the front door. "Wait here while i check if the coast is here." and left afterwards.

At the door to his surprise was his client, Sayaka Takeyama holding a big red box with wrappers and ribbons attached to it. And behind her arrived Arthur Halle Mason with his ever so graceful step with his cane under one arm. "Good evening young lad. We have arrived to the party on time it seems. " he politely gestured towards Issei with Sayaka giving him a warm hug and had her cheesy smile,also known as her game face to greet him with a cutesy Merry Christmas sign. It was by some unexplained phenomenon she found his house and to have the exact same timing as the older gentleman was quite the coincidence. Coincidences didn't happen as of lately.

Issei didn't know how to respond to this surprise as both took their time to prepare and keep him company on his lonely night of getting drunk and watching porn. The only thing he did was to hug the brunette as well and lift her up in the air to carry her princess style due to a promise they had made not so long ago. She seemed pleased with such development as she said,"I'll give you myself as the present... so please be gentle..." there she was again with her teasing him. Not even Christmas was a day he would feel free from her antics. And a wild guess sprang in his head - the box was full of yaoi doujinshi...

"Since you're here", Issei nearly smirked in a half smile with sweat coming down from his forehead and continued, "Isn't the doctor coming as well or Castor? " through sheer willpower he kept his surprise at bay so he could pay attention to his client as well.

"…Sadly the doctor won't be able to join us on this beautiful night due to a night shift at the hospital and his family is gathering today" Arthur removed the black felt tip fedora off his head to make a bow and elaborate further on the family matters of Chesare MonBlanc. Which certainly meant one thing - she was going to be there and yell at the poor man for reasons undisclosed. Eleanora Florence was going to get rowdy at the gathering of the MonBlanc familia back in Milan.

Both men knew how bad the girl could get - a whole city was wiped out because she was insulted by a local police officer on the basis of her acquisition. And it wasn't even on the news! So they could only sigh in relief she wasn't here and pray for the fate of their beloved doctor for he may not survive another verbal clash against the stuck up blonde with ringlets.

"So come in. Mayer is waiting at the living room. Knock yourself out" he stated and showed them the way to the living room while expecting the belated arrival of another guest.

XXX

25th December, Hyoudou Residence, Living room, 21:50 pm

Everything was going normal - the unexpected guests were by the table in the living room in a heated discussion concerning the newest Star Wars movie and the trauma of having seen Han Solo die in a pit,forever scarring them until they would die. Some were disappointed such as Vali while Sayaka found it quite good. Drinks were being served as shots were poured one after another in a frenzy, even the usually abstinent Vali Lucifer was drinking whiskey like never before.

"Are we expecting any other guests tonight, Issei senpai?" Sayaka was giving him a weird look as if she felt threatened in her position as the only girly girl in the room. With a teasing grin she began to mess with him, "Are there any other girls coming? No...Ise senpai... I'll be the one to marry you! " the alcohol was getting to her head thus making her bolder than usual. She was without a doubt a loud, emotional drunk just as sweet Eugen a.k.a Hilda Shaun.

"It wouldn't be quite bad but you're my client and i cannot act in such a way." Issei tried to defend himself by using the business relationship they had. His face was scarlet from embarrassment but deep down he was only thinking of grabbing that perfect ass of hers. For she was the girl who made him appreciate the hidden eros of the rear, to embrace this splendor with all of his being. For the ass is the origin of life as a great Principal with a mustache and a great love for the buttocks said- " _There is no such thing as a bad assman._ " forever resonating in both mind and soul for all eternity.

"Who knows... You crashed to my place with no invitation so i can't really say that..." was his only response when he poured her another cup of red wine and began drinking his own.

"Red Dragon Emperor! Tell me from where does your strength derive? How did you get so strong, what training did you do to get this far?" she was a bit intoxicated with her eyes squinting in a sleepy manner with a obnoxious flair to them,she touched her white hoodie with both arms going down on her chest in a sincere manner of curiosity which sparked Azazel's interest as well. He was thinking of the chances of them getting together and producing a grandchild for the millenia old Governor, who was imprisoned in Dudael till recently - he was free for about 18 years as of today.

Issei moved his gaze towards her direction while maintaining the aura of seriousness, he had a higher alcohol tolerance than the Khaos Brigade girl so he was much more in control than her.

"Concerning your question on how i got this strong", he paused to take a glance at her chest with caution, not to get spotted and with the authority of the World said the truth, " My power comes from the bountiful mounds of every female in existence! There is nothing more powerful than the wisdom of boobs in this world!"

"Wise words my comrade. Well said." Azazel's eyes glowed with approval over this carnal lust driven answer. It was the correct choice of words,the vibration of each syllable produced power beyond the scope of normal logic,definite yet with no tangible form. The power to strive for what your heart desired- it brought a single manly tear to the Governor's eyes.

"So that's how it is. I must strive to get stronger than you could ever be. But the ass is more important than a simple decoration of fats. " Vali almost scoffed at the ludicrous nature of his answer. It was contrary to the belief held by the White Dragon Emperor - she was in the opposite faction; the faction of the glorious behind.

"Hm... I appreciate both but can the behind rival the magnificence of the front? " with an average expression of simple boredom he directed his bluntness towards the blue eyed beauty as if he wanted to test her on her fidelity to her own fetish.

"It's because in the beginning...humanity walked on all four and before their eyes was the... **ASS**! " she began with some pauses in her speech, " and with time the rump was out of sight because when humans began to walk on two legs it was superseded by the chest. Given their similar shape it's easy to say - **the ass was first!** So of course it's better than boobs!" with pride seeping through her words she stood up and cast away the hoodie dress she wore to reveal a scandalous outfit - a short red skirt and a cut out Santa tube top with fur lining it's hems. It was the same one Issei liked with it's gentle accent on femininity.

 **[I'm really going to need a therapy session the next day! Please doctor James! Save me from this madness!]** Albion was crying from the bottom of his heart in a fit of extreme desperation over the ensuing bullshit he had to deal with.

She turned around to give him a better view; the top was barely holding together her well endowed chest while the skirt barely covered her shapeful rump with stripped panties of blue and white. "See? The ass reigns supreme! There is no such thing as a bad assman! You cannot deny who you are Red Dragon Emperor - you're a closet assman! **See into the butt, see into yourself!"** her voice sounded quite cute with a alluring charm, no parallels could be made between her brutish normal self and her more vulnerable side.

"Ah,youth... It sure is great to be young, isn't it professor Mayer? " Arthur took the initiative to pour another cup of whiskey for Azazel, the same remained stunned in awe and pride over her declaration. Arthur made a strained smile to hide his melancholy over the past, it brought memories back. Memories which brought him nostalgia over his life in Ireland...

"Reminds me of my first time back in the days when Earth was a paradise. That idiot Adam never appreciated his opportunity as a human was free to procreate... " he could only flash to his memories from the times when the real Angels were still in this reality. He looked in the distance through the window with his eyes directed towards the skies. _"I hope you fall soon, Gabriel. It's always fun to mess around with you. The real Gabriel is a grouchy bastard. No wonder humans made the faux one a female..."_ and took a sip of glass while snickering from the sidelines because of the young Dragons amusing fight.

Sayaka joined the fray in supporting Vali with an outfit of her own- a leather Santa jacket with a pair of red hot pants with ribbons. She wanted to surprise him for Christmas with this and get them closer together to spend the holiday with her. And soon he was overpowered by the combined efforts of both girls while the professor and gentleman watched their fight unflinching with continuing to drink as no intention of stopping them was present in their minds. It was fun to watch them so much to the point of Arthur making a posed look just to stun the boy for a second as assistance to the girls.

"Should we stop them?"

"Nah.. Let 'em have their fun. So what are we going to do then?" Azazel poured himself another shot to chug down in one go to kill off his depression - another potential wife candidate just left him hanging, she escaped to Brazil to avoid him for some reason.

It was quite the rowdy brawl the trio had and as expected - the girls won by some weird chance and threw him at wall while they went to have another drink. Only that it was interrupted by a strange noise in the other side of the room. Precisely from the direction of the fireplace vile miasma and other creepy stuff dripped onto the wood in extinguishing the flames which made the atmosphere cozier.

"It's coming. Santa Clause is coming to town." Arthur made a quick one liner with a puzzling, if not a scary tone and grabbed the empty bottle to use as a makeshift weapon whilst his other hand was occupied by a large glass of wine. He had no intention on dealing with this menace as he lowered his hand and made a slight grimace over getting worked up by such a stupid thing as this. He was on bad terms with the fat man from the North Pole.

Smoke and ashes rained like a downpour was being wrought upon the undeserving land of confusion, called Hyoudou Residence for short. The sound of cracking bones and the rubbing of metal against metal was awful to the ears of every single guest in Issei's humble home nor was it anything good to expect - on Christmas there was always an accident to occur in the house like the gas tank exploding last year or the mail man having rammed his truck into his backyard. And since that day Issei held a special place for the mailman in his heart shaped ice in place of the genuine thing.

And then it happened...

 _ **"Merry Christmas, Motherfucker!"**_ from the fireplace sprouted Castor Zeble in a big Santa suit with a shotgun in his arms, whom in turn began to shoot, unloading a whole round of bullets in the ceiling at the same time of him greeting Issei.

"The hell, man? Why'd you do that for?" Issei was beyond any possible explanation to give about this act of a eccentric entry into someone's house given how hard it was to enter the house after having revised the whole system so much that a great lock picker such as Grayfia couldn't possibly hope to enter. Disbelief. Shock. It was just that in his place, no logic could be applied to such an act of eccentricity.

Castor lowered his shotgun to his leg to make him calm and prove he wouldn't continue with it as his intention was to have fun. And only that.

"Just to show my way of saying Merry Christmas. One must arrive with style or lest would be disgraceful to even try to make a grandiose show of this. Catch! " after having finished with his rant about introductions,he threw a large bag with gifts for everyone. Issei was thrown away by the force of his throw,slamming him once again into the wall.

"So...", with his gentle voice ringing into their ears like a melody, Castor took out a saxophone to play them a song to liven up the mood with some sexy jazz music. It was something he had never told his apprentice as they hadn't had time for such trivialities between the span of their training, "So where is that black haired beauty who clings to my boy like glue? I expected her cold chiding face to be around here."

"It appears the Sitri Heiress isn't around for the party. Such a shame..." Arthur made a unimpressed look while making cocktails from the variety of alcohol in stock for the guests. " She reminds me of my beloved wife; she was such a beauty to behold... " with a light smile on his face he delved back into his memories to once again reminisce of the time he spent with his late wife Beatrice as the Sitri girl reminded him so much of her.

"I see. I liked her logical mindset a lot. I haven't seen her since August. Well... It can't be helped." he began to play a emotional song for Christmas though it wasn't jazz that he started with - _Careless Whisper by George Michael_. The syncopation of this beautiful song, especially the beginning brought to tears the 16 year old brunette while Issei had the thought of this instrumental as the beginning of a unlocked erotic bonus scene in a VN.

 _3 minutes later..._

"You had a wife?!" the realization of this undisclosed fact was upon Issei's face like a second face of surprise for he no recollection of the barman ever saying he had a wife to begin with. He always thought he was unmarried. This made Azazel cry like a bitch for having no wife for himself - he slouched on the table and sobbed like crazy with a unsightly hiccup in addition to his emotional outbreak.

"Time for the presents! Come on,open it up!" Sayaka went back to the table after retrieving her gift to personally give Issei her present while waiting him to return. What she had bought for him was most likely something that would scar his mental health for life just the for kicks of it. She adjusted her jacket and hot pants with a light motion of her hands and gave him a dirty look, strong enough to drive the boy into a aroused frenzy.

"This would be quite interesting. What did you bring him, young miss? " Castor shot a question with warm, gentle gaze with his arm on his chin in expectation of seeing her gift. His large build brought fear into her soul but his gentle persona and soothing voice made her feel more relaxed around him. He was a gentle giant when he wasn't at work; sadly it wasn't so often where he would speak as he was a man of a few words.

"Well..." timidly offering the box with ribbons to Issei with a shy look, she gave him time to open it and see for himself while offering words to Castor on what it is. " He's a young man of age; he requires something special for this occasion so I'm sure he'll find it most appropriate to his preferences. " and finished her answer with a big fat smile like an angel.

 _"She ain't no angel as much as i am a Devil! I know what's in the box,i just know it... It's... "_ and he opened the box with two hands and gave a scrutinizing glance at it's contents. It was no surprise - the most toxic doujinshi she could get her hands on wrre stacked in there!

"Someone... Kill me please. I don't want to live on this planet anymore."

"Take a closer look at the bottom of it,silly! " Sayaka protested.

Vali was just curious on what this girl had bought her rival while she didn't get him anything as she didn't know his tastes at all. She glued to Issei's side in order to see what was in his hands - her eyes widened in realization over the craftiness of this sneaky little girl. It was none other than her- Sayaka had made a special album, full of her pictures in various poses and costumes to match every fetish of the young boy who fell on his knees.

There was a photo of her wearing a sexy nurse outfit on the bed with arms stretched out on her breasts , a police girl costume with the appropriate accessories of cuffs and the hat and a giant whip in her hands in her peach colored room. She even gave him a photo of her showering in the bath with her giving off a scarlet red blush, her body in a conspicuous pose as if telling him to join her.

Vali dropped on her knees; there was no way to beat her in this war of sex appeal. She had lost to a normal person with no powers or magic, it was much more painful than losing to her rival as her own worth was placed at stakes with her on the losing end. Issei was thinking about the time he would be spending in prison if this was ever discovered, labeling him as a offender of the law in possession of nude photos of a underage female.

"How is it? You like it?" eager as ever to gain his approval, Sayaka Takeyama blabbered word after word in a seductive manner with the classic _,"Is-ss-ei senpai!"_ making him blush uncontrollably as well as plastering herself onto his back with her graceful arms around his neck, whispering "I am yours. Take me with you to the **b-e-d** **"** quietly enough to rustle his jimmies with a light bite on his ear.

XXX

It was quite the weird bunch of people at Issei's house - that's what happens when eccentric people gathered in one place. With the outcome of decorating his living room's ceiling with gunshots in a ornate Christmas tree by Castor's perfect aim,giving the Pawn an awful headache so much to make him squirm on the floor over the certainty of having to fix the ceiling soon.

He had snuck out to his room unnoticed by anyone in the living room to get some peace and quiet for a second. A worthless action, judging by the loud music and noise coming from downstairs. No possibility of such a simple desire was even possible in his wildest dreams... It was just unsettling ever since he became a Devil six months ago in total. That was another bitter cup of coffee brewing in the giant pot of misery, called life. Sadly.

 _"The notion of getting drunk is what kept me going... Or i would lose my mind under the stress of being a goddamn edgelord with the power of bullshit to make my day. I wonder what that nice girl bitch is doing... Ah,forget it!"_

The soft fabric of his bed sparked an understandable desire for sleep. To be alone with nothing to do between four empty walls of the past to keep him company. It wasn't a choice; it was an order of Fate and deleterious circumstances to facilitate the process of further alienation to keep his unstable mind intact _._ _"Nothing's changed huh? Figures. It's probably high time i kicked them out so i could get some sleep. Having to earn for a living by killing things and acting as a courier is quite heavy on my back. I could never celebrate with Gremory's family - because they aren't a family to me. Atleast it went well in repelling her advances of coercing me to go to that stupid Christmas Ball with them.."_

Adjusting his arms underneath his head to have a better angle of sleeping, he had problems with the neck and spine from abusing his power carelessly as demanded by the various tasks he undertook such as; running away from Irina Shidou, a full marathon of Gotham season 2, destroying her mood to make her stay away and last but not least, **his arm was sore** _. "It's better this way. Can you imagine it - a bunch of weirdos came over to my place and made a hole in the ceiling. I'm sure you're probably watching me from somewhere far away unreachable to my hands. I know I've probably turned into a douchebag but hey it's how things are. Merry Christmas, Mum and Dad..."_ and reached out to the lamp on the nightstand to turn off any hindraces from flashing through his eyes.

 _" Fuck! I can't even take a moment to rest with that shitty light coming from the window. I'll have to buy some new curtains cause these aren't just right._ _"_

No longer being able to stand the annoying light coming from the window, it was just one thing left to do - hang a blanket over it and a have a light devouring spell to nullify it's irritating illumination. Some difficulty it was to get on his feet because the bed was so comfortable, he wouldn't leave it for nothing in the world as a true procrastinator will stand their ground on being lazy and disinterested in boring stuff as walking around to fix a damn window. So far for being lazy - placing his right leg on solid ground and consequently repeating the same action with the other one, Issei pushed his weight up by a lazy attempt at getting up from the bed only to fall back on it and enjoy it's embrace like the fusion of man and bed. The greatest compound to have ever existed since the beginning of time, so great even Yaldaboath would have taken a nap by his own volition over the armrests of his throne within Chaos.

Another attempt to get up followed. No result.

After the third try was he finally able to stand up on his feet to break free from the welcoming him with open arms bed and the dull light that beckoned him to take a look or die out of curiosity. Let it be known that he is lazy as hell with no intention of stopping for anything else like having fun in this depressing life of his but the need to see was burning with a deep passion, just enough to force him to get up and straight to the window.

Finally having achieved what appeared to be a strenuous battle against his instincts of denying the sweet bed with the cotton sheets and blue pillow with cats, he leaned over to the window to have a better look at the source of this disturbance so abhorred to his eyes of sleepiness. It was the second floor of the neighbors house- specifically the house of twin tailed Executor,Irina Shidou a.k.a his self proclaimed childhood friend and the nice girl who broke his heart 7 years ago, forever stranding him on the path of never trusting a person with good intentions, a nice girl to be exact. He further moved to the cold glass with his eyes stuck to the light coming from the window on the second floor,her room was on the same floor as his. The other room was at the same place and height corresponding to his own abode, giving him a clear view of the interior of her girly room only to suffer a migraine from all of the things she had inside.

 _"Wait... Is she actually crying or it's just my eyes being rotten? And it's not them i could say, it's her. Why should i feel bad for her, I'm alone on this stupid holiday as well. On second thought these jerks made holes in my house and who knows when they'll burn it down. Having two Apostles, a teasing jailbait with a fixation on yaoi doujinshi, a professor and a hot rival girl isn't quite the normal bunch."_

He sighed heavily about what he was planning to do - he wasn't fully devoid of positive emotions or compassion even if he had ice for a heart. And it was sure to bite him in the ass in the long term process of dealing with people. Pushing back away from the window, placing the curtains back in their previous orderly position he went straight to the wardrobe to take out something to wear as it was cold outside.

Dressing as quickly as possible with the moves of the greatest stripper in the world,Kiyoshi from Prison School, he was fully clothed with the black trench coat and jeans he wore yesterday, called forth his boots to his hand with a small scale transference spell and was finally ready to make a move unnoticed. He would do the one thing he and Sona did when needed - to jump out of the window like an idiot would as going through the door was a bother with the now intoxicated guests, better leave them in one place instead of destroying the whole city in their wild shenanigans.

XXX

 _"Seriously,sometimes i hate myself so much for doing this shit."_

He was already outside the house and straight on the street. It was all snowy with the nearby trees sprinkled with a white luminance from all of the snow that had fell these days,creating a beautiful scenery of ice and snow with white and the streetlights bathing the whole area in a magnificent portrait of a cold winter night. The trees looked like marvelous sculptures of nature with an emphasis on beauty and sheer effervescence as the cold winter wind blew them, animating the frozen sculptures of wood in various gentle twitches of tree branches moving like a maestro leading a new year orchestra of a cold breeze,called a sad winter song of ice and snow with icicles from the rooftop accompanying them in a exuberant symphony of December.  
The black asphalt was now an icy skate ring for kids to play with the snowmen, fighting with snowballs and other stuff kids did when the winter season came. Only to bring back his memories of his childhood with his father playing with him in the snow. Issei could feel his ice starting to warm up from these cherished,sentimental memories of his previous life but had to shove them aside as to save himself from the pain of remembrance. Such was his fate as a victim of the circumstances, Fate had a bone to pick with him for some reason.

 _"I seriously don't know what i'm doing only that it would end up in regret. So masochistic of me,atleast that Priestess of Thunder girl isn't around to kill my joy of peace and quiet. But they did anyway..."_

With a slight cough from the freezing air he went further down the road with the destination of the Shidou Residence in mind. It was just a minute away but he had to be careful not to slip on the ice and break a leg as that would be quite the bitch to regenerate, he didn't want to ruin the boots he wore for a reason. Even though he didn't want to do anything with Irina,he carried a small paper bag on a whim within his grip - it didn't look anything special or specifically designed to house a present, more so looked mundane and something he would use for groceries than for a gift wrapper. It's what he found for a better lack of trying to make it something special as he wasn't used to give presents to others.

The act of being given one was nothing more than an obligation from the opposing party to return the favor or lest feel uncomfortable with having given nothing as a payment to the giver's several hours of shopping for goods spree. And he was finally at the door.

 _"Well, there's nothing else left for me to do but go back home and kill my depression with a lot of alcohol. Works at times i guess. I seriously have problems if I'm going out of my way for this girl. Never mind that, Merry Christmas Shidou!"_

Kneeling down on the rug before her door with a delicate adjustment of his feet not to wrinkle his favorite pair of boots,he slapped the paper bag containing a black box with a red ribbon holding it's contents from spilling out. He had no idea which colors were suitable for the casing as he had no prior experience with this ordeal if it had to be made clear. What was more surprising was the card attached to it; it had the shape of a snowman with a message, written in the ugliest handwriting the world had yet to offer. Even MonBlanc had better writing than the dragon despite being a surgeon, known for his terrible signature and prescription drugs leaflets with almost indecipherable scripture of words and etc.

"Done. My job here is done- time to play some eroge to ease my mind from stress. Ah, such a bother! " with eyes rolling up in a tired expression and additional creepiness in his face as his lips stretched in a ugly progression of weird to borderline disgusting, further twisting in a defective smile bringing him pain.

And as luck was not on his side these two days,he had to trip on the staircase and off he went into the snow before the veranda. Creating a ruckus loud enough for the owner of the house to go down the stairs in order to check what had transpired. Irina went through the stairs fast paced with almost tripping and bruising her ankle before having reached the door as common sense in anime dictated this doctrine of the piggy back ride to the infirmary or house by the love interest.

She managed to reach the doorknob in a strained attempt in almost tripping down on it but finalized her goal in checking out the coast - and she was outside before the entrance of her house with eyes glued to the paper bag with a snowman card attached to handles.

"What's this? " picking up the bag only to analyze it's contents, she brought out the box with a red ribbon to open it. "It can't be,could it?" she was left speechless. Within her palm dangled a finely crafted silver cross on a thick chain of the same metal as well as a small heart shaped medallion with a compartment slot for two pictures to be inserted in. Both items were made from high quality silver and specifically picked to cater to her preferences; the cross was simple yet so beautiful in her eyes but the medallion warmed her heart much more than the first article. Enough to make her shed a tear as it was the first present she received this Christmas, her father had bought her the same necklace when she was little only to lose it in a barely successful mission a few years ago. It was the exact same necklace she cherished so much as a memento from her father...

Her heart was set ablaze by memories of her father, her eyes were now drowning in tears over the gift she received when she didn't expect anything for this day. Tears fell down on the silver cross as she couldn't contain her joy any longer, through her sobbing voice she told herself it was his doing; the ugly handwriting proved this theory as a testament to his nice guy quality. Because only he had such atrocious handwriting with her the only one being able to read as both knew well how they wrote and in what style they formed their signatures.

 _Meanwhile..._

Issei was walking down the other side of the road not so far away from her house with a light smile on his face but still kept his distant look through the dead fish lenses he called eyes. Left arm inside his pocket to fetch a lighter from within his coat,the right hand of his held a limited edition Dunhill Christmas Blue pack with a cigarette poking through it's paper case with reindeers and a snowman, ready to be picked up and enjoyed as a stress relieving habit of a smoker.

Issei moved his hand over to his mouth, snatching the poking one with his teeth snapping the menthol capsule inside the filter and went for the lighter in his left to ignite the ever so charming tobacco before having to go home after this quick stroll, alone with his thoughts. It was what he needed the most- freedom.

 _"I guess it's not so bad this year. Could've been a lot worse with that mailman destroying my house by accident. Again! As they say - fuck you and have a great day! Merry Christmas."_ strangely he felt the need to laugh over the stupidity of his life. He didn't celebrate Christmas.

"Wait! Wait! " a loud voice echoed from behind his back, so he turned around before even having a chance to light up his cigarette to his chagrin.

Irina caught up to him. The first thing he noticed was the lack of a jacket over her white sweater and skirt with black stockings. She had chased after him with no overcoat to protect her from the freezing cold.

"What do you want? Can't you see I'm taking a light stroll around the block? " was his natural reply over being disturbed by not being able to get a breather. He still held the box with a cigarette in his mouth, making his speech sound weird to Irina.

"Nothing... I just wanted to say something. "

He gave a blank face as a response to her small inquiry, there wasn't anything else to say other than cough."Well, Merry Christmas Shidou. Have fun." he sighed heavily with the burden of being caught in the act. He wanted his deed to remain unnoticed but so far for subtlety.

Irina didn't stand still anymore. Behind her hands was a small present she bought before they met yesterday by some dumb luck, she was holding onto it with her feelings poured into giving it to him. Coming closer and closer until she was in his private space only to make a foul: she coughed from the cold as in her hurry she forgot to bring a jacket with her.

"Aaah", he groaned and began to disrobe himself off his jacket only to slap it on her shoulders,"Happy now?" his frown could offput any individual on the face of the earth into a miserable state of confusion and negativity.

"There is just one more thing... " snow began to fall in large chunks above them. The streetlights glistened with a yellowish luster, bathing the snow with unparalleled brilliance in the form of a forgotten fairy tale from his childhood. He was still holding his lighter and removed the tobacco roll as to say something.

"What?!" through closed eyes and arms raised on his chest he blurted out his mood killer move with some slight irritation backing his voice.

"This..." before he could open his eyes she closed the distance between them. With a large blush on her cheeks she raised herself up to match his height on her toes. She wrapped her hands around his neck and pressed herself closer to his body while still shivering from embarrassment. He dropped his lighter and cigarette. And their lips met in one kiss of passion under the starry sky...

Issei snapped momentarily but it was already too late- he could no longer resist the girl he once loved with all of his memories of their summer together sparked something deeply repressed from within the core of his soul. And he let go of everything for this one moment...

XXX


	13. Act 12

Act.12 Sake & Brandy Alexander Part 1

20th August, Chikuzen province, Forest of Dead Leaves, Basement 22:07 pm

No one knew what was happening as a matter of fact. It was just 4 minutes since Issei had been separated from the duo of Xuelan and Ravel,with both having fulfilled their respective roles in the course of the plan. The whole ceiling of the building was demolished from the sheer impact of Issei's fall throughout the last storey to the dark basement at the lowest level, smithereens and dust settled in as a form of a smokescreen while he regained his composure but was still shivering from the shock.

And much more shocked was the wounded Rook who's eyes widened in disbelief; she had faith in his ability and was prepared to die for her friend but for him to crash through and save her unadvertedly was a different matter. One could say it was nothing more than a sheer coincidence if those really happened.

The angels were crushed and thrown at random with some of them suffering great wounds and others fled as they saw the visage of the defeated Vali. They couldn't match this monstrosity in any way possible but they would die either way; be it by his or Kokabiel's hand.

 **"Those of you who are forced to fight against your will...leave. But if you stay... Then you'll regret it."** after the smokescreen faded out of the scene, Issei released his grip on Vali and gently placed her on the side pillar of the basement while directing his gaze at the Fallen who remained next to Valper. They fled as they couldn't even dare fight him anymore,there was no reason to die in such a meaningless way.

But of course he expected this much from them. Valper Gallilei smirked with joy and excitement over the reappearance of the this target of the Church's authority. " Oh, so who might be this silly avenger? Oh, yes... The Red Dragon Emperor. I didn't expect you to beat that girl so easily but it doesn't matter. Your friend is dead by now." he chuckled with a ligh voice as he gripped his Excalibur up to his face and slowly moved a step ahead. " You see... I don't like it how people like you get what they want while others like us don't. Don't you think it's unfair? "

" It is. But i don't care now. " Issei took a look at his surroundings and then took out two Desert Eagles, the pair that he payed for anew, with their muzzles directed at the ground and the priest. He shot repeatedly at the Bishop with bullets laced with explosive properties but the Golems protected him head on.

Chunks of rock and dirt were removed by the ricochet of these bullets, their movement was slowed down enough to make a small gap for a throwing knife to pass through them as he used the remainder of his strength to run as fast as he could with both Vali and Xuelan under his arms. He was drained by the little fight they had with the silverish blonde Vali up in the skies, it was technically a tie as neither one did win against the other side aside from both suffering a violent flashback of their pasts. Enough to weaken them both mentally and physically. He was running with everything he had in his legs but was tiring out; the wounds were healed but his sense of dizziness, blurry vision and stress were getting heavy to control as he was barely clinging to the surface of his mind with the dead pulling from within to resurface once again.

 _"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! What to do now. I calculated the risk and such but i can't use the bombs yet. Phenex could be inside the building as far as i could tell."_

He had passed through the basement and headed over to the outside of the building at the opposite direction with the goal to run towards the forest and hide. It was a dark corridor ahead of him,only pitch black was the color he saw before his eyes; he had enough to make a flame illuminate the road he was on and he kept going forward. Until he reached a dead end with bricks. It couldn't be there,it was never there from the start... It didn't feel like magic nor like an illusion so what was it exactly he didn't quite know.

Blasts of holy light entered the corridor like razor sharp crescents flew through the small space, swirling and spinning like a boomerang would with the target being Issei. "FUCK!" a loud roar escaped from the back of his throat; it was painful and wretched. The crescent slash had cleaved into his back with it taking the brunt of the hit. It burned his flesh a bit as he was only 3% Devil so he was highly tolerant to it unlike normal Devils with only the pain and slowed down regeneration taking any effect. Xuelan felt the radiance pass through her body like a raging storm,further damaging her already semi healed wounds.

"It's not fun if you run away, is it now?...Dragon-san?" slowly with the dreadful clatter of shoes on the black and dusty marbled floor, the Bishop Valper calmly spoke in a relaxed tone with his Excalibur held on his shoulders. Only peace and a boring expression of disinterest glowed through his horn rimmed glasses as the golems walked besides him in rows.

"I was expecting more of a struggle from you as well, Vali. You should have brought some of your buddies at the Khaos Brigade to do the work as you're quite incompetent... " he touched his mustache and moved his fingers over it, " It's you who let that priest get away, wasn't it? Well, it doesn't matter. I still have a surprise for you. "

Bringing the sword down to his legs,Valper smiled and switched the aura of Blood Excalibur to Destruction with a single tap on the pommel. The sword changed accordingly in the form of a large three pronged sword with an axe guard. He held it with one arm despite it's weight and designation as a 3 handed sword as if it were a simple stick with black slashes of destructive energy flying over towards the running away Issei. They were nothing like before- they were magnified in size and were mixed with a reddish tint of blood.

Issei couldn't escape now as he had reset to his base stats, his stamina and energy were consumed for the most with only his body moving in pain and still suffering from the insanity he was battling against. There was no time to think of a plan in this narrow space, his hands were occupied with holding two wounded combatants and if he slipped under,he would probably kill the people he held in his hands and wouldn't realize it.

 **[Current host of Ddraig, as it pains me to admit it... I require your help. Do as i say and we would have a chance of getting through this alive...Somehow...]**  
Albion spoke directly through the Divine Dividing to Issei with his voice of power enforced by the World.

Through Issei's mind flashed and idea; crazy. Most definitely crazy and probably stupid but it could work as Vali had regained enough consciousness to finally move but her leg was broken so she couldn't even stand. Before the shockwaves of chaotic matter reached them, with a push of his willpower he used **[BOOST],** and then within the same span of time switched to **[TRANSFER]** to use on the current host of the English Dragon with the words, "Go for it. Divide!"

The energy spread throughout Vali's body as a torrent of power reached to her Sacred Gear in manifesting it with renewed vigor. From her back the ethereal energy wings of the White Dragon blazed through the surface, Issei stopped in the last moment and rotated the arm he held Vali in to have her use her Divide on the incoming projectiles. It was surely an unheard tactic - to boost enough so it could be used to divide the energy coming at them in a begrudging union of those opposing elements.

The incoming attack was halved in it's pattern,splitting into tiny ribbons of energy with their course switched to shatter through the walls in order to create a large enough hole to pass through. It was his original goal; to somehow make an opening and try to escape. "* What's happening with Phenex. She should have escaped by this time now so i could blow this place up in the air. No sign yet. *"

 _ **["*Issei, watch out for Kiba... He's not in his right up the building. Now! I repeat, he's gone berserk.*"]**_ through his communicator he heard the words of Ravel to activate the planted explosives and get out of there as soon as possible. But she didn't mention her location in the hurry as her communicator just stopped receiving any signal.

 _"Easier said than done. I'm carrying dead weight so don't expect me to go for it so easily."_

With his pained movement he snuck through the hole on the left, connecting to a large spacious room filled with the research of Kokabiel on potential Sacred Gear hosts and weapons. It was a poorly illuminated room with dust and various remains of corpses, from previous experiments most likely. He was still feeling pain from the earlier attacks he took head on as the wounds were healing slower compared to his usual regeneration speed. If one thing was certain, it would be the possibility of getting submerged again and the past possessors rampaging with his body through the semi-constant Juggernaut Drive and would surely kill everything in the room, including Xuelan.

"Come out,come out wherever you are,little devil boy? Honestly, that Raynare was so incompetent on dealing with a simple human. Can you believe it?" the fat priest was walking slowly towards the end of the corridor with such amusement and disillusionment at the same time,making it hard to understand what was on his face exactly. But Golems weren't beings to question or think about such matters as trivial as these.

Issei was ready to use a custom teleportation circle he had crafted onto his suit's colar beforehand but the activation sequence was extremely wrong and botched; there was another layer present to prevent uninhibited teleportation and movement off the island and one could enter but not get out. It was the one thing preventing him from giving Xuelan the command to blow up the building as well as Ravel's current location unknown.

"Huang Chen, Phoenix Tears! Quick! " Issei bellowed to Xuelan to grab the remaining bottle of the magic elixir she had on her person to use as it was more than clear they had to make their way through the Golems by fighting. Issei didn't take any of the potions provided by the generous Phenex girl as they would be damaged by his brutal fighting style so he had the black haired Rook carry all of them.

Xuelan slid her fingers across a hidden compartment slot in her suit and handed him two small black canisters of the said potion with bitting off the caps of each to make the ingestion easier. Her eyes twitched when he gulped down half of the bottle with leaving her the other one to use.

Time was running out... Within seconds the fatass priest would be here with his full arsenal to counter them and he had yet to secure Ravel Phenex from her exact location as she was most likely struggling with keeping the shivering Devil in one place. "White Dragon girl, just this once! Fight with us and I'll give you the fight you wanted so much. It's a deal!" he roared in a pained growl of power all the while goading Vali to assist him.

With half of the bottle used up,Xuelan didn't have time for her approval as she jammed the bottle in her mouth before Vali could even realize what was happening from the adrenaline rush. It was a gamble they were willing to take - she could betray them or actually help them in surviving this madness. The prize he offered her was more than enough to motivate her to fight back, she was a battle maniac for a reason.

Issei dropped them gently on the ground as placing glass on a table of cards. His wounds were almost healed up to the normal state, the added bonus of having a resistance to Excalibur Destruction was surely to be of great use against the threat the holy blade posed. Xuelan was back on her feet fully rejuvenated and armed with her bladed tonfas in each hand in a defensive stance, relying on her durability as a Rook to stave off the advancing Golems. Vali removed her damaged bolero with a light swung of her left arm to the right while her broken knee was fully recovered even with just half of the regenerative potion as most of her stamina was back to normal.

XXX

20th August, Chikuzen province, Forest of Dead Leaves, 22:03 pm

"You filthy Angel! To think a mere servant could push me back so much when i have the original Excalibur!" Kokabiel shrieked in the enraged voice of the eldritch abomination he was with it's monstrous pressure rebounding through the vacuum his blade produced. The Fallen Cadre was being pushed back despite his best attempts to finish off the Major, he was not even tired of the assault of the multiple Excalibur clones being hurled at him every second.

Castor swung his daggers forward in the direction of the filthy Angel while having planned a possible escape route all the while. The swing of his daggers created a rift in space, it's holy properties were augmented by tapping into the ley lines of the island directly to deliver a brutal X shaped wave at Kokabiel's sword arm.

Before the impact could take place, Kokabiel erected a barrier of Excaliburs in a circular construct to shield himself from the incoming blast. The usurper of Excalibur proved his mastery with the holy relic despite being linked with it for less than 10 minutes, surpassing any previous wielder but King Arthur who had mastered it's secrets fully.

Matter versus shield collided against each other, ripping large chunks from the soil beneath their feet. Craters were being made by their ongoing strife, the whole battlefield was being morphed by the sheer tenacity both displayed in their combat style. The air was burning around them in white flames of radiance as his shield blocked the energy based attack with ease, it was getting harder to see in the blinding light it had made from the counter of two similar elements. But it was just enough to place his bet on that.

Castor was already upon the Cadre with both daggers aimed at his eyes to blind him. It was within the fraction of a second; in the last moment before his blades could connect the hit, an Excalibur Rapidly flew up to his face to parry the left knife while it wasn't so fast to stop the momentum of the other weapon with the result - Kokabiel's right eye was damaged beyond repair.

It was all a faint - Castor Zeble brought his right foot towards his face with a boot knife extending from it's sole while using the distraction he created a nanosecond ago. His blade ran against the skin of his neck,slashing an artery before being thrown off and barraged with Excalibur Destruction clones to act as a decoy while Kokabiel could pause for a second to stop the bleeding.

The Destruction blades ran amok with no accurate direction to aim for, be it due to their hastily deployment or due to the reaction speed he had deployed to dismantle each one of them but not without suffering damage to his white wings as Destruction was beyond their capacity to stop it's attack in it's tracks.

"You are good! I haven't had so much fun since ages." the bloodshot eyed Angel of the Stars could not contain his joy any longer than this. His face was painted with blood from his damaged right eye but there was still life in it, judging by the disgusting twitch it made. " You must be some new child of the Heavens, i have never seen you till this day, young Angel!" an audible laugh of irony and ridicule escaped from his twisted in a ugly smile mouth.

"Not an Angel. They didn't do anything to save them!" and Castor unleashed a multitude of fiery orbs of dark flames with the smell of brimstone emanating from each consecutive projectile. They were being knit from thin air, combusting and growing in size with each second before their initiation.

It wasn't the abandoned building they were by- a new landscape of the greatest blackness with it's crushing vastness was laid before the eye of Kokabiel. No buildings or life were present inside this closed off area of utter hopelessness, a place within reality and as well so distant from it's systems and reach. Time didn't exist as a concept in the shroud of darkness... It was beyond an artificial reality or another dimension... Nothing. There was nothing in there...but FEAR itself.

Kokabiel gasped in awe and fear by the beauty of each swirling with power flame.Terror gripped his every fibe,screaming for him to run away but he could not. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever witnessed in his milenia old existence; those were the ethereal, metaphysical flames of Gevurah, The Sephirah of Severity. And he was there no more... A silhouette of power and scorching heat was there in a humanoid shape with nothing but flames and a red hand were present. Something beyond logic and understanding, above all comprehension and any system to maintain the material world from causing a rift to the other side... Those flames did not burn within the frames of reality, they were burning through the soul and The flames associated with the Hand of God, the left hand of red which took shape on Castor's corresponding limb,ready to unleash the power with a name he was known for; not just the Unstoppable Soldier but...

"There is no need for you to reveal yourself to this false Angel. You should keep that for the final battle, my friend." Azazel was already there behind Castor. It was unexplained how he appeared on the field or if he had watched the whole skirmish from the sidelines. It didn't matter anymore - he was here for a reason.

"As you wish. I'll let you handle it then." Castor's voice struck a chord in Kokabiel's ears as the Fallen opened his remaining eye to only see there was no darkness or flames. Like it hadn't existed, an elaborate illusion perhaps but so real it was beyond any doubt it was terrifying to the marrow of his bones.

"So it seems your little game is over, false Angel. To think you would cause another war just to fulfill your ego, isn't that stupid? It ends here,Kokabiel. " Azazel had instantly turned towards the treacherous Fallen with his famed steel like gaze while maintaining the feeling of carelessness as his hands were lax and crossed over his chest with nothing to do but wait.

"You filthy traitor! How dare you call me a false Fallen? If anything", Kokabiel's anger spiked to optimal levels with multiple Excaliburs raised over his wings as projectiles, brimming with the power of Rapidly to enhance his speed and agility against the Governor. Nothing in his wretched tone was saying that he would give it up like that," you're the traitor who destroyed our pride and dignity! Haven't you had enough already? "

"For some great tactician you don't even know anything, do you now? Such a pity..." Azazel's voice sounded a bit off. It didn't feel like normal to Kokabiel as he had known Azazel since long ago, it was something unexplainable in the back of his head. Like it was something else entirely.

" **YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE**!" charging straight with every blade he had created, Kokabiel flew upwards with directing the swords to act as arrows to rain upon the fool who dared question his authority and pride. Sword after sword began to fall with incredible speed at Azazel's direction, not stopping even for a second in their trajectory to gut and pinn down the First Cadre on the ground.

"Stand back, my friend. Let him have his fun while he can." with a strange motion of his fingers, Azazel pushed away Castor to a safe distance away from the target zone. An elemental shield wrapped around the African soldier and pushed him back to protect him from the blades of the Artificial Sacred Gear of Kokabiel.

Large flashes of light spread throughout out the whole forest; it became day for a single moment before night returned to it's rightful place in the next. It was dusty, the wind created from the aerodynamics of the clone blades had cleaved the ground in two - rock,soil, trees and every unfortunate critter was split into tiny pieces, hard enough to recognize what they were before the attack. And it was what he wanted to do,even Kokabiel knew Azazel couldn't withstand so much of an concentrated attack of an original Excalibur and on top it was a hundred of them that destroyed half the forest in one swing.

"It certainly does sting a little. It would be a pity to destroy it but I'll have to live without it." It was impossible, so impossible for the raven haired Fallen to hear his voice given his knowledge of Azazel's capabilities. It was surely by some trick again as he always knew he was a coward like no other.

From the dust arrived Azazel. But what was frightening about it was the fact of having his whole body stabbed with blades and not having used his wings at all to try to counter them. No blood was present when it should have been there as every Fallen bled like any other human being or Devil would. The earth was cracked across it's surface on hundreds of chunks around.

"Nice toy but not enough to kill me." he extended his hand, riddled with swords, towards the holy blade deep within his skull to remove it. A tight grip was pressed onto the handle of gold, twitching and swerving as he pulled it out of his face only to give him a whimsical smile."And that's the difference between an Original Being, a True Fallen. If you only knew, I'm sure you'd feel terrible about yourself." the rest of the duplicate swords of Rapidly were telekinetically removed from his body and fell of on the ground with no energy left in them. There was no blood,the gaps within the body closed spontaneously like some of the highest thaumaturgy spells possible. The miracle of Rejection...

Kokabiel could never forgive him this insult concerning his origins as he knew better than the hated Azazel. A barrage of black Nightmare scimitars were fired like a machine gun with their conjurer holding Ruler and a Rapidly to teleport and accelerate to the point of being nothing but a simple blur to the naked eye. Azazel continued to walk calmly against the volley of Nightmares as they had no effect on his mental state - he had conquered his fear of being alone in the dark forever and now they were nothing but mere sticks to poke at his thoughts. He even grabbed one just to mess around with the one eyed adversary.

Azazel moved upon instinct with only four wings revealed as he considered him worthy of such a number. He lifted the Nightmare copy above his head and with a gust of air became a blurry shadow, similar to Issei's visual and audio distortion ability only black in color. He moved to intercept the headed his way with matching speed while Castor was observing their fight with a loaded handgun for something he was instructed to do. Due to Excalibur Ruler's ability to tear holes in the fabric of reality due to it's Control ability, both were sucked up inside the vortex that formed with some of it spilling out on the material plane.

The two signatures clashed with similar but opposite forces- it was hard to keep track of their movements with a normal person's eyes as their fight was brought into the metaphysical realm of concepts. Within that vortex was their skirmish for dominance with both powers matching up to each other; Kokabiel began to mix his light spears with the properties of Ruler to subjugate his former leader as well as to summon a few guardian hounds to devour Azazel. From within the space behind him were three pentagrams and through these gaps came into being three hounds of black fur and red eyes with the sigil of Ruler over their foreheads.

The giant hounds jumped straight for his shoulders, their jaws extended towards his muscles with the command to tear instilled in them by the power of Ruler. Kokabiel moved in behind them to land a blow to his heart, but the hounds he sent crashed back at him with each one having a broken neck. Their blood sprayed the face of the red eyed lunatic with a warm,fuzzy feeling better yet undisclosed.

"Is that all you've got, Azazel! You can't beat me even with your regeneration speed - i just have to throw you out of here into the Dimensional Gap and it would be all over." he was laughing in such a disgusting way, only expected from an arrogant man who didn't care for his subordinates at all. He kicked the hounds by the side and stopped for a second in midair if a sky existed on the metaphysical plane.

"You didn't know, did you? All those years ago you made Raynare fall and twisted her personality until she became like this,you sent her to kill the boy,right?. As expected of someone who can't bear the presence of the Heavenly Dragons. " Azazel made a remark, tying it back to the Second Faction War where Kokabiel's pride was so much damaged as the Welsh Dragon tore 3 sets of wings from his back. Something he would never let go of until the dawn of time.

Kokabiel began to throw the spears he had made after the first one with such anger it would make the nicest person ever to cower in fear over his menacing glare. "Tell me something Azazel" he began with his melodical voice of power, "Why did you do it? We could have won! And what's with that damn ring you are wearing non stop for 19 years?!" he roared in irritation with his leader.

"But first... Do you know what my name really means?" Azazel created a strong enough barrier to contain the subjugation of his being by the aura of Ruler. A few more pentagrams layed over the main one while he directed this innocent and yet so stupid question.

"Who has any time in dabbling over names,only fame and power are of matter to me. You're weaker than us even with that unnatural modification you performed on yourself!" instead, this time he personally drove his blades into his shield with enough pressure to crack it had enough resistance to divert his attack from being lethal.

"Then i shall tell you. It means for _removal_ ", pulling out a feather from one of his wings, Azazel pushed back from the barrier to a safe distance before he could continue, " It means something non-existent as well as the ritual of the scapegoat. You are a worthy adversary to bear witness to the truth you have been spared of. Then i shall show you who i really am." and his eyes glowed violet...

The nonexistent sound of a male goat burst into the ears of Kokabiel, bringing terror and death to his senses. No sound existed within the core of the metaphysical plane of existence yet he could hear it loud and clear with the song of the desert singing symphonies of the dead... The song of Death..

Eight more wings of darkness spread throughout his back with a shockwave that shattered all of his opponent's armament, stunning him long enough for the ritual to begin.

Azazel placed the feather before his eyes in what appeared to be a mundane gesture,only for his wings to glow darker than anything the world had seen. From within that feather a myriad of chains appeared around his whole body, bathing him in tainted ichor more vile than any sin of man could commit. A giant transmutation circle formed below his feet and many more around his body as the darkness dispersed into oblivion...

Twelve wings of splendor were revealed before the world as each chain was broken down into nothingness. The darkness retracted back into the form of a black armor surrounding his lower body and shoulders. Armor black and horned as the skull of the goat,with black Aramaic and Enochian scriptures glowing onto his arms and chest in the language of the Angels. And on top of Azazel's head was the skull of a male goat with the inverse pentagram on it's forehand, framing his face with two horns of white. The goat chosen for removal to die in the desert by God's will through the choice of the Israelites.

Extending his gaze towards Kokabiel, the words of truth he uttered were -  
 **"** **And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.** **"**

Chains of black bones spread throughout the surface of Kokabiel's body, rattling and screeching in every human tongue,both dead and living with the scream of the goat piercing through his soul to the core, **"I am the True Azazel of this world, the sacrificial goat of the desert. I am the Angel who taught humanity the crafts of weapon and beauty and the witchcraft of the mages. And you shall be the sacrifice for removal! The goat for Azazel!** **"**

His mind was in shambles; any higher reasoning was demolished with leaving only the primal instinct to survive driving Kokabiel to flee in terror. Whatever was left of his pride was now in vestiges,no words but screams were being retched out of his existence as the knowledge of dying was deeply engraved into his core,lobotomizing him beyond any recovery with the instinct to run and run before his eyes could see as he didn't even pay any attention to his missing left arm. It was the last thought he could ever make before escaping this plane of existence to the real world where Castor was waiting for him.

Kokabiel ran towards him mindlessly screaming as he only saw the burning with dark flames silhouette and it's red left arm stretched out towards him...

"May God judge you for the sins you have committed and grant you salvation. Rest in peace, wicked Angel." and with the pull of the trigger ended his life...

"Well that wraps things up. Shall we go home and have a drink,Major Zeble?" coming out of the rift in his laid back nature, Azazel dusted his jacket from any speck of dirt before closing in on the dead Star of Heaven.It was like nothing had transpired at all,it was that impression that Azazel made to the African man. Without a second to spare he asked,"Arthur couldn't arrive neither the Doctor. What exactly happened? "

"He had an unexpected surgery to perform and sir Mason wasn't feeling well. It's been quite bad for him these days,he shouldn't strain himself much." Castor's eyes were locked to the ground. Azazel could feel a deep sense of uneasiness and worry from the African Major, the way he averted his gaze and his grim tone unlike his usual gentle voice was more than enough to make him believe there was something wrong with the Irish swordsman.Something really wrong…

Castor lifted his head after a few moments of self reflection.What he was going to ask made him a bit concious of himself, "Would you mind- he began only to be interrupted by the Governor of the Fallen.

"On the contrary. Be my guest", courteously giving permission to devour him, Azazel had no intention of this to go to waste as the power of a Cadre could aid them directly in the approaching Apocalypse if should they fail. And Castor did what was necessary of him.

After having finished with his feeding,Castor could not contain his curiousity over the thing Azazel had done – to reveal his real identity like if the World recognized him and tried to remove him by sending him back to the other side?

"Was it necessary? Seemed like an overkill to me."

"Don't worry,I believe he was worthy enough to hear the truth…" Azazel looked over his onyx ring with a melancholy glimmer in his ring was something really important to him,it was the German who crafted it to let him freely roam in his own was the thing that fooled the system in believing he was still bound in Dudael.

"So what do his memories have in them? I say we have work to do left."

"I'll tell you on the way.."

And more so because of the ability Castor was granted twenty years ago when he was just a 15 year old boy. It had the side effect of granting the memories of the devoured which was quite useful - it was the alternative way to get the location if Vali didn't do her part.

And it's name was the same as his family - meaning the _**Harvest**_ in one of the African dialects. Granting him the title of …..

XXX

20th August, Chikuzen province, Forest of Dead Leaves, Basement, 22:10 pm

Issei and company were struggling against the small army of Golems despite their best efforts to make a run for it. Even with their rejuvenated bodies due to the Phoenix Tears, the mental strain on their minds was debilitating with each second ticking away in the clock of time. It was especially hard for Issei as he was holding out barely with the voices in his head whispering and screaming for the blood of the wicked priest and much more of everything that lived in this abandoned building of death.

"I'm wondering if you were so powerful how did you end up dying to a mere Fallen,boy?" Valper was continuing to watch their struggle with the Golems as his mouth curled into a pensive smile. He was right but he clearly didn't know of anything else about the boy nor the curse that depowered his body and mind. If it were not for it,he could have used his magic skills to kill her but for the curse taking away all of his natural reserves and blocking any of his magic from happening.

Issei didn't pay him any attention as he was busy with chipping away the rock armor of one of the Golems with his strained hands. He slid his clawed arms inside the crack he made only for the Golem to generate two hands and tackle him to the ground. But it was a fact that Issei had managed to locate it's core but it was not one but two,which constantly moved around it's body and even if he disintegrated them fully - they would knit back in existence as he had to manually erase the E from EMETH to deactivate them.

Vali was crazed by the possibility of battling such enemies to test her might against as they constantly reassembled their forms until she had the luck to rip out one of the two cores,the real one and destroy the E thus deactivating it.

 _"More of these things are coming. They don't have any end, do they. Fuck,if only we could detonate the bombs it would go well. But i don't know if Phenex could survive it even if she's a regenerator."_

Issei and Xuelan were glued back to back, acting as a guard for the other. It wasn't something strange for him to do - back in the forest in Argentina he had to fight with Sona acting as his partner in the same manner with each other covering the blind spots of one another. It was a memory he immediately recounted on the basis of being under the same circumstances as before. Vali was more of a loose canon and wasn't particularly interested in team play with them as of the moment.

"Sorry for being so late...Detonate the bombs on my mark. I'll think of something to get her."

While Vali was busy with dealing with a heap of Golems, Issei rotated around Xuelan's side with a rapid swing of his right arm and twisted his punch in a unnatural manner against the head of a Golem, sending it flying backwards. Xuelan zipped to the other side, her bladed tonfas were being used as batons to chip the eyes of a rock giant with a succession of rapid strikes. Then Issei rattled his arms to bring out a few daggers from the remainder of his sleeves to throw on the ground, grabbed the Rook by the forearms and jumped upwards with the ground shattering from his momentum - midair he released the blue eyed martial artist from his left hand and cracked a finger. It was a trigger, relying on sound to activate the trap he had learned from Arthur; the Golems were immobilized by threads of blood red energy and a combustion followed as they were falling through the ground.

Vali was gaining footing against the running priest, crossing the distance within the blink of an eye and ran her fist across the Bishop's face, slamming him hard against the wall. The recoil of her jab was enough to surprise him, he wasn't fast enough to utilize Rapidly to enhance his reaction speed thus crashing into the wall of the room head first.

Issei descended towards the end of the room with the Chinese girl in tow,grabbed her princess style to make it easier for running and prepared to make a run for it past the remaining Golems. He didn't pay attention to Vali as he placed all of his strength into his legs to escape, but not before having used _Presence Concealment_ to avoid being sensed by whatever was left inside this citadel.

Like an arrow he passed through the corridor and dived in straight for the basement floor and stopped for a second to use a scanning spell to find out Ravel's location. He couldn't do that as he was required to stay still and focus for it to work. He saw the lumped off arm of the young Devil by the side and went to retrieve it, if he was dead might atleast have him buried in one piece he thought.

His scars were burning with an intense scorching heat under his clothes, which meant something was above them. Be it Ravel or some other supernatural being so he had to be careful with how to proceed but he didn't have much time for that so he dropped Xuelan on the ground. Focusing his energy into a giant Dragon Shot of unrestrained magic power,he raised his hand up to the ceiling and commanded it to pierce through the cement, opening a large whole big enough to pass. Grabbing Xuelan and pushing her closer to his body,he dug his legs into the cement to perform a giant leap for a second, destroying the floor in the process until he was at the third storey of the building.

"Let's look around and fast. " through his strained voice he wheezed a simple command as he removed his hands of the black haired Rook and took a moment to relax and catch his breath.

It was another corridor with multiple rooms to search for, only that he relied on his scars to pinpoint the exact location of this aura. It seemed quite familiar as it was the exact same aura generated by the members of the Phenex Family which meant it was Ravel for sure. With no time to lose, both combatants ran towards the door, with a mighty kick the former Rook of Riser Phenex brought down the metal obstruction called a door. Giving them free passage to look around and see what was happening...

Only to spot the young blonde girl beaten and kicked to the side while her regeneration was working to repair the damage she had been subjected to,most likely by Kiba's hand if her earlier statement was to be true. And Yuuto Kiba was nowhere in sight as of god knows when.

Xuelan ran towards the unconscious Ravel Phenex, almost tumbling in her attempt to reach her as soon as possible. With her knuckles tightened in fury, she knelt down to her dear friend who was suffering most likely and wrapped her damaged arms around the slender figure of her former owner's sister in a motherly embrace. She was so careful to lift her up as if she was fragile as glass and one wrong move could have caused her pain. A truly emotional scene for the eyes and the heart but was unceremoniously interrupted by the blunt edge of Issei's voice.

"We gotta move if you don't mind! " extending his left arm to summon the Boosted Gear gauntlet in mere seconds, Issei closed his eyes to focus on calling forth his Scale Mail Balance Breaker only for it to turn on him in this critical moment. Yet he wasn't feeling like he had lost his powers due to the curse as he summoned a magic formula just to be sure he could use magic.

"I'm working on it!" Xuelan was a bit irritated no doubt as she still felt pain from the Excalibur swords even with her healed wounds but he was right. There was no time to waste so extended her Devil wings to make a jump down from the window with Ravel in her hands.

 _" It seems these wings would get useful. Finally something to do with them."_

Since he couldn't risk submerging again as it happened earlier, even rejuvenated he was experiencing difficulty with focusing so these wings would surely benefit as he had never used them for anything, he would never let it pass by that he became someone's bitch by being reincarnated into a member of the Devil race. Still ends justify the means so he instinctively spread out his altered Devil wings with black scales and spikes and prepared to dash through the window as a bullet through a sheet of paper.

"You ready for this? Detonate on my mark." he came closer to the window, it was framed with steel bars to prevent any prisoner the chance of escape but it was no problem for him to slide his hands across it, push his strength over them and rip off the whole window in one swing to make a large hole, big enough for a person to pass through and moved back to make space for the martial artist to go first as she was carrying Ravel in her arms.

Xuelan handed him the detonator as she turned around to face him and only give a slight glance at his wings before jumping down from the window. Issei was in possession of the device as he came closer to the window and thought to himself as he was ready to jump, _"As they say - you gotta go with a bang! I'll just say he died and we were to late to save the pretty boy_ _._ _"_ and jumped down with pressing the detonator as his wings brought him away from the building.

XXX

"Oh my, so this is what it means to get thrown under the bus. In this case a burning house of bricks." from the burning remains of the building sprang forth Valper Gallilei, holding his Blood Excalibur and the Original Excalibur in each hand - in the last moment he stripped Kokabiel of his blade as he deemed him unworthy of using his creation, his dream in such a meaningless way.

Everything was in ruins,there wasn't much left of the building aside from a wall or two if they could be called in that way. The grass was burning around the place with embers and cracking noise spreading out through the whole forest; calmly walking amongst the rubble was the Genocide Bishop all in tatters and blood covered from head to toe. But it wasn't human- even with Rapidly he couldn't have escaped it on time,neither Ruler would have had any effect as he couldn't combine it in time with his magic circle. It was something far more sinister than it was let to believe.

"Ah,such an exciting day it was. That fool should be dead by now but who cares. I've got everything i need plus something more", a wicked smile grew on his blackened face when he looked at both Excaliburs with a gentle look as if he was treating them as beloved pets. Pets that could kill Devils with ease to top.

Suddenly the blood over his face began to revert into a deep red cloth of blood and metal. Part of his own blood rushed straight towards his right hand where he held Blood Excalibur in a tight grip,the sword produced two vine like constructs in order to gulp down the flowing blood. It was because of this that he survived; he had converted himself into blood and hid inside the blade to survive while his body was damaged by the explosion but he still used it as he was bound to it because of a certain procedure. From the blood was formed a knight's armor,black pauldrons and sabatons solidified upon contact with the air. A bloodied long cape came running down over his shoulders to frame his now strengthened physique. And what was most striking was it's similarity to the very own suit of King Arthur wore, only twisted and modified to the tastes of the old Bishop. It was within the memories of the weapon reforged over it's first user, thus granting experience to the newest user slowly with time.

"Now let's get it crackin', I've got heretics and Devils to hunt. Giovanni would be pleased with this work plus I'd get rid of the annoying Dragon Emperor and sooner or later that damn Lucca." he cackled aloud to himself as Golems ruptured through the ground and surrounded him in rows, " I'd even retrieve my beloved prototype. Can you see me now,Shidou? " he wouldn't dare forget about the very same bastard who ruined his life's work 5 years ago in Germany. The one who took away his prototype from him.

He didn't really need Irina; if he did have any use for her,he wouldn't have left her back in the church in Kuoh. It was just to get his frustration over her and nothing else- she would come by her own volition either way as it was her task to dispose of him and the sword. And he would catch up with his first iteration as well as his soon to be complete masterpiece.

" _Shhhh,no sound. Only dreams now_." was something he felt the need to say as he switched his Original Excalibur into the elaborate scimitar of bones Excalibur Nightmare.  
And on his neck,being protected by the sides of his cape glowed a peculiar strange tattoo with black sigils of Aramaic and Enochian scripture. It was unreadable to almost any supernatural creature other than an Original Being or one who could understand the inhuman language of the Angels. But given it's nature as a dead language, long forgotten by the World it would amount to zero. It was much more of a brand that a single tattoo...

XXX

A few minutes after the explosion, Forest of Dead Leaves, 22:10 pm

Issei was trying to relax from the built up stress before he would head out towards the city and back home. They had hid inside the deepest part of the forest to recuperate and formulate a plan to get away or find Kiba. Issei knew that the old man wasn't so easily to just die and leave things as they may be. And yet he had the feeling of this being connected to a bigger plan, concerning with it tying to the beginning of the Apocalypse as well as the strange feeling his scars produced over the presence of the Bishop.

 _"That feeling was most definitely familiar. It's like that time at the church - 19 days ago... Freed Sellzen... The Brand of Dominion. That's how he was able to wield the damn blade with ease! Now we should escape for sure if it's that. But why do i feel conflicted over letting pretty boy here. Fuck,i don't get paid enough for this shit!"_

"She's regained consciousness! Come over, quick!" the exalted voice of Xuelan struck straight into his ears, he was caught off guard by her sudden burst of relief over Ravel's waking up. There was no worry or fear in her voice,aside from it being a bit painful for him to turn around as her suit was ripped in a few spots,leaving her skin open and he was trying to be a gentleman towards her. He wasn't still used to others touching him aside if he would beat the shit out them, then it was normal for him to apply contact.

"That's fine. Is she in condition to talk?"

Issei remained in position, not having turned around to see her. With his commanding presence he acted quite cold and blunt towards her as if he was a stone with no feelings. It was who he was when on the job - be it courier services or wiping out drug cartels and of the like. And he busted the cap of his pill case,which miraculously survived the onslaught. He poured a heap of his prescription drugs in his palm and slammed them down his mouth, and snapped his jaws to crush them to gulp them down with some pain.

"She seems so. I want to know everything - you two are keeping secrets from me. From your mysterious assignments to your conversations with Ravel" not minding the circumstances at all, Xuelan felt it was right to know what was really happening and the reason they were so secretive over everything. Her brows creased downwards in a complicated look of curiosity and anger. Her patience was running out, if she was to risk her life she might atleast know for what."So will you tell me or not?"

Issei sighed in annoyance towards her request, she was right but he couldn't involve her in this mayhem. She was someone uninvolved in their field of work, he didn't really trust anyone - he even knew his club members weren't to be unconditionally trusted. He just used their services at time but it wasn't far fetched to say he actually enjoyed their company at times.

"Fine. But once you know what I'll tell you", he took a deep breath to use **Regenerate:Clothing** to fix his suit,placed his hood over his face and just then turned cold with utmost conviction, "There's no going back from 'll suffer for being around me,everyone does.I don't wish to involve you but if this is your choice", he turned around her meekly, " we're fighting a war for the survival of humanity and the world as it is of now..."

"He just suddenly... Woke up and...attacked me. He was restless... He was like possessed, he should be dead but something is still keeping him alive." Ravel finally began to speak, she actually wheezed rather than speak as she slowly rose up back on her feet with her body automatically returning her to her previous state. Her face flickered with life, her senses returned to their adequate function and she was already in top shape. While her brother had a greater regeneration speed,she had more vitality and reaction speed in comparison.

"So are we going to save his ass before that spoiled alpha bitch princess arrives. She's probably here, given her high and mighty persona. There's no way she'll stay put, is there? " Issei raised his shoulders a bit in a dismissive manner - he knew Rias hated being left out and nothing going according to her plans the most. He would have preferred if there were no unnecessary figures in his plan but it was calculated as well what part she would play.

"And we're not the only ones around here..." he suddenly lowered his voice to a minimum; he had sensed two signatures that had spiked exponentially during his flight and just as they unraveled themselves to the world - faded away from his senses. Though he could recognize atleast one of them with accuracy - _"That idiot teacher! Unleashing the ability of a Sephirot when unnecessary is something to avoid. Who am i to judge? I go around like an idiot,saving people's asses while shortening my life span. I hope I'll have more time to find out the truth... Then I'll die with no regrets..."_

Within the beginning of the forest were heard various noises, ranging from the almost silent night breeze to the advancing tremors of something going through the forest. It was unsettling, this dreadful atmosphere surrounding his senses in a unbreakable cage to get away from. The darkness, the contemptuous sensation of being watched was creeping upon every thought of his own if not the voices whispering to him seductive promises of every kind just to let them get out and do something. And it was a full moon; but it's light couldn't reach the premises of the deepest spot of this forest. A place especially favorite to be chosen to act as the final resting place of suicidal people, for it's sheer magnificence of alluring oblivion and eternal peace. Where no one would even look for them or so they thought.

He tensed up immediately by sensing the slightest presence of magic being used; the first thing to do was to slide down his hands towards both of his steel toe boots and from within a small pouch on each end of his suit clasped 5 throwing knives between his fingers. Momentarily moving in front of Xuelan and Ravel, he took a battle ready stance and pointed each blade towards the other side of the tree encased space. His preferences were towards balanced knives. He even flexed his wrists by throwing two of them just in case, which caused a slight shimmer in the darkness as if a shield had blocked them. Both straight edge projectiles fell to the ground miserably but he didn't have any time for bullshit as he tucked his blades back into his biceps straps and charged straight ahead with a side hook prepared in tow with his fixed gloves just before the barrier could be restored again.

His metal weighted glove was about to deliver a brutal punch with a overwhelming pressure created by it's simple movement, Issei pushed further ahead with a slight bend which was a feint and switched to his left arm to deliver a merciless uppercut right at the center of the barrier point - the result was a knocked out Akeno Himejima.

Her arms were shaken by the impact, enough to fall down on her rear with her body then slamming into the meager grass that grew in that same spot. Her fall produced a slight echo, in turn spreading out to the corners of the suicide moved back and renewed his stance with two Dragon Shot orbs fully charged behind his back - in his reaction speed he had taken his stance,not even recognizing who it might be for a second until his scars sent a psionic signal to his senses that it was an ally...sort of.

Akeno stepped up with a quick jump under the cover of her renewed elemental shield but the very primal force that drove her made her feel insignificant and terrified of this messenger of Death. And the Shadow again emerged from within her mind causing her to freeze in one place out of fear...

Ravel ignited a small amount of flame around Issei as she quickly went to his right side to act as vanguard with her fellow Rook to the right. Through the flickering light that illuminated the space around them,each party recognized the other but still held their guard up as it could be nothing but an illusion caused by the negative energy of the souls that lurked inside this wretched hell hole.

"Issei? It's you, right? " the buxom Queen of Gremory extended her arm with a small lightning dagger between her fingers,the other hand was swirling with electricity as she would not dare be fooled by her eyes. Behind her arrived the one and only Rias Gremory, by her side stood Koneko and a bit behind of them was Irina Shidou with a pair of light blades crossed in a X formation.

"No kidding." he couldn't help but make a dismissive smirk at a stupid question of this magnitude. He still held his hands up prepared but something in him was saying they were who they are.

 _" As expected of you. Couldn't you just sit on your ass and back off? Well it's as calculated - she really is an idiot... "_ and placed his hand over his forehead in the facepalm manner.

Ravel extinguished her flame not to arouse any more attention, not that it would matter as the cover the trees provided was quite thick to be exact but still did so. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion towards the Gremory Heiress, "How did you exactly found us out here in the woods?" she was right about it. Ravel believed she couldn't have done that - as to call her mother in order to follow her signature all the way to one of the four main islands of Japan just for this.

"I asked for help...", begrudgingly Rias said in a low voice as if she was feeling guilty over this. To ask for help was quite extraordinary, coming from one who took everything for granted and only thought she could do anything as long as she had her high and mighty get-go. "I contacted Lady Phenex as soon as i could. She tracked your signature all up to this island. Even your brother came over to rescue his little sister." she felt more meek and lousy by the minute over stating this fact.

Guilty. It was that on first sight...

 _"The hell?! I seriously don't like this girl- thank goodness Issei won against my brother!"_

Ravel made a "God why" look with both of her arms around her drilltails and the most striking part of it was her beyond belief annoyance towards the ex- fiancé of her brother Riser. It was no secret she wasn't so attached to the Gremory girl but still would have had some respect towards her if not for the air of superiority Rias had like she was the best.

And true to her word, Riser Phenex had arrived despite his chronic depression after losing the match against her peerage. Deeply scarred, mentally fragile and beyond a doubt scared of dragons,the man had to overcome this mental barrier all for the sake of his beloved sister even if it meant facing Death and looking into it's eyes. The sense of duty overrode the sense of fear in a time of crisis, it was wire framed into every being to stand up to their fears in order to protect those whom they loved despite the crippling sensation of the unknown coursing through their veins.

Riser Phenex was standing at the back of the group, clad in a suit of his own making with eyes rolling forth and back just to avoid his gaze from locking with his. The man was traumatized, humiliated no doubt but had enough mettle to aid his sister even if she was taken away from him. Through shakily steps,Riser Phenex came fort and ran straight to Ravel as Issei understood what was needed - he immediately backed off to a appropriate distance to give the siblings some space.

"How much I've been worried about you! Don't you dare damage your beautiful face,big brother is here! I'll keep you safe from everything." the usually stoic heir was suddenly reverted to an emotional crybaby over his sister's wellbeing. He wrapped around his strong arms around her waist and was probably about to crush her in his "delicate" embrace. Ravel was going to be crushed by his clinginginess as she rotated her neck towards Issei with the most disturbing look, screaming for help.

Xuelan noticed his presence and bowed down with respect towards her former master as he was kind enough to give her a shelter over her head; even if she was free now,she still felt some pain over leaving the stupid handsome as she called him but she withheld it in. Now was not a time for emotional encounters, so she rose up to her feet and stood proud with the fortitude of a battle hardened soldier.

"If everyone is done with the drama, can we just go fuckin save the pretty boy and go home. I don't get paid enough for this shit." Issei just had to unleash his inner bitch to make them start taking the situation seriously. Honestly he was just annoyed by all of this talking just as much as to wave off every attempt for someone to say something. He didn't care about it. It was not his job to save anyone but he took it personally to fulfill the revenge of the blonde Prince Charming, he might have learned something from everything that had transpired.

 _"Honestly, these people are annoying. I just can't wait to get these things out of my body and bid farewell to everything with this. But then i wouldn't have any way to keep that nun close under my watch neither Phenex unless i remove her pieces as well. I'll just have to bear with it a little longer..."_

Koneko was already with a frown for a while but his words made her squirm with contempt for the indifference he had expressed about her dear friend. _"What does he know about Kiba? Nothing... "_

Just enough to raise her arms up, clench her fists and teeth in anger. And move in to smack the dragon.

Only by Akeno's timely intervention an unfavorable situation was avoided between both sides from breaking out like a fire. She knew he cared about other's wellbeing and happiness and it was just his harsh,blunt way to express his thoughts. She had experienced it firsthand so she tried to smooth over the problem by acting as the Devil's Advocate before they were at each other's neck- everyone would have died if such a development was allowed.

"It pains me to admit it", through a blunt sadistic glare to both sides she meddled in this case, "There's a chance he's alive so let's get going. We're a **team**!" placing emphasis on the last word.

"Fine by me." he turned around with a dumb gesture, ignoring Irina's presence as she always brought bad memories from the past. "But we're not a team - we never were from the start so don't add me up to your quo." he bit back as ferocious as a lioness would at this innocent lie. They were nothing but a bunch of people he disliked and would rather avoid, random cogs crammed together in a clock with no correspondence to the compatibility. Just some random people and nothing else.

"I hear something coming from the skies at rapid speed. And noises coming from the city below." closing his eyes to focus - he could discern the exact nature of the noise spreading through the air. Pained, terrified to death screams of agony were rushing through his ears as a drum. Their erratic shrieks were being suppressed, smoke was being blown everywhere in large gusts of air like a tornado was occurring. An aura he knew well; he knew this malicious presence like the back of his hand. The signature, intensity and power were matching to a Dragon. A berserk, outraged beyond recognition dragon with the thirst for blood and carnage was over the forest in one dash towards the city to devour it's prey uninhibited. It was a Bahamut to be precise... The worst kind of Bahamut there was out there in the big,wide world. A King Bahamut...

XXX

20th August, Chikuzen province, Munakata, 22:10 pm

Once a normal city, Munakata was flipped upside down in just a simple manner of a distraction - from a peaceful night in the city center it went straight to hell by the appearance of a whole army of Golems. Everything was engulfed by the chaos that ensued - Buildings were being destroyed, the very ground was being demolished by the march of the stone giants. Fires burst out in every corner of the city,no place was safe from their grasp. The sky flashed with red tongues of fire and smoke,it was Hell on earth. Children, the elderly; anything that moved was being splattered into red mist and intestines were being splashed over the windows, streets and light bodies in a macabre painting of a Edgar Allan Poe masterpiece. The howl of terror took grip over the city in the least amount of time.

And what was incoming was more terrifying than the giants of dirt... The air vibrated violently in the wake of a black pair of gigantic wings, propelling the monstrosity they belonged to - It's very presence equaled to a inescapable omen of disaster. Power. It was power in fact as the breath of the Bahamut razed the ground, leveling buildings with the dirt in seconds. It's tenacity and bloodlust were incomparable to any other dragon that lived on this planet as it's wings brought it down to the bloodstained asphalt in it's blood frenzy. The dragon flew between the apartments, crashing through the concrete and glass in a volley of fire as it began to chase after the humans who were running away from the pursuing Golems of Gallilei. Extending it's vile jaws, the King Bahamut ensnared a flock of humans as a hungry wolf tearing apart the unfortunate cattle that was in it's way. It whipped it's armored neck upwards in a throwing manner, opened it's littered with hundreds of razor sharp jaws to the sky in a python like manner and snapped. From within it's maw poked a few hands and guts with blood simmered the rubble with a sea of red. The shockwave produced by it's biting strength caused an earthquake, further wiping out another part of the city.

It's power wasn't on the level of a Heavenly Dragon but it's relentless pursuit,ferocity and tenacity were more than enough to stall off a normal dragon. Bahamut dragons had the fame of performing cannibalism amongst their own kind and other dragon races,earning them the name of Dragon Slayer as they had killed much more than any other phantasmal being from the current generation. It's special delicacy was humans of all ages and gender,their blood was intoxicating beyond any comprehension which drove them further to pursue.

It was by some power that what was happening was left unknown to Heaven nor Hell. Before it could have continued with it's killing spree, a hail of swirling orbs of red matter exploded upon contact with it's eyes, blinding it for a mere second before it released another shriek of madness upon the world only to be scorched by unparalleled heat from over the distance of twenty meters.

The white eyed Bahamut flexed it's wings and slammed it's tail against the surface to create more tremors and smokescreen to distract it's pursuer. With the strength of a Titan, it dug all four limbs into the asphalt with another mindless roar and then jumped up high with wings extending and sustaining flight. Once having recovered vision, before it's eyes stood an armored being of red with a series of Dragon Shot orbs fully charged and loaded. Issei knew he could only fight against it and drive it away somehow without releasing the full power of his Sephirot or the Juggernaut Drive taking over to kill it. For the manifestation of the Sephirah had profound effects over the fabric of reality and were used as a last resort when it was beyond any hope of survival.

Both Dragons had a crazed glare directed at each other - the Bahamut had just marked him as it's desert while Issei felt rage like never before.  
The city would not survive this clash of abominations, nothing would be left if he didn't make it follow him over to the sea which was quite an easy task as once the black dragon had marked it's prey,it would pursue it until it was in it's ghastly jaws.

Issei didn't waste any time to make it chase him; with a swift flick of his clawed gauntlet he sent each orb swirling against the eyes of the dragon, each orb dispersed into tiny ribbons that were altered into beams of energy straight into the soft tissue of it's visual organs, scorching it's scales and coloring it's eyes in red. The King Bahamut was enraged as it released another roar that could be heard over the whole island. And it broke free after the explosion only to give chase after the fleeing Red Dragon Emperor with unstoppable vigor.

Issei was constantly changing the trajectory of his flight pattern to avoid it's snapping jaws in midair, he had to fly with a lower speed to make it chase only him otherwise if he switched to the speed of sound - it would attack another city from above. So he stretched out the normal wings that came in the packet with the Scale Mail Balance Breaker. And within two minutes they were over the Sea of Japan, far away from civilization to minimize any more damage from being caused.

 _"It's good enough here. I've should have used magic from the beginning."_

Issei instantaneously whiplashed both hands before the Bahamut charged it's fire breath, he was drawing a hastily made magic formula with both principles of Bind and Sever. Two pentagrams layed over each other in a flick, the sigils and runes were being interchanged within both circles to form a new Princicle - the Latin scripture emerged on the edges of the circle as two smaller layers began to knit from the resonance of the two compatible spells. It was the strongest 4th tier spell as upper tier spells required more time and certain conditions must be met.

Issei flew towards the Bahamut in a calculated manner, the cannibal dragon lashed out like a cobra with it's jaws going for the kill and to make sure it's desert was nice and crispy, unleashed a stream of toxic flames in front of it's direction. It was the famed breath of their kind that could melt down scales like acid, it was being flung straight ahead as a shotgun pellet.

Issei broke free from it's attack with a quick spin in the opposite side and switched to outmaneuvering it's trajectory but even with his speed suffered 3rd degree burns on his left arm and side. The armor he had was dented and chipped with raw skin,yellowish-white ooze was seeping from his left side as the toxins were beginning to infect his body slowly but his heightened nature was fighting off the malady with remarkable speed by the time the Scale Mail repaired the dealt damage. Like a flash of light, he circled under the Bahamut as he moved faster than it could react. He dug his clawed gauntlets into it's stomach and continued to move as a bolt of lighting with each circle encasing it's gigantic limbs in a connected stream of bindings despite the inertial jerk of his damaged arm. He was bypassing the friction of air to do it with some difficulty as his mind was having trouble in coping with the feedback he was receiving from the initial slip into his inner world, he was barely clinging to the surface with just enough mentality to form a plan on instinct much more than on logic, it was drilled into him by multiple near death scenarios so he could handle it better than anyone he knew.

The seals tore into it's limbs and wings,suspending it in midair motionless. Many more sprouted from the main ones in the form of chains, sealing it's movement enough for Issei to prepare another attack to destroy Bahamut was having difficulty with breaking free from the bindings, it's mindless mentality could now only perceive a distorted visage of the Red Dragon Emperor as a reddish black shadow with no discernable shape and appearance. It was just a matter of time before Bahamut would break free from it's constraints, each second ticking away was crucial in killing it in one go. But it wasn't as easy as it appeared to be.

The King Bahamut was struggling like ghe crazed monstrosity it was by nature; the effects of the 4th tier spell were beginning to fade slowly as the chains rattled and unraveled under the pressure of it's muscular body and it's serrated spine chipping away the bindings. Blood dripped from the places where it was bound like a river but it didn't seem to have a profound effect on it's performance overall, only slightly stopping it's movement.

With the speed of light, Issei summoned his personal magic circle with a dark tint surrounding it, for starters he called forth a phantasmal black pike and a revolver. Grabbing the pike and revolver together in unison and without thinking of the consequences he placed the two objects over his Brand location to do a combination spell with the items. Two phantasmal black hands with eye sockets ruptured through the back plates of the armor, with some pain and miracles he commanded said limbs to clasp together- like a rotating mechanism they morphed into a giant black crossbow with curved blades and two additional appendages with sharp fingers which held the pike, it was morphed into a giant spear like projectile and notched it on the mechanism before taking aim and muttering something.

Within that second he triggered a mental activator with both auxiliary limbs stretching back the ethereal thread to gain momentum while he was aiming for the right eye of the beast; 4 circles layered in front of the crossbow of Emptiness with various elements to pierce through it's organic metal like hide around it's ocular organ. It had broken half of the immobilization seals and was rattling mindlessly to some mixed results.

 _"~Now now, Issei. Your aim is off to the left,let me help you with that"_

Issei panicked by the sound of those words- Raynare was holding his right side with a tight grip and was whispering to his covered by the helmet ear. Her form and voice were flickering between in a violent flashback of macabre phantasms- she was the Shadow and Raynare,both were pulling his limbs with ease to the right with a disgusting giggle. Eyes and no eyes were being revealed and obscured in the darkness constantly, whispers, screams and every sound possible was going through his head the very moment.The world was getiing darker to his eyes,his senses were left in disarray with everything going blank slowly but surely…

 _"~Come on big boy!_ _Shoot_ _!_ _"_ _she gripped his hand into her palms and pushed him a little…_

And it happened...

XXX


	14. act13

Act.13 Calvados & Triple Sec

20th August, Chikuzen province, Forest of Dead Leaves, 22:10 pm

By the sound of the whirlwind produced by the gigantic wings of the Flying over Bahamut, Issei momentarily left whatever conversation they had started and dug his feet into the ground. A short muttering of _"Balance...Breaker"_ ensued as the green glow of the Boosted Gear enveloped his whole body in a flash,each piece materialized over his black suit as a spring mechanism, locking and intersecting each piece to form the marvelous blood red Scale Mail Balance Breaker with the lack of wings.

"Phenex... Please come here." through a weak,feeble voice he invited her to get close to him for some reason unknown.

Ravel did so despite her brother's fears and protests, she crossed over to his side and turned around in such an angle that it wasn't seen what they did or talked about as their conversation was almost non-existent, mute as the silence of the dead. And after a quick nod she left Issei alone and returned to her brother's side.

It was modified by Issei's nature and scars,Rias had noted that it was not the original form of the armor she had seen in her books. The scars were over his back as glowing red lines of scripture as well on the front plate with additional changes to the giant orb that was placed into his chest area. But the most obvious change was the visor of the armor - the bigger horns on the sides of his face were moved to the bridge of the nose as a crown and some smaller details were added to it. In semblance to the Original Being he had devoured, it was much more menacing and dragon like than it was in previous possessors and books.

"Where are you going? You'll need back up to fight that thing. " Rias had to step up and show concern. Her countenance was that of worry and insecurity, her tone sounded a bit distraught and meek as she gave him a compassionate look straight to his eyes despite the fear she had of him.

Issei didn't answer back to her at all,he just straight out ignored her question as if it was nothing but a nuisance.  
Nothing came from his mouth through the faceplate as he turned around and focused harder to produce the normal wings of the armor by ripping out two small pieces of his back plated spine and a pair of red leathery wings stretched out with ooze and torn skin and flapped a bit to get a hang of them.

The maddening roar of the passing over Bahamut was enough to make Riser Phenex go behind his sister in the notion of using her as a body shield of sorts to protect himself from the incoming dragon. It was truly a horrid beast of black and onyx scales but those details couldn't be seen to the rest even with their enhanced sight.

Irina wanted to murmur something out but she immediately stopped when in her mind flew over the visage Issei had not so long, it was something neither of them would forget. It was by some miracle they didn't go crazy and being around him was pure masochism as the boy believed. Her legs were shaking violently when he made a slight turn to reveal his helmet, the last time she saw his face,if it was something to be even named as such, she had actually soiled herself out of fear for her life but it was left unnoticed to him as he left without even giving them a glance.

And Rias shared her sentiment as well - the first time when she revealed herself to him and saw that,she did very much as well soil her lingerie and only her Queen knew about it.

Issei just gave a quick glance at them but there was something more in it that a simple expression - those eyes behind the visor were blunt and narrowed in their message that Xuelan understood due to their weird ability to communicate just with eye movement.

But this time he made his intention clear to everyone - those piercing eyes were saying _"If anyone tries to fight it,they'll die. So back off if you wanna live_ _._ _"_ _,_ especially to Rias Gremory out of all people. Especially to her out of all people.

Xuelan nodded in agreement and before she could even relay the message to those who didn't get it,Issei flew over straight to the city to take on the cannibalistic dragon with no obstructions or anything to get in his way.

"If anything", Akeno began to distract their attention from the problem by pointing out what they came for,"we came here for a reason.

To save Kiba and nothing more." her voice turned stern and authoritative, her very gestures were dictated by concern for the wellbeing of their Knight."Let him be,we don't need him anyway. He's not one of us, don't you remember? " there was animosity present in her tone,it was undeniably animosity towards him.

"Even so... We must do something to help him! I don't want to see anyone die like that!" Irina called out towards the black haired girl on her behavior,  
"don't you care for him? I saw you two the other day walking around the city center", her gentle gaze was scoping Akeno from head to toe with utmost spite as if she was ready to smite her,  
" so what is your relationship with Issei?"

Akeno was a bit dumbfounded by the bullshit she spewed, her serious face switched towards a more suitable to her nature smile of maniacal countenance as she stopped what she was doing only to answer - " What does it concern you, church dog? What gives you the right to ask when you don't even know us or even that ass?" spiteful and sadistic as ever,she began to hurl questions with the speed of a machine gun towards the twin tailed Executor with twisted joy," Just because you heard his name doesn't mean shit to us so just be grateful we let you tag along. It's personal so i won't tell you."

Irina didn't stand idle to this verbal attack; she tightened her grip on her two swords and moved towards Akeno to the shock of the rest. Koneko was going to interfere if she tried to do something only to drop her fists as Irina just wanted to talk.

"Yeah,it 's not my job to ask you what your relationship with him ...given how you treat him as dirt,I'd say he wouldn't really fall in love with people like you." her cheerful nature had left and given space to her more warrior like persona to take the lead, "and just so you know, we're childhood friends. "

"Can we get this going already! We don't have time to dabble into internal strife. The more we talk the less time we have so get a move on it!" Xuelan had to speak up what was on her mind. She found it pointless to speak any further with them as she pulled Ravel to the side and began to walk towards the city. She didn't have any loyalty or reason to assist them, she only assisted Ravel and Issei to some extent as their relationship wasn't clear.

Riser just shrugged in a disgruntled manner and followed after his sister to the Hell the city was transforming in. Only Rias spoke after she had shaken off from the surprise of the Phenex Rook speaking - "You handle the city and we will go search for Yuuto."

Ravel interjected, "Don't do anything stupid. And be careful with Nightmare, that is what I'll tell you." she had the feeling that priest would not stay dead, her intuition was sharp as a razor blade as she was the secondary tactician in the Bloodstained Cross unit and her brother's peerage.

XXX

20th August, Chikuzen province, Munakata, 22:14 pm

"I guess it's time to show these freaks what the Phenex are made of. I don't want my sister getting hurt so I'll beat the shit out of you and get back home", through his authority as royalty, Riser Phenex addressed his message towards the attacking Golems at the center of the city, " i don't want to be around Dragons any longer!"

In response to their charge, the Phenex heir whipped his arms up to his chin and with moving back his left leg to form a stance he learned begrudgingly from the Red Dragon Emperor, created two blades of swirling fire with a dozen of flaming spikes as secondary blades to pass through the dirt and soil in the making of the Golems. He didn't really like to fight on the ground so he closed his eyes for a moment to reveal the burning wings of the legendary phoenix from his back and renewed his glare at them, while waiting for the rock giants to attack.

To his left and right flank were his lost on a gamble pieces - Ravel had summoned her own wings respectively with a chain of flames in imitation of her brother's Living Flame Armor and remained static to act as a sniper. Xuelan was by his right side with a small gap between them, she was wielding her father's bladed tonfas,infused with fire and her suit was repaired beforehand by Issei despite his awkwardness of touching others. And both didn't have their masks on as their enemies were going to die anyway, their whole family was being targeted so it was pointless to conceal themselves.

"It's just like the old times,stupid brother. Feels like nothing has changed with you 's not like i care what happens with you, you know." the younger Phenex sibling made a slight teasing snicker at her brother while she was aiming her projectiles like a true sniper would. Her face didn't show anything else other than her annoyed expression but deep down she was actually scared about it.

"You seem to be in good health, Master Phenex. But you're still an ass for betting us on a gamble like some packs of consumable goods." Xuelan made a snide remark as she lifted her tonfas in front of her face in a crossed manner, her tone wasn't one of a happy girl in the presence of her former master. If anything - she'd kick his ass if they survived this mission. "If you only brought the others, it would have been preferable to fight in these circumstances! " her voice spiked exponentially over this small miscalculation.

The Golems were going one after another in rows rather slow compared to their usual speed, giving time for Ravel to close one eye and began to unload her swirling chain of fire on the principle of a automatic firearm at their direction. Her flames connected with the firbfof giants, hardening and making their soil and rock infused bits to crumble and drop to the ground while her brother and friend remained on stand by.

Riser watched in awe how much his sister's battle style had morphed to something unusual, she didn't like combat much but it was there. The sense of duty could turn even the weakest human into a unstoppable beast to protect their families and what they cherished the most. Her attacks were faster and much more potent than when she was in his peerage, the way she handled herself was similar to the discipline of a human soldier which brought Riser Phenex to acknowledge how much the time she spent with the usurper of his fiancee had made her stronger, even if it was just 5 days at maximum.

"Who said i came here alone? I maybe a flamboyant, pompous gentleman but im not stupid as to fight alone when i have someone to help me." Riser answered her question with a humble and benevolent tone which made the Chinese martial artist break down in shock from his visible change. It was impossible - Riser wasn't nice nor someone who respected others. The world was surely going to explode.

After he finished with his short reply,12 circles of fire burned through the space with such a glistening light that it was unnoticeable as the whole area was bathed in flames with not even a speck left intact. It was the cavalry, the whole peerage of Riser Phenex had teleported to this direction on command.

"As a King should show an example" sidestepping to the right which then turned to a sprint until he flew midair, Riser Phenex extended his flaming swords beyond his body with vigor to decapitate two Golems by aiming for the weak spot in their making - they had soft soil in between to be able to move and by heating it up,it crumbled. "It's to fight with his people on the front line!"

Each girl roared in a battle cry and the battle against the Golems began ...

Riser threw himself back as the fist of a Golem almost ripped his head dodge me made left him off-balance and the next moment he zipped to the other side of the Golem with his flaming swords morphing into fists to improve his striking position as he delivered a straight punch right into it's back. The hastily made attack tore through it's armored shell and almost crushed it's main core but for a slight miscalculation he did not succeed in damaging the _E_ letter, as it spun faster than before and threw him into the air.

Using the momentum of the throw to extend his wings in a shield like manner, the blonde haired male commanded each spike to ensnare the limbs of the Golem, spun around in a flaming tornado and brought his hand up before driving it straight down towards it's chest area. This time it made an opening for Marion to intercept and slice through the faux core and the real one in a singular motion, destroying the letter that gave it life and it shattered into a cluster of rocks and soil.

On the other side of the center, Bürent sidestepped to the left while pulling her right foot into a butterfly kick to decapitate a Golem's head for Karlamine to lunge her dagger down it's neck and retch out it's armored parts by the cost of her blade. The unraveled core tried to migrate towards it's right shoulder only for Isabela to rip it out in that second to crush it into pieces but the stone puppet brought it's arm around her and slammed her away while it tackled Karlamine and began to crush her in it's cold tried to move back but met it's solid right foot straight to the face, throwing her off balance and with a heavy swing shoved it's foot into her stomach.

Only by Siris's intervention did they survive - having dashed towards the fallen Ni, she brought down her black sword into it's core on the ground before it could transfer it's functions to the back up one.

The twin chainsaw wielding girls were having difficulty in disarming their opponents until the flurry of slashing black steel sliced through the front plate of it's guard. Xuelan rained down an endless hail of kicks straight to it's limbs as she accidentally hit the core, hidden in the upper thigh of the clay humanoid in an attempt to split it's limbs to make it easier for her teammates to finish it off.

And then, above the destroyed city was the Bomb Queen Yubelluna with her staff above her head. Casting a hundred of her orbs fully charged, she flung them down as black rain towards the army of clay by signaling her underlings to step back or perish in her aerial onslaught. She would never forgive nor forget the terror the wretched,one of a kind Pawn of Gremory dealt her, never to mend her psyche from the shock of seeing something so vile and abominable which left her with nightmares every single night. In those Golems she saw his visage, those disgusting forming and un-forming eyes and mouths which further made her spawn bombs to keep it away from her as much as possible, thus destroying more of the city in the process.

Without taking her eyes off the approaching squadron,Ravel made a barrier of energy to block their path to the running townsfolk while she flew up to the roof a small flower shop to act as sniping brought out a few metal orbs of the size of an almond in her left palm and ignited them. Those orbs were made from Issei's blood - as a Dragon's blood had both the properties of healing and being toxic, depending on the hormonal changes in situations. Adrenaline had the property of making their blood toxic and acidic, it was proven in history by the bathing of Siegfried in Fafnir's blood which made him stronger or the death of another one who drank from a slain Dragon's blood.

From the tiny orbs, she wove a flurry of toxic flames that could corrode through the stone armor of a clay giant with ease. Using her position to her advantage, she provided cover fire for her friends and inadvertently saved her brother from a surprise attack by blasting through the chest area of two assailants of lightning-fast shots that came down on them were discharged like through a anti-tank riffle with almost no gap in between each consecutive snap of her she managed to lower the number of enemies considerably.

The fight was dragging out longer than expected. Somehow the group of 15 were stalling the automated army as best as they could but it wasn't going to be like that much longer. Unlike the enchanted soldiers of dirt,the Phenex peerage was of flesh and thus would tire and expend their magical reserves while the former would continue to be operational until completely eradicated.

Ravel moved away from the building by the force of her wings propelling her through the burning air, she was maintaining her distance from the ground until the mixture of beastial roars and growls shook the air. It was a peculiar noise coming from the was spreading out like a shockwave through the whole island, secondary waves from the diffraction vibrated with what remained of this burning city. And from the magnified pressure, her wings of fire were extinguished by the cutting edge of the wind blowing her out of the air and she landed on the scorching asphalt. It rattled everyone's mind into a unstoppable fear frenzy, especially Riser who had fallen on his knees from terror...

Much more were coming their way with no stopping them as they clearly outnumbered the weary Devils. Most of them were wounded losing hope of containing the plague like march of their summoner's command. Four of them dashed towards the fallen Ravel before any of her compatriots could reach her as they were being pushed back and surrounded.

Xuelan was the first to break free from the circle by straining her muscles, from the previous skirmish she was slowly getting sluggish and sloppy in her movements despite the Phoenix Tears effects. She was pushing herself to reach before the blades of rock could pin her to the ground, even if she was an regenerator she wouldn't take the risk as a nagging feeling in the back of her head was ringing.

Moments before she reached her,Ravel rolled between their legs and spun her legs up to use one of them as a pushing ramp and allowed her wings to carry her away to a safe in that same moment a slash of black energy with a reddish tint flung at her, in her off balanced rotation the slash passed through her arm with vigor,completing it's objective by almost severing her whole arm but for some luck she avoided the loss of said limb. But it damaged her,slowing down her regeneration speed by a 1/3.

It was to their shock when each Golem revealed an Excalibur duplicate with the properties of Destruction, they rose their swords up and unleashed a wave of Destruction towards the circled peerage.

With a flaming sword in his left hand, Riser interrupted the wave and reciprocated in kind with a chain of fire on his right to deflect as much as possible the damage. Yubelluna summoned as much energy orbs as she could produce to create a second layer of protection to slow it orbs aligned with each other in a honeybee stack, forming a net of individual contact, the shield begun to erode at an alarming rate,it was being stripped of it's elements chunk by chunk to the horror of the two girls. And soon it was going to fall.

"Honestly, it's so easy to destroy them. Just a little bit of Spell Intercept and there you have it.", Azazel had sprung from nowhere, nobody had seen him show up as he just walked into the battle uninvited.

Without paying attention to the incoming energy attack heading straight towards his head, Azazel just moved aside to the left patiently. He took a single step back and cracked his finger, a strange habit he had picked up from the German ever since he freed him from Dudael 19 years ago. He dodged the attack with ease like it was nothing but trash thrown at him - he even had a bored expression over the annoying Golem, if not by this situation but it had to be done.

The Governor of the Fallen clicked his teeth a bit and, moved his index finger towards the barrier of the Phenex and blocked the attack by redirecting it backwards towards it's caster, thus destroying a few of the Golems in the would soon regenerate,so casually walked at Ravel's direction and offered her a hand to stand up.

Xuelan's eyes widened in surprise; like how he knew about it and to dispel such an attack with a simple flick of a finger was beyond mysterious.

" **D,C,O,G,A,A,E,G**!" Azazel made an almost silent chant, it was so hard to hear it as if it wasn't there. It was not registered by the World, a silent spell of the 1st Tier of Magic or even below it. He had directed his attention to a specific Golem in the crowd that surrounded the shocked Phenex peerage. It was so fast as only two seconds had passed and the targeted Golem lost it's balance and fell on the ground, but not before cleaving another one with it's Destruction. It caused disarray amongst their rankings which led to a unit of 4 to attack the casual Governor.

" **A,T,T,L,A,T,C** ", he began again as he switched his position before the strike of a incoming Golem could bisect him in slid behind one of them and tapped it's back only for it to twist around and bring it's sword over him. Yet the other rock soldier parried the strike by shoving it's sword in between, pushed upwards with such strength that it wrestled the Destruction in it's hands and drove it's own blade into it's neck. Then within a second it swirled around it's body and pulled out it's core, only to ram it's blade into it directly. The other Golem fell down inactive.

Azazel turned his head around in a quick glance to the Chinese Rook with his eyes speaking to her- _"get the girl out of here and run. I'll handle the rest."_

It was more than enough to motivate her to take action, Xuelan ran towards her companion and snatched her to a safe distance by hiding behind the on corner of a almost intact building where she prepared herself for another attack. She didn't exchange any words with her as she watched the Fallen leader make waste with the enemy - he was making a route for her teammates to escape by manipulating the rock giants to focus their attention on him only.

"It seems all civilians have evacuated so let's make a run for it." Xuelan focused on the chaos Azazel made, it was a perfect chance to escape and assist Issei but she knew it wouldn't be of any help to him but still wanted to help him. She wasn't going to let her savior die for everyone's sake,it was unacceptable to even let him go alone there.

"You should really run now. Things are about to get **ugly**."

Both girls froze in shock. Their faces stretched in various unexplainable expressions of awe,terror and surprise. This female voice was gentle yet blunt, it startled them to no ends as a pat on Ravel's shoulder made her panicky and the response was to turn around and lunge her spontaneously ignited hand at it's face. Xuelan turned with both tonfas going to it's chest, both attacks were dodged despite the insane speed they were delivered. Only for the girl with silverish blonde hair to move in time to avoid the blow to her head,which would have split her skull in two. The tonfas she blocked with her palms, which bled as she grabbed them on their bladed tips with bare hands.

Both recognized her after having had scrutinized her from head to toe.  
It was Vali, though she looked terrible- her skin was tainted with ash,dirt and dust making her look like she was a risen from the dead corpse. Parts of her clothing were in tatters, she looked much more of being a scarecrow than a human being would possibly look beautiful face was covered in black with only her eyes retaining their oceab blue luster to even recognize her. She was buried under a whole building after all. She had to blast her way through the rubble to get here and that was surely a bitch,an nuisance if you may.

"Why are you here?" both blurted in unison over her timely appearance.

"To fuckin get at him for blowing up a goddamn building over my head! So run", she wasn't in the best mood to waste any time longer on talking. Something in her was telling them she was seriously mad at them and they should leave while they could. "I've got a job to do here,so outta my way!"

Vali touched her neck and used Divide to lower the damage she had suffered to a minimum - whatever wounds or pains she had were removed from body and expelled out of her flesh. Her clothes were ruined but fortunately it was a problem easily remedied - a low level removal spell cleaned her up to the decent human being she somewhat appeared to be. Atleast that was what she tried to be at times but nonetheless she didn't care much for appearances.

"What about the rest? We can't just leave them alone!"

"It's been taken care of,so go before i change my mind!" Vali wasn't in a conversational mood at all. Her disposition spoke much more than her words did- she could always knock them out if they resisted or proved to be a hindrance to her plans.

And both had to agree with her otherwise they would die in mere seconds if she were to proceed with her threat, she would kill them without a second thought on the matter. And it would probably work in her favor to destroy the Red if she wasn't terrified by what he showed her. Still she was going after him no matter what mental trauma she had,he had to die by her hand as the tradition dictated. And they teleported away from the city.

 _"Finally! He's all mine to take. I'm seriously gonna beat his ass straight to the moon for blowing up a building over my head."_

She casually walked in from the corner and spotted Azazel standing in the middle while Golems were slaughtering each other mindlessly without paying him any attention. She even dived straight to him with some complaint over her role being a fodder for the Red Dragon Emperor.

"What took you so long? I've been growing worried with your carelessness, don't you know that." with some casual flare Azazel attested her untimely arrival while he continued to stand motionless and hijack Golems to destroy themselves one at a time. He didn't look so bored,it was more like he didn't have anything to do other than sit around and laze.

"It's not my problem! Where is he? I need to fight him once again!" Vali blasted away the fodder that came towards her with nothing but a flucker of magic at her disposal. If it weren't for her slightly ticked off tone,no one would've recognized she was pissed off by this development." And can't you just blast them already? It's not like you can't do it,so stop wasting time and tell me where he is!"

He responded with a yawn, it was something he didn't feel like doing as it would give out his involvement in the works of the Church so he avoided doing such. And luckily the Phenex peerage would not remember his involvement as he casted a **Memory Eater** spell on them,including Ravel and Xuelan. He was sure Issei would notice he had a hand in this but he would just throw it off as personal, private work of his own than anything more than that.

"Above you, Vali. If you go now, you might catch him while he's at it. I'll handle things here so go. And thanks for agreeing on this."

"Yeah, whatever.", she released a gust of air and focused on calling forth her Sacred Gear. She turned around and materialized Divine Dividing over her bare shoulders, white frames of energy and blue bolts were being compressed and arranged into the iconic Divine Dividing gear as she made a slight rotation of her face to give a quick glance at the Governor.

 _"I could never betray my one and only father, even if it's for the Khaos Brigade. I'll be going now,Azazel."_ and surprisingly she made a thin smile appear on her usually stern face.

Azazel turned around to see her fly away from his vision, going higher and higher with each moment passing by. He could've sworn she appeared to be like a shining star amongst the set ablaze skies of dark blue and fiery red light of carnage. He shifted his attention back to the task but not before thinking to himself with pride - _"I want to be a grandparent someday so get me atleast two grandchildren to take care of. Seriously, that girl is hopeless at the prospect of romance."_

"Time to go home now. It's time to set the plan in motion." through a heartfelt laugh he swung his arm like a sword, creating a seismic shockwave through the lines of moving rock and finished with the fast command of " **S,D,T,C** " which resonated with the wave unleashed in causing a massive self destruction spell over them. It worked nonetheless - like a field of sunflowers they fell on the ground, motionless and shredded into hundreds of pieces of black rock and soil dirtier than the grave itself.

"You just gotta love this system humans made while i was imprisoned. To use the Notarikon for such a simple task is brilliant. Nothing less from the humanity i have tutored.", through a smug,self appreciative look he declared his love for humanity and his role in grooming them into such fine creatures of new.

And he disappeared into nothingness...

XXX

20th August, Above the Sea of Japan, 22:13 pm

It was a large flash that pulsed through the air like a light particle in it's trajectory, everything was engulfed by a blinding luster of black and red with giant waves of water splitting into walls in mere seconds. The air vibrated violently with each wave hitting the shores of the island, tsunamis following up with the waves were flooding the ground. Heaps of water sprinkled the air in various degrees and sizes in a rain like formation, obscuring any sight of what was happening.

And after another second had passed for things to settle down,it was something unexpected that had taken place - the giant pike Issei shot had by a chance missed the eyeball of the King Bahamut, just a few centimeters to connect were needed for it to incapacitate or atleast stun it to win a few minutes more.

Instead, the Bahamut had anticipated the attack just in the nick of time to break loose from it's restraints,twist it's neck fast enough to escape collision with the projectile and summon it's own magic circles to retaliate with a magnified blast of it's own making. Bahamut opened it's riddled with teeth mouth and flew towards Issei with it's charged for a magical barrage tongue,jaws locked in sickening bite with the intention of ripping every sliver of muscle and flesh on his body.

 **"Mommy...eat...don't leave.. Me..kill...Devils..."** he was mumbling incoherent blabber with both hands over his head in chipping off his helmet till it reached to his flesh, he was screaming like insane each word he could say out loud with various mouths growing on the surface of his back in a giant rose of black eyes and reddened from blood petals. His vision, his senses and mind were overwhelmed by the influx of the he was at that stage **-"H-have i..k-killed? Worms in...my flesh...I'm so fucked up...** **"**

His bloodied hands dug into his back to tear out the construction of Emptiness to no avail- they grew larger and more menacing with each tear. From his upper back the Brand crafted six tentacled appendages with muscular blades from the rose like wings were no more,he was falling down from the skies with remarkable speed with no set trajectory. Screams,mutter, crazed giggles erupted from each mouth, whispering and screaming for the blood of the vile Bahamut. It was already there- chasing after him and spitting toxic balls of fire over his tried to fight back by blocking them but it's breath corroded through his tentacles to make it easier to eat him and spice him up a a breath away from swallowing him whole.

And with a swift maneuver of it's armored neck, a stretch of it's jaws and rushed over with closing it's hideous, filled with bacteria maw. And it gulped down what it ate...

A wild shriek hit the air like a sound wall breaking down. A scream of unrestrained madness, garnered with shock and pure hatred sliced through the vast space as it's maddening howl was spreading across the ocean wide. Incoherent, inhuman howls of a enraged Dragon - it's roar ripped the air like a whip with electrons gathering around the neck of the Bahamut as a chain. It was the devastating song of carnage,the aria of destruction known as the mighty roar of the Vanishing Dragon.

Vali changed her stance in midair,crossing her gauntlets in a X shape and spreading her wings out to lock in front of her vision. Her wings flashed in response, activating the chain of electrons to electrocute the Dragon and by unlocking her arms in place. The energy circling through it's neck stunned it's movement enough to make room for her to dash forward at it,crossing the distance in a moment and found herself right at it's face.

She crashed head on over it's face with **Divide** sapping it's power in two. She began to to deliver hits it with her fists non stop, flinging concentrated attacks of demonic energy straight to it's head with vibrating hands before using **Half Dimension** on it to shrink the space it occupied by forming a gravitational cage, crushing it under the weight of her compressed attack slowly and surely. A slightly crazed expression marred her face from behind the faceplate over the loss of her rival. With renewed vigor she continued to bash it's gigantic eye with bloodshot frenzy to blind it - in response it casted it's magic circles to block her onslaught by raising it's magic resistance as compensation for the lost strength. And it broke free from this pressurized cage with some adverse effects such as damaging it's wings a little and slowing down.

That rage fueled delight, however, was replaced with alarm in the next second as Vali noticed the sound of the whirling tail closing in on her. Despite its enormous size, towering over her 12 times, with uncomparable speed lashed it's tail at her before she ducked, dropping just above the surface of the ocean by barely having avoided her head being removed from her torso. She landed on by the use of a stepping circle, the set of copies she made were being layered over the mouthpiece of her Balance Breaker in a formula. She opened her faceplate and fired a light beam in that direction,accompanied by the flight of light blades of white sizzling through the air. The spinning bright spears clashed and rebounded off one another, ringing like bells,completing a gigantic spear of light behind the cover of her particle beam. They were bathed with the properties of Divide to make sure it could weaken it and go for the kill.

It took them head on,creating a brief second of respite that was all the time Vali needed to begin her counter-attack. She flew over the instant Bahamut collided with her attack,her flight pattern over the edge of the ocean blasted off into the air, before she unfurled another flurry of light blades and allowed the wind to carry her into the sky. She was dividing gravity to her favor by manipulating the air current to direct her bolts of light and further weaken it.

"You fuckin bastard! You took my only chance of getting having my rivalry. What the hell am i going to do now that he's dead!" her sheer desperation and rage were making her contemplate on going Juggernaut over it and snatch her rival or atleast his remains and wait for the next incarnation to be born.

Her bolts flew to it's side like homing missiles, connected with light threads and enveloped the Bahamut in a fence of **Divide** , weakening it furthermore and casting **Half Dimension** on it. Still it's head managed to slip past the bindings and threw toxic flames at her direction to which she dodged by sliding to the other side,she found herself in the path of another toxic blast sadly. The only thing she could do was brace for the impact and hope her passive Divide would mitigate the damage dealt.

 **[Dodge it,Vali! Aim for the stomach!]** Albion broke from his silence and instructed her on what to do.

The situation was reversed; their positions were reversed with Vali being pushed back which aggravated her and made her much more vicious than before. She took the brunt of it's toxic breath with her armor being corroded in various places but was still functional to continue with the fight as she snapped her fingers and made the net burst into pikes,impaling the foul beast in various corners of it's resilient it could activate it's resistance.

Something unexpected happened - the King Bahamut was feeling sluggish and roared in pain, it's strained shrieks were screaming of wanting to live like any other living creature would were going to shred it's vocal cords like a broken violin. Shaking like mad,it was trying to regurgitate the contents of it's stomach lest it would die from internal damage on it's organs and inner stomach walls. It's throat bulged beyond it's normal capacity like a balloon about to burst, the snarling intensified exponentially as another growl coming from it's mouth escaped to the world.

It's fanged maw was uplifted despite it's futile attempts to keep it shut and tried to swallow down only to feel pain in it's trachea - with a final exertion of will the fanged cage that represented the teeth of a Bahamut was breached. Leaving an opening for Vali to conjure a big orb of dark energy to hail and suffocate the cannibal.

She zigzagged left and right to avoid it's deadly attack, coming closer and closer as she tried to shorten as much distance as possible. She was so close she could see what was in it's mouth - the chipped off,battered, bathed in toxic chemicals body of what appeared to be Issei was dangling between the rows of teeth making his way out violently by using his tentacled appendages to keep it's mouth open. There it was what outright shocked her - he was stripped of all four limbs,leaving nothing but a simple torso with stumps where hands and legs were supposed to exist. And the most impact it had was his smile; a wretched, distorted in a disgusting grin with nothing but mindless atrocity ripped on his face. He was wearing Freed Sellzen's iconic smile of an angel- because those 19 days ago he had devoured a piece of the human monster's soul and it was manifested onto his being like a mask.

His legs and arms were ripped, parts of his skin were showing with burning marks all over his body with the extra appendages diving down the dragon's throat to fish out his severed impaled it's gums with his extra appendages and they soon dived into it's mouth further. And when it did find them, jumped out at the moment and left Vali with a clear view to shoot. The magic she casted took effect as it traveled through it's throat, damaging any organs that were within it's reach in series of explosions, spiraling the insides of the Bahamut. And it stood there damaged and spitting blood but was still in fighting condition, a threat . A worthy being of having the title of the Cannibal King Dragon, feared amongst other races for it's unrelentless drive and ferocity.

She was going to deliver the final blow but something in her snapped - she couldn't see her rival anywhere. He had disappeared in a heartbeat with no presence of having been there at the beginning. And the Dragon kept coming at her...

XXX

20th August, Chikuzen province, Munakata city outskirts, 1 min later...

Splattering on the ground like a drop of blood, Issei's body began to reattach his separated limbs with scales and fibers,muscles were being reintegrated into the beds. Bones were being reinforced and calcified again in a hasty attempt to readjust and mend the broken skeletal structures. Blood vessels snapped together in place with blood circulation renewing to his cold limbs, giving them a healthier before the layers of skin were being produced, a dense swarm of white worms crawled over his reunited appendages and wiggled between them as they began to produce epidermis and dermis to cover his arms and legs. And to finish the procedure his skin morphed into the scales he usually manifested, thus bringing him into one piece. And he still had the damaged Scale Mail on his body.

But still his mind was nowhere in that body; just miniscule glimpses of what was happening was being fed to him by the connection he had with the extra eyes, coming from his back. He didn't know what was really happening or if anyone was killed by his hand- just the memory of shooting was present mind with the rest being a pitch black he knew - he was called to the ground by Castor as only he could use that signal to out of it. Through a rather forceful method to be exact.

He was running amok with destroying everything in his path, nothing more than a wild animal out of it's leash and into the wild. If it was decided to go with the route of blasting away the whole island - it would do so without even considering the death of millions for a second. Purely driven by the instinctive search for blood and death to bathe in, Issei was running fast towards one singular goal; the source of this ultrasonic high frequency pitch which was causing it to flicker between states of corporeal and nothingness.

Crossing over the distance in a sprint, the Juggernaut controlled man stood before his mentor with a hungry glare as if it was going to drink his blood to the last drop. Yet it had enough clarity to recognize Castor wasn't malicious or meant anything, still he was something for him to try and kill on the go.

"Calm down, my boy. Just stay still and it will be over real soon." it was probably meaningless to try to call him out but he still tried anyway. Castor tried to go with good at it,only for the repugnant monster to lash out at his attempts with it's black jawed muscular blades.

His legs bent as he sunk down on one knee, slinging specially designed daggers with seals to strengthen further the locking mechanism of his undershirt. If it was intact that is.

Jumping straight ahead over the stuck in the ground tentacles, Castor made a flip over his head and locked eyes with the visor of the helmet, brought his right leg in midair while spinning another time with both daggers stabbing an eye on his back. He momentarily went for an axis kick to the right side, pushing him down and restraining the foul beast just for a moment to activate the seals anew and do something he had used before to calm him down. Issei was losing his corporeal form, twitching and phasing between states of solid and nonexistent with his entire concept being dismantled and reformatted each second. Every part of his was present and not present in reality as he slowly began to dissappear into nothingness as the backslash of the Keter Sephirot, it was both **Emptiness** and **Unity** and carried the greatest burden of them all - aside for powering the other 9 Sephira, it was also yet the hardest one to control as it's price was too high and the loss would be devastating.

Castor remained calm but still this ominous sign was stirring up his thoughts like in a blender, shredding them and rearranging constantly into the worst case scenario - the loss of manpower was truly something he wouldn't find being favorable to their cause.

So he summoned 19 overlay circles to drink from the ley lines to power the concept of _Anchor_ ,pushed back his sleeve to us the Harvest on him to repair his Concept and entangled him with vine like protrusions all around his fading body. The seals vibrated with power, enclosing them into a large cocoon of perverse light with each circle creating an impregnable wall, not registered by the World or any of it's auxiliary systems of detection. Inside, he held onto Issei to keep him from slipping away despite the raging Juggernaut fighting off his attempts to contain him. But he like there was no tomorrow.

 **"Thou shallt not falter by thy word of God, for i am a sinner and a saint to be reborn. I am the first and the last,the aleph and thine flesh of a mortal i appease to the World,thou shallt not fall before the End of Time."**

Castor began to recite a personal formula based on a specific combinations of divine vibrations in each syllable as every letter contained power. Words of Power was the scripture he was using over his body - each letter sprawled across his body from head to toe with brilliance, the darkness was being cast aside as he was gaining corporeal form once again but there was a price to be payed for using such a spell. A life,a soul to be devoured for this ritual of the scapegoat.

"Keeping you alive as much as possible matters more than an individual soul." his voice was firm and deep, peering into the vestiges of the insane Issei's mind, " We may not be able to prevent your imminent death but I'll buy you enough time to finish what you started. You cannot die just yet- you have a purpose greater than life."

"SO STAND UP ON YOUR LEGS AND FIGHT IT!" his voice boomed in magnificence with the World somehow acknowledging his prayer in the words of Man who is to be reborn anew.

Castor's arm glowed with golden scripture of unknown, draining and dispersing the effects of the Juggernaut Drive by using the divine flames of Gevurah and by copying Hilda's Anti-Juggernaut Aria to anchor him back to reality by tapping into the power of Malkuth, the Kingdom and final Sephirot as well as his own by paying the price of sacrifice with the devoured Kokabiel and lone Stray's concept and soul. Each Sephirot was linked to another so he was paying the price her song to calm . He had done so before with Hilda being the other one who could save him and destroy him as her personal ability was the weakness of his own state.

The souls of Kokabiel and the Stray were brought out in plain sight in their state of death,for the very reason to be used as a bargain. Fiery chains of dark flames wrapped around the devoured,coiling like snakes around the projections and another one arised from each to connect with his Brand in order to calm him down.

XXX

"Such a tenacious bitch, aren't we?" through her panting and heavy breathing, Vali mustered enough strength to jam an insult towards the wounded dragon with such delight, mixed up with spite and respect for it's fighting spirit. She was at a safe distance and preparing her next attack, her body and mind were both tired to almost complete exhaustion - the use of her Juggernaut Drive and the earlier battles were taking their toll on her mentality and physical performance. If she weren't exhausted, she would have surely ended the fight in it's early stages. But sadly it wasn't that.

The Bahamut was still fighting back with everything it had in it's arsenal, no matter how many times she used Divide over it- it wouldn't surrender and die. Resilience and fortitude - those were synonymous with this draconian race but there was something more to it; after having battled it upclose, the White Dragon girl had the chance of analyzing the strange mark upon it's forehead. It had the bearing of the mark of Excalibur Ruler as well as additional black scripture, surrounding it's crest. That explained why it didn't flee despite the damage it suffered repeatedly, it was controlled beyond a doubt.

It still had the will to snap it's jaws in a mindless flurry with Vali barely dodging the attack by rushing to the right side. Still it triggered another explosive seal over it's head to blast away the Lucifer descendant which she deflected and divided with a bit of difficulty at this moment. Her ears were buzzing, she could hear a ultrasonic high frequency call coming from below which was requesting her presence to silence it forever. And she wasn't the only one who was entranced by this unheard by human ears command.

She dove in straight ahead of it,before it could even register such a deed had occurred. Pushing the limits of her body to fly towards the ground as fast as her mind was telling her,she zigzagged, swerved and dodged any projectiles coming at her direction by the following Bahamut. It was a Dragon followed the signal like any other would do with the intention of finishing it's snack and reclaiming the lost desert back to digest it properly.

 _"It's following us,damn fuck won't stay down when i want it to!"_

 **[** **I** **t's nothing compared to that boy...** **I fear he might prove more than you could handle, Vali.]**

Vali brushed off any words the English Dragon told her as she was preoccupied with running away towards the signal to formulate a use the terrain to her advantage in laying down a trap. Her wings zipped faster and faster to put more distance between them yet they were beginning to degrade as her ability to keep them manifested was growing weaker with each second. It was not a battle of power. She was stronger than it for sure but power wasn't everything to a battle - it had proven it's self capable of outdoing them by pure ferocity and ingrained from experience tactics to push them in a corner. For the second time in her life,Vali felt sheer joy and desperation in a fight and it was twice in one single day,making up for all of this time she had been fighting.

She managed to outrun it by atleast 25 seconds in her current condition,it was all she needed to form a finisher to gun it down over the horizon. Her eyes were searching for a good landing point to stop and take proper aim, her eyes were being drawn towards the ground by a small light, which was coming from the outskirts of the city. She was led back to the previous site and widened in surprise as Castor flew up to her with Angel wings - grabbing her arm and swinging her to face the Bahamut in the distance, he landed back and ran up to Issei.

He was in a somewhat acceptable state, enough to understand what was needed of him to do as his damaged armor fixed back to it's previous form and he dug his hands in the soil to act as a stabilizer. He was already on his knees, crouching and with no wings to cover his back.

"Go for it,soldier! We won't have another chance at this!" he was yelling at her at the .his lungs,making her run to his position to await for the incoming Bahamut.

The African Major retrieved a hidden briefcase he had planted earlier from under the rubble, opened it to reveal it's contents; a special red bullet and a anti-tank riffle. Loading it as fast as he could, within the remainder of time they had left he clasped said firearm and glued it over Issei's back to be absorbed.

The riffle was nonexistent at this point - from his back formed a sleek, long barreled cannon of black and red metal. It was atleast two meters in length with a scope and eyes near the trigger, it's muzzle was of a squarish shape with two vines surrounding it with black thorns and miasma was coming out of it's end. It had Angel runes over it's bevels with glowing gold letters, stretching towards the end where they locked with a pair of red 's arm was on the trigger, his eye was looking through the scope for the exact moment the cannibal would be in shooting range.

"Disengage your armor, girl. And place your hand on the back of this thing." he said through her,not to her as he was adjusting the angle and watching for the direction of the wind. He was so absorbed in it that nothing would have made any impression on him as his concentration was devoted to bringing down the incoming savage. They only had _15 seconds_ before shooting.

Vali stood behind his back with her armor fading back to the compact form of Divine Dividing, leaned over the Major and with her right hand on the back of the gun,it's side to be precise, concentrated her remaining magic through the construct with her wings shining blue like a neutron star.

The construct changed it's details once more- it received a jagged edge over it's muzzle with a bayonet attached, a set of gems riddled it's surface and a dual dragon tail adorned the sides with them wrapping around her arm up to the bare shoulder.

 **[Dragon Booster:** **Divine** **Dividing Ragnarock Cannon]**

The Bahamut was incoming like a unstoppable in it's tracks berserk with nothing but the craving for blood driving it hungrier than before. It's damaged wings were barely holding it in the air yet it flew with such vigor, such tenacity to her enjoyment. The air was being shredded into hundreds of tiny ultrasonic booms,slicing apart the threes and rocks below but not the trio due to the soldier's shield. Blood fell like rain in it's final charge as it was dying but still pressed on to take them with it to the grave.

Vali felt nothing but exuberance and respect for it as a worthy opponent, who placed battle above everything.

 _"1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9...",_ as she was counting the remaining amount of time before shooting, her face slipped into a slasher smile with both ocean blue eyes swarming with life and anticipation as she continued to look over the view. The wind pulled on her hair, forcing her silverish blonde strands to dance in the breeze.

" **10**!" he left a dull response as the last moment passed.

And he pulled the trigger...

It was faster than a heartbeat, there was no concept of time existing between the pull of the trigger and the moment of the bullet flying. It bypassed the gravitational barrier and air friction like cutting through butter - nothing could stop it's set trajectory as it was impossible to dodge, no matter what it took for one to escape collision. Dividing through the air wall,breaking any concepts that could hinder it like the Conservative Mass law, it was something unimaginable with each property devouring space in unison with a vile luster of black and white with tints of red spreading across the sky.

The property of this bullet was something expected and deadly - the toxic blood of a Dragon during it's adrenaline rush and enhanced by a hydrogen tip to maximize the damage it would cause. Within a split second it crossed the distance between the earth and the sky, combusting in midair right before the face of the Bahamut - and it made the hit...

Violent tremors shook the earth like a earthquake, air was being ripped with slashes of pressure raining through each corner of the ocean and land, cracking dirt and causing a tsunami to tower over the islands with it being ready to flood the peninsula to oblivion. It became day for 20 seconds, it was brighter than any day would have been ever. Akin to a solar flare,it was devastating beyond anything to be contained but it stopped - the tsunami,the earthquakes were gone just as they had appeared by the properties of Vali's Dividing, Issei's Emptiness and the Harvest. As well as a mysterious shield over the whole place which took considerable effort and skill to make in such a short period of time.

The corpse fell from the skies at the outskirts... The King Bahamut was dead...

XXX

20th August, Chikuzen province, Forest of Dead Leaves, 22:11 pm

In her eyes, Rias noticed the silhouette of her Knight shimmering faintly between the threes, in one place and then in the opposite side of the group at a safe distance as a chain of appearances and disappearances in repeated sequences. Whenever she turned to the left, he was at her right and skipping to the other side - and then he was out of her field of sight.

Riser and co had left a minute ago,teleporting away from this accursed place to the city where they were fighting by this moment while Rias and her peerage were to look for Kiba, if he was alive still. At most he should have less than a hour or even less without his Sacred Gear.

This mind game was getting at the nerves of the buxom King, her attention was locked on finding where he was right now as she knew this was a trick - she closed her eyes while telling the others not to move and stay quiet. Everything was static in her mind,her senses were in sync with nature as she concentrated on something only she knew - she looked so peaceful and calm,which in turn puzzled her servants and Irina.

It was quiet. Beyond quiet for a place of this magnitude as the resting place of many lost souls was usually infested with their bound souls. The dead hated beyond anything else in the world than to have their peace disrupted by some passerby. The place was haunted no doubt - the melancholy and pain were like streaking paint from over a canvas of utter despair, slowly maddening from the light howls of a long dead man in aberrant grief and regret.

The trees were crooked and hostile like pillars of remembrance with their sinister shapes barely letting out any light inside the pitch black darkness that surrounded them. Only the shine of the moon illuminated their position somewhat in a bleak,distorted like the owls would not dare make a sound in this forgotten by God badlands, as if the devilish child itself made this forest in mockery of God's perceived world of perfection. There was only a broken humm of a scratched off the face of the World, aria of macabre and unknown. The unknown was frightening; it was everywhere and nowhere all around the premises to where the eye could see. And the deathly silence...

It was there…

A slight crunch on the ground alerted everyone to be on their guard - the sinister howling stopped for a singular moment. Koneko moved closer to Akeno carefully, not produce any sound as it might lead to something worse. She placed herself by her back to observe and shield them, Irina took the lead by stepping forward to Rias's place and gripped her blades even stronger than before. Everyone held their breath in anticipation for the worst as they knew it was there to hunt them down.

 _"We..are...not...alone",_ through the faintest whisper she could produce, Irina felt her blood freezing and her senses screaming in fear. Even her feet were shaking from the waiting for something to happen, the darkness was upsetting her mind piece by piece as the sound of steps almost drove her into a frenzy.

And it was not just her who was scared - despite being a Devil,a creature of the night, Akeno could not help but remember the visage of Issei knitting itself in her mind's eye,walking through the vastness of the night like a butterfly of the dead amongst the land of the living. She had seen his abominable side as well a tiny fraction of the other side of him, she always tried to cling to that other side only to fall flat in her expectations - truth be told he was a monster like being and a harbinger of suffering whereever he went. And that side would make her squirm in subconscious fear always.

Rias remained quiet as ever - nothing inside her moved as if she was frozen in time and space,awaiting for the arrival of something specific. Not a sound or even less a command she made,she was just standing there and placing her bets on something they didn't know. And suddenly her eyes opened.

Bolts of destruction rained upon the direction of her gaze, trees were snapped and blown to smithereens from the impact of her disintegrating upon touch orbs. The place flashed with patches of red and black simmering the surroundings as this spot of the damned was being devoured and destroyed by her own power,leaving only her companions unscathed. And she stopped.

The result was obvious - the attack had taken down an imitation of her Knight, slowly dissipating into nothingness as it fell down over the soil like a broken twig of a tree. The spot was ruined, the spirits of the dead were now restless and appearing through each corner and tree remains in slow marches towards the living. Walking, crawling towards any soark of life in their wake until they were piling up in swarms. Each one was in the state they died - hanged,slit throats and gunshots wounds were present over their ghastly souls with the drive to kill.

"Akeno,get us out of here! Now!" Rias screamed an immediate order to her Queen to start the teleportation sequence right away while she erecting barriers all around them.

"As you wish,President."

She raised her right hand and tensed in response.

Under their feet the Gremory crest extended over the grass wide and began to glow red. Only to shatter as the barrier above the place had regenerated to it's full potential, barring them from escaping the ghostly forest through making a speedy jump.

"It's not working! We can't get away from here!" dumbfounded,Akeno's grimace turned sour and fearful. She began to channel her Thunder as a means to protect themselves as souls in these places hated the light of day.

Irina stepped forward with her blades extinguished and brought her arms to her chest, in preparation of praying by invoking the scripture of protection in Latin. Her eyes were directed towards the dead surrounding them, and she began her prayer with no consideration of having Devils by her side or the pain they will feel. It was a small bargain for they would be able to leave the forest intact.

 **[Samuel 22:3-4 my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.]**

Divine light surrounded her very presence as a shield, it was driving them away from her and back into the shadows from which they began to walk forward but not before saying to the Gremory peerage to follow her if possible for it will not last long. Rias had some resistance to it so she began to follow despite bleeding and burning from the light, Akeno and Koneko had some difficulty as well until the Executor dispelled her invocation with a slight wave and they ran. And revealed their wings to transverse the distance much faster than on foot, Koneko snatched Irina and they flew between the opening Rias made by making holes into the tree masses that were in front of them.

"They're not gonna let it go,it seems?" Akeno turned back as she felt the disgusting presence of many behind them. Even now she said it with a evil,sadistic tone as her demeanour changed to her S mode - she was feeling the adrenaline rush through her body as a giant wave of power,pushing her further into flying away from there.

XXX

"It seems we made it out alive.", Irina was back on her feet, panting and trying to catch her breath from .that flying she had to withstand on Koneko's arms.

"For a moment i thought we were about to turn into someone's midnight snack."

Over the distance of two meters stood Rias; she was still looking out in every direction for anyone chasing them. It was something she hadn't experienced before - to be chased by the long deceased was quite the unusual experience one could have in their life. But it was probably an everyday basis for them nowadays with a monster that could snap their necks at any moment while they slept in their comfy beds. And what was scarier than just that - the possibility of him never to be found again or trying to burn down Hell and getting away with it.

They had barely managed to escape thanks to the adrenaline rush pushing them beyond naturally, they were damaged somewhat but still in good fighting condition thanks to Asia's healing earlier but still the shadow of weariness was present in their bodies.

"That trick you...pulled.. was quite dama..ging", Akeno spat a bit of blood, she was still feeling the fading effects of the invocation, slowly but surely to recover from it within time. Struggling with standing still,she shook her head in disagreement over such a inconsiderate act but then she found it in her to express her gratitude with a simple, "Thanks, honestly. I mean it..." and looked away with some aloof gaze.

 _"Why were we led to this place? I didn't go this way at all."_ was Rias's exact thought as she looked around once more.

Rias could not help but wonder if something in her head was wrong - they were standing 300m before the remains of the burning building, the flames were dying out slowly and smoke was spreading up to the dark skies. Everything was reduced to cinders and charcoal, only some adjacent bricks stood up straight for a bit longer.

"This shouldn't be happening", was all Irina said before she could continue her sentence.

"I agree. It certainly did destroy some good memories i had in that place."

There was a silent moment as everyone turned back with their arms up and demonic power ignited over this foul presence. Wicked,insane and with a disgusting odor coming from it... The smell of a dead man, the smell of blood...

"Aren't you surprised to see me, sweet Irina?", Revealing himself in his full, newly attained glory, the man known as the Genocide Bishop slowly stretched his neck as he gave a hallow sounding laugh at them. His voice didn't sound right at all; it felt much more like an almagalm of a few distinctive voices with a regal tone and impact on them than the lecturing one he was quite known for.

There he stood with pride in his black armor of blood, his scarlet colored cape was being blown up and down by the wind as .was a living creature. In a leisurely demeanour, he casually looked at them with nothing but contempt and some twisted form of playfulness. He was alive... He was there...

Everyone froze in utter shock - words could not even express the feelings they had for what was happening at this moment. Especially when they noticed the two magnificent swords that he held in each arm, the original Excalibur in it's default state and Excalibur Nightmare in his other. Irina froze in fear from seeing him; she didn't know why exactly. Despite it being their first meeting technically, she had the unshakable feeling of having met him before long ago.

Rias immediately conjured several orbs of Destruction around her arms - some of them wrapping over her flesh in a tight,mesh-like plating with sharp edges on her shoulders and ending into crystallized claws with red tips of a razor blade. The rest she used to cover her legs and chest in a semi detached fluid armor with a chain of orbs to swing like a whip. She never thought of using any diplomacy or words alone - she would try to take him down and then ask for questions, if not she would avenge her Knight as a final send off.

She flung her whip of Destruction at his direction, backed by Akeno's Thunder blasts to acts as cover fire - Valper did nothing much as raise his Original Excalibur and switch to Rapidly, lower it in the same moment of activation and dodging each attack by the use of speed.

"~Oh,it appears i have underestimated you, little girl!", a mocking grin appeared on his wrinkled face as he sidestepped and made a spin, releasing a flurry of pressurized strikes at the buxom King by switching his other blade to Rapidly as well.

The Bishop was already onto her,with his superior speed he was sure to outmatch her as she wasn't a swordsman. She was just a long distance shooter by recently but Issei's training made her much more balanced, combat wise that is.  
With just a slight flick of a finger, her whip scattered back into tiny orbs and returned to her side, just a moment away before his blade could cut her down. Still, her Power of Destruction proved strong enough to withstand the heavy sword, for which she moved to the left and lashed at him with her right claw extending like a snake and it tackled his other hand.

Irina had followed up with this strategy as she knew they could not beat him on their own. Only tactics and finding it's weakness would do them justice in persevering over the mad scientist. Or a single miracle.

She ignited her light blades and jumped at the currently occupied with the shield Valper, brining forth both blades in two following strikes from above and below his shoulder area. Her blades swerved under the specific angle required for this combination, almost succeeding in doing so but for the swift maneuver of his free hand.

Swords locked together, producing sparks of bluish and yellow to sizzle from the touch of those light based weapons.

The said blade,which in turn intensified it's glow twice in response ,blinded her and he sliced through the light sword easily as well as breaking free from Rias's clutch,who was so close she could feel her insides being lit on fire and about spit blood. And then he pushed her over to make space for him to jump back.

Koneko moved closer to him before he had time to react, brought her fists with spiraling energy to his chest and slammed hard at his armor. In a spontaneous response, the blood clad priest brought his knee upwards in a feint - his real objective was to summon a clone blade from his other leg and stab her in the ankle. His leg shoved and with a backflip, impossible for a .his age to accomplish, kicked her to the ground a few yards away.

"Are you here to save your friend?" he sassed,his eyes gleamed with pure enjoyment over the futile struggle. He created a few more with the properties of Mimic in a large shield formation to counter Akeno's lighting bolts,"Your other friend is currently being roasted for desert by my pet. Take a look at that", his voice echoed off the remaining trees behind them in resonance.

True to his words, the skies were being split by a thunderous roar of a maddened beast in pain; explosions, screaming and the clang of metal were being spread throughout the dark sky with only the stars illuminating what was happening down to earth. Nobody knew what was happening up there, only that Irina jumped back on her feet and began to recite fast while Rias bombarded the fat priest with her Power of Destruction.

Irina began to recite her invocation with crossed arms and praying in a fast progression of verses,  
 **[I beseech thy Angel of God,help us in our most dire need to cleanse the wicked.]** only to be interrupted by a dozen of flying Transparency, their invisibility proved to be a problem. She couldn't see them,she relied on her insticts in thanks to which she barely avoided but not without damage: her arms and left leg were cut up their current, small nicks and scraps marred her limbs until she was knocked down.

And at instant, despite her being only a couple of yards distant,Koneko tore out chunks of the blackened ground and began to throw them towards Valper's direction. Rocks of the size of a small car flew over her head against the wall of Excaliburs. The incoming masses of dirt were sliced apart by switching Excalibur to Destruction's three bladed formation to cut through the flying debris- as soon as he cut the first one, Akeno was already in that spot and lunged her glaive like spear through his torso. But it proved unsuccessful; Valper's blood armor reacted to the light violently and began to devour her weapon, wrestling it out of her hands and pushed her away.

"So it seems you don't remember me,Irina Shidou", he spoke slowly,under the protection of his blades. He was pronouncing each syllable with care as if to make sure they understood every word, " We've had so much time together but they erased your memories, didn't they?" placing emphasis on erased and they,he was belying he knew more than they had ever told her as his smile grew when she became baffled.

He wasn't worried in the least - Gallilei was toying with them before he would kill them and send off their heads to the leaders of the Devil race as a token of gratitude. Parrying,swerving, ducking and deflecting their attacks with no difficulty whatsoever, he was able to push them on edge thanks to the Original sword owner's ability with the Holy Relic flowing through the armor.

Irina glared at him with rage unparalleled, "That's a lie! I've never even met you before." she charged with her remaining blade and a Magnum she pulled from her holster. Swords were flying towards her way, she was being driven by primal emotions as she somehow avoided the trajectory of the Destruction blades and began to shoot at him,only amusing him further before she reached his vicinity and he stepped up. Twisted his arms like a whip, he dislocated her sword arm and lifted her up to his face by the neck.

"Have you ever wondered why you could wield those swords?",Valper's Blood Excalibur blocked her gun from filling him with bullets. He shook her hard and began to tighten his grip on her gentle neck with a dispirited look directed at her face," It's because i made you able to wield them.  
Five years ago i kidnapped you, my sweet prototype... And your father destroyed everything i worked for..."

Her eyes were flickering with terror; the realization of being a experiment that had been made with human lives was crushing devastating to her psyche. She tried to cast away her doubts,but the fact that she couldn't remember anything of that gave credibility to such claim. They were lying to her all this time - the tests,injections and everything was a lie... She was trying to snap out of it, it couldn't be true. There was just no way to be true.

Rias,Akeno and Koneko made a combined attack to stop him despite the hazardous effects of the divine blades over their bodies. If they had taken Asia with them,it wouldn't have changed much as she had to tend to her sister before anything else. The Genocide Bishop casted his duplucate blades into a circle to surround himself and the Executor, keeping the rest at bay.

"But you'll have to die now,sweet girl. I need to get back at that fool for destroying my dreams so you'll suffice." he snickered disgustingly with sheer hatred when he mentioned his name. He could never forget the crushing defeat he suffered because of his work, his prototype being taken away from him and his whole team of researchers slaughtered.

"You...won't get away with this… **Elohim Gibor**..." she said through her teeth a name of the Sephirot, her throat was being crushed by his armored hand with such strength she wouldn't last longer than 6 seconds.

The hand he held her with was blown away - Irina fell down like a fly in his feet until a second later she yelled at the top of her lungs the name of Camael, her body was revitalized as of a sudden with faintly glowing wings over her back and she pushed him away. Breaking through the makeshift barrier, she jumped back and prepared her next attack with the power of invoking Camael as the renewed barrier prevented the summoning of Angels but not invoking their power in synchronization,which seemed to be the case.

Irina crafted a burning spear of light, potent and possible to rival his Holy Relic in it's magnificence and splendour. It was a straight polearm of yellowish and red energy with a tint of flames erupting from it's tip. She took a stance as she till needed to aim before she fired, Valper was already back on his feet but still missing his arm with the Excalibur lying on the ground. Rias used her Destruction to cast pikes to emerge from the ground, pining his legs to one position while Akeno charged her Holy Lighting and aimed for the kill. And in one coordinated attack, both powers flew like a bullet at his direction.

Stunned by the incoming combo attack from 3 directions at his way, Valper Gallilei did not have enough time to react with his remaining hand to form a shield around himself. He could only switch to Rapidly and evade it rather than stand his ground.  
Each attack was fast, unbelievably fast and nothing but instantaneous to his senses. Like various essences they leapt from their hands, transversing the distance with no possibility of him to remain unscathed even if he used his doubled speed. So instead of trying to block them head one, he dispelled the Mimic shield into three separate claymores before it could connect. His makeshift shields were being driven by his instincts on where to place them, thanks to King Arthur's skill flowing through the twisted form of his armor to his hands.  
No matter how fast it would travel, it always had a set trajectory to follow on but it couldn't outrace something that was awaiting it at the end of the track.

The claymores blurred and cracked as he set Mimic in the path of each energy based attack, sparks building up like a volcano as each attack scraped along their surface, piercing through each shield with enough force that it bent the metal and smashed into a series of more. Dropping down like flies,the claymores were dented and cracked until they dissipated into dust and light particles. But he stood there almost unscathed aside from his armor being punctured and fractured in several places, revealing his mangled and damaged skin underneath. He just chuckled lightly in a teasing way for one moment until he snapped out of nowhere with a bored and deranged look to his face.

"I think I've had my fun fooling around with you. I don't intend to give you my masterpiece alive", smug and boastful,he made the Excalibur on the ground levitate to his severed arm and it began the process of repair. Blood dripped from the armor down his blown away stump,solidifying and shaping into a simple red arm with a white cross emblazoned on it's back side with the blade resting in his grip.

Irina's wings died out as her legs couldn't support her anymore; she fell on her knees in exhaustion. Just as it had revitalized her, the invoking of an Angel drained her in return. The earlier battle and her shaved off lifespan were beginning to hinder her movement as she was only human and nothing more than a human being. Using Camael's power through her body was tiring, she believed the attack would be enough to kill him but proved gravely mistaken as he still stood.

"And there is no way he could have survived the extraction of his Sacred Gear. I'll have you join him so i could have my fun - he looked at Irina with a special lightness, his heart was like set free to the highest delirium he could reach.

The rest were crestfallen; it was useless...

A wild tremor shook the earth as giant wave knocked them down helpless; the Genocide Bishop was shaken as well but much more pleased than he could ever show it on his wrinkled face - the Bahamut was making short work of the detestable Red Dragon Emperor up in the skies. Heavy downpour began to rain,extinguishing any flame left in the place; such occurrence made him snicker further in a Cheshire grin as he flexed his arms in unison in the most nuanced manner possible. And then it stopped raining...

"Before i kill you...I'll tell you a secret~", through a joyous grin he began to speak of something vile and ominous, the truth that they had been spared by the Maou and the Court of Heaven. A deep, hidden from the masses secret that only a select few knew of...  
"God is dead... He died in the Second Faction War as well as the original leaders of Hell. How do you think the Heavenly Dragons were imprisoned?"

When it struck their ears,they could not believe it. There was no concept of shock to be able to clearly express their repudiation. Eyes rolled, eyebrows were raised in disbelief - it was like Heaven fell on Earth to their minds with a bang. But it struck Irina the most as the only believer in God - her psyche could not cope with this concept at all,she was questioning herself on her faith. God was dead once and for all,the rest didn't matter.

"Now let's end this stupid charade~", swords spawned from beneath them, surprisingly fast and sharp with leaving them no chance of dodging - the Excalibur Nightmares pierced their legs, straining their muscles and chaining them down with debilitating visions and flashbacks. Their intensity was lowered considerably to prolong the agony as much as possible while he summoned a Golems to his side, each with their own Excalibur clone in hand.

Despite the strain in her body, despite the pain she was enduring, Irina stood up straight with her muscles and tendons fighting to keep themselves from ripping apart. She was bleeding from her arms and legs,her thighs were threatening to unravel and rip into a bloody mess with only the booster drugs she had keeping her falling unconscious. The Devils were suffering as well; the skewered Excaliburs were causing them unbearable pain beyond their threshold in slowly ravaging their bodies and prolonging their suffering.

Rias used her Power of Destruction in the form of spikes through the earth, shattering and eating away his legs and torso - he just drove his blade through them in a whirlwind, removed their presence and regenerated his damaged armor and legs again with more blood dripping. It wasn't normal how much he had on him, not all of it was even his blood. The blood of the Fallen.

"You...won't get away..." feebly, strained from the pain and spitting blood from her mouth, Irina dragged herself further to stand up and use her remaining Desert Eagel; shakily raising her bleeding arm up to his face, she was practically gleaming with an unnatural glare while her lips were distorted into a tooth-baring slasher grin, " If i can't retrieve them...atleast I'll take you with me!" and she redirected the barrel of her gun to her own temple and prepared herself. She would rather die than be tortured.

"Fine. You'll just waste your chances. Why don't you join me instead? " a toothy grin marred his face in a mischievous demeanour with each of the clone blades digging deeper into the flesh of the Devils, intensifying it's holy element just for the sake of causing them more pain. He very deliberately quirked up an eyebrow, chuckling slightly over the anguish they were experiencing.

"~Do it and you'll never know the truth, the ugly side of the God you love so much..." pausing for a second to make it dramatic as an actor would, his attention was diverted by something else that was approaching sluggishly,

" It seems you really are the masterpiece i have nurtured. I'm glad you could join the play... Adam~"

XXX

20th August, Chikuzen province, Forest of Dead Leaves, 22:15 pm

"My,my, what a pleasant surprise for you to join us, Adam. I didn't expect you to even survive this little experiment i did."

Theatrical as ever with much flair and callousness in his gesture, the Blood clad priest waved his right arm slightly in a bemused manner over his timely appearance. His head shook a bit with his scarlet cape flowing up and down like a snake, as if it was an extension of his elated face.

Before them stood the blonde Devil Kiba: his skin was of a ghastly pale shade, akin to that of a post mortem cadaver with it's signs of rigor mortis present. He was drained out of the life in him, shakily walking and almost tumbling on each step he took. His face was adorned by an empty,devoid of any clarity expression like he was spirited away and only a hollow shell remained in his wake. A empty husk with a missing forearm up to the biceps, blood sprinkled and flesh cleanly cut over his black suit. It was by his bare face with no mask they recognized this husk as him.

Nothing but almost incoherent growls and low pitched howls escaped from the back of his dried up throat in a sheer magnitude like that of a dying mutt before it kicked the bucket. His posture,his very presence was miniscule compared to the Genocide Bishop by a myriad. He was nothing more than a mindless doll on borrowed time, Rias was beyond terrified and pleading to whoever might answer her call to save his life. Even in pain she faintly but surely muttered his name to no avail as he wasn't there...

"Yuuto...don't... leave me alo...ne", her pained face swelled up with tears flowing down her sickened face in a plead. This display of compassion slightly amused Gallilei enough to summon more blades to pin her hands on the dirt despite her botched attempts to conjure her Power of Destruction in a shield,her makeshift armor was being dematerialized by the brilliance of Excaliburs skewering her flesh like a skinned animal. Only more screams resounded in the air with no answer by Kiba,they didn't faze him the slightest.

Irina accidentally released her grip on her Eagle with said gun dropping; in the process of falling she tried her best to catch it and twirl it arms only to accidentally press the trigger and shoot herself in the thigh. She fell on her knee,severing a tendon and blood burst from her mouth fast. Twisting in pain, she aggravated the priest enough to have him close on her and kick her in the stomach to shut her up. And act of his own brand of love, perverse love he enjoyed simmering over others just for the sake of shoving his love over them.

Akeno showed compassion like never before for her natural enemy as she screamed at him to stop it or she'll kill him. Such threat only made him smile in glee as they couldn't do anything to him now that he held a weapon that could kill them if he decided it to happen.

"Shut the fuck up! Can't you see I'm having a family reunion! God,these Devils are so tactless. Amen!" he prayed; it was not exactly a prayer but it was still recognized by the system as such which lead to more pain for them in return.

Yuuto remained still over this prayer- his mind had drifted far away, enough to not register the pain it brought upon Devil kind. Yet there was a second wave, much stronger and devastating than the first one; it became day for 20 seconds straight, bright as the sun. In turn giving the Genocide Bishop a clear view of the situation before him - Kiba stood on his knees as everything was on the ground, thrown off by the immense shockwave and blinding light.

"I believe it's time to end this part play and begin a new chapter wonderful story,don't you think?" snickering like mad,he casually formed one a tight fist and somewhat unnerved said, "My pet was defeated, it seems? That's quite impossible but still..."

Twisting in the air,a Excalibur Transparency blade formed within the space that stood before Valper's eyes. It's physical appearance eluded the light, turning invisible and deadly with no light coming from it whatsoever.

"This is a goodbye my dear Adam. Everything i did was for you!" and with a slight flick, the tainted blade set it's course the blonde Devil's heart and flew with vigor towards the barely clinging to life boy.

Cutting through the air,ripping through space with it's tainted splendor, Transparency flew unhindered by anything in it's path as it was gaining momentum in a sure kill hit beyond any chance of spotting it as it was changing it's trajectory before one could even pinpoint it's previous position. The distance shortened, the moment of reaction was dwindling before it was just a hair away from his lifeless face. It was a final mercy by the priest to end the suffering of his one beloved creation, his renewed pride and joy to let him die finally.

Horrified, defeated, bargaining - those were the silent pleadings of the Devils before it would happen, before they would die together with their friend.

The spot was immediately clad in smoke; there was no visible confirmation on what was happening at this moment other than the disgruntled roars of a mindless beast, ripping through eardrums and stirring up the soul of anyone who could see him. With a gust of wind which unnerved Valper,the clang of cold metal rebounding off something hard was spread out towards his direction. Hastily he brought his Rapidly over his face with the other Excalibur in it's Ruler form and Golems surrounding him as a shield, deflected an unexpected short sword with a jagged edge and a black handguard with obsidian.

"This is something i did not expect, my boy. To become something like this... I'm proud of you! You shall inherit my legacy,dear Adam!" stupendously marveled over this degraded, botched attack that responded to his very own, Valper could not help but awe in excitement over this development. His eyes flashed with life once again as he called forth multiple Ruler swords around his back as a shield and 2 levitating Mimic in the form of rapiers around his shoulders.

Everything was clear now - the response, the short sword that was blocked. Everything maked sense now; a single link to Sword Birth had remained inside Kiba, keeping him alive for so long when he should have been dead a long time. A Sacred Gear that would not part with it's possessor, never to be removed fully by the machinations of the ceremony. Kiba had stepped on the left,twisted his body with unnatural precision for a berserk and with his remaining hand grabbed the Transparency, even when invisible he could sense it due to his Sacred Gear being used in it's making, and rotated once again with a short sword materializing from his missing forearm in a quick succession of flinching and pushing it towards his tormentor.

The stolen sword crumbled in his arm like sand,it's hazardous particles burned the body of Kiba but he stood unflinching despite the pain eating at his body. He wasn't there,his higher cognitive functions weren't present at all,leaving nothing but a walking soon to be corpse in a final stand. Sluggishly moving his arm up, he created his Holy Erasure sword and trotted mindlessly at his captor, with uneven steps he snapped at him with his blade being blocked and Valper retaliated by running his Mimics across his stomach only to feel the rebound of steel block them and dissappear. With a unbalanced swing, Kiba tried to slice his head off to no avail as he received a blindingly fast kick to his knees, which brought him down.

Then the Holy sword swerved over him with such strength, enough to shatter his degrading weapon of choice and roll over to avoid the second one. Rulers ran amok on the battlefield, they were dancing a waltz of glowing blades against him in slashing at his body in various places until blood began to bleed. But he still charged mindlessly with another dagger, parrying one of not the rest that skewered his side non fatally as they were of a lowered intensity to make the fight much more interesting.

The blonde Devil's eyes remained frozen in a singular expression, not even slowing any signs of the pain as he was already on the offensive once more with removing the Ruler sword from his side and charging straight for the Relics in his hands,driven by the to destroy the one thing that took away his life and everything.

"Not gonna happen-" from his cape escaped two more Rulers, like snakes they coiled around his legs in a slithering move. Further severing any tendons only to be repelled by that weird sensation earlier. They could not take him over as they were his weapons as well, the one thing he hated was a part of him that could protect his life from the other holy structures of the lunatic researcher. The blades that pierced Rias and the rest dissolved into dust as he required the full use of his Relic to cast his finisher and be gone with it,tying up all the loose ends that came with the plan and starting the Third Faction War which would be the last one on Earth.

Despite being free,they couldn't do anything as their resources were totally drained - aside from the damage they sustained, they were practically useless as they would die anyway or if they survived; in recovery for over a long period of time.

Valper jumped back to a safe distance with switching to Rapidly to gain a tremendous boost in speed, putting distance in between them as much as 300 meters which Kiba tried to get past but before that was even possible, the Blood Knight clicked his teeth in disappointment - a trigger was pushed; multiple Excaliburs of Destruction, Transparency, Ruler, Mimic and Nightmare sprang forth behind him like a giant army of levitating swords, ready to destroy everything with their full power unleashed. Their magnificence rivaled the Gates of Heaven with their myriad of colors, each of a varying shade of both light and taint mixed together. It was the largest number of swords he had summoned up till now, the Golems who remained observers now took one and stepped back for their master to deliver a final word of retribution.

"As much as i would love to stick around with you and play", his voice boomed in a multitude of different tonalities, his very words were the epitome of arrogance and pride in a unique mesh of disgust and repulsion. This was no man... This was a true monster of blood that sprang forth to the World in spiteful beauty, in mockery of everything holy that was in the souls of men. He once again raised his arms to point at them with the tips of his craft,this time addressing them with the most deranged look he could ever make," i have a war to make and kill everyone of your shitty race. So this is bye bye, shitty Devils. **MAY YOU ROT IN HELL FOR ALL ETERNITY! "**

Like a great storm of blades, hundreds of copies were being thrown at the direction from which the berser Devil ran towards him. Unparalleled, beautiful, marvelous these copies were; each flew in rapid succesion over the next one in a gigantic volley of metallic rain in the shape of 5 different fragments of the Original one. Cutting through the air resistance,following different trajectories all over the battlefield, they were swirling and distorting the space ahead of them with no magic at all - they were just a beautiful carnage of rain, given shape into the material plane of the World in one army of swords, the very sword of King Arthur himself...

In that moment before they would die in a storm of metal, Rias resigned to her fate with tears on her twisted by pain face - the realization of never having been able to save her fellow family members crushed her mind under the rubble of anguish and acceptance. She, despite her best efforts, sucked at being a good person.  
The only thing that gave her solace was the fact that they would die together atleast... and she would be reunited with her most cherished being, her first love... And she closed her eyes with the final thought of having accepted her fate.

It was a moment before it happened,before it could happen in the frames of reality... Time had stopped...

XXX

 _"We're here for you, Adam. You're not alone anymore..."_

 _A plethora of voices of compassion was all he could hear in the vast darkness that was surrounding him from every side he could turn to. Frightening yet soothing, encouraging and powerful it was in the dark._

 _"Tell me,child... Do you wish to live? To destroy the wretched blade that took your life,your friends and everything you cherished under it's edge?_ _"_

 _A song like voice of both cursed and divine coursed through his ears like an aria of hope and despair intermingled. The world around him began to turn darker and darker with each second passing over his contemplation._

 _Yuuto could not fathom what was happening this instant; he had no recollection of any of the events that had transpired after he lost his arm to the smelting ritual of Excalibur. He was swinging his head in each direction with fear over what was happening, only a second later did he realize he was not amongst the living._

 _"It's no use... I failed them... I failed in everything so what does it matter? I want to die but not yet,not yet..." he dropped to his knees in pain,lamenting his failure and lack of strength to fulfill his objective, the very reason he kept going of anguish and defeat marred his beautiful face into a crestfallen,hopeless expression of he even became a Devil in order to accomplish it,even if he was nothing but an addition to the peerage of Rias Gremory. Not once did he not question how she managed to be in the right time and right place to save him. As if a guardian Devil had heeded to his call for revenge, for retribution in place of the Angels that were supposed to protect them._

 _Before his hopeless fate stood a being, drenched in darkness and yet it was a light more beautiful than the brilliance of the Angels. With nothing but a ornate black robe that revealed nothing of it's nature and features, it was more than enough to say it was something beyond comprehension or any thoughts that could define it clearly. It stood there with nothing but it's dark hand stretched out towards the face of the boy who wanted to die._

 _"You're nothing but a liar - you lied to yourself just to have a justification over your quest of vengeance. Even now... You never really wanted to die,you just wanted to avenge yourself just by saying it was for your friends. Face it...", it spoke with a confident yet soothing tone as if it was peering through his very soul," their wish was for you to live. Not to die for something as avenge their death. The dead wouldn't care if you took vengeance for them..._

 _"It's all for them! What do you know about it? I am a liar,i betrayed their wishes. I even betrayed my "Master" just to do it...", Kiba broke down in tears so bitter, tears that could poison anything that stood in his way, "I am a liar, a betrayer to my friends and yet i don't regret it... I just want to end this once and for all,i don't have anything else to live for but this…_

 _"You do,my child. There is something to live for... Because if you die,who will finish this and put an end to this tragedy if not you. If you're dead then who will follow their last will?"_

 _Something was heard in the darkness. A voice... Not one single voice but a symphony of affection. These voices were growing stronger as the blackness gave way to a beautiful garden of Hyacinths to where the eye could reach. This was not a desert with withered life and nothingness, it was a place where there was life and hope that dwelled inside the soul of this man - the sun was rising with it's golden aura bathing this garden with renewed shine above the ground, the long road was paved with white flowers and at the end of it stood a group of people. Waiting and calling for him to come closer and closer..._

 _"We've been waiting for you Adam. We will always be with you wherever you cry or laugh,we will be with you here...inside your soul."_

 _Voices full of caressing and compassion brought him down on his knees - he was not alone anymore. They were here,waiting for him to stand up and rise, to live. Not for vengeance but for himself, to continue to walk no matter where the road would leave him to - never to give up and to press harder. They were here with him..._

 _"Forgive me... I couldn't save you nor could i avenge you...", muttering in defeat he looked upon their faces with shame and disgust for his lack of strength to fulfill his promise._

 _"We never wanted you to avenge us,Adam. We wanted you to live no matter what... Because it's too early for you to join us. It's not your time so stand up and live!" each one of his friends walked towards him at the center of the garden, hugging him in a warm embrace never to let go." You must go now... You have someone who's waiting for you, don't you? Don't make her wait._

 _His tears could not stop running down on his face anymore- his heart was wrapped in a light ribbon of hope and enlightenment. His thoughts were no longer clouded by revenge; he was set free by their words and despite wanted to reach out to them,he couldn't as something was pulling him towards the living world,the cries of his comrades were echoing throughout the premises of his inner world, calling for him to run and live. He could no longer ignore them._

 _"Are you ready,dear boy?", the figure stood before them in it's black robes with it's stretched out arm towards his way," You're not alone anymore. You can do it, you're worthy of being a Betrayer. A Betrayer who can wield it,a soul who can defeat this atrocity once and for all.",in it's arm was a small red orb with a gentle glow, resonating with his very existence and the symphony was heard. A symphony of victory._

 _Yuuto stood up and reached out for it's hand with no hesitation whatsoever. His mind was made up on what he had to do,what he truly desired deep inside his heart. Gone were the hesitation and despair,only the drive,the will to live for them grew stronger and stronger as he grabbed it's hand and gave them one final smile._

 _"There is a price for the gift i shall bestow you. Are you willing to pay for it to win? Time is running out so decide wisely,young one for they may not be another chance like this._ _"_

 _" Yeah,I'm ready for it. Take me back to them. I'll accept it no matter what might be awaiting at the end of the road for me. This is the only path to walk on...", he took the red orb and stepped back as he saw what appeared to be a smile on it's shadow like visage if there was anything inside it's darkness._

 _"Go and win this fight. For you are the... "_

XXX

Each blade flew over the distance, closing in fast to their position like metal rain with ribbons of yellow,patches of blue and silver and gold motes of light with a immeasurable luster to their surfaces. Distorting space around them,devouring everything in their wake like a snake it's prey, there was no end to their numbers. No empty space left by a single sword,it was densely put and clasped together with no opening behind their hilts. It was a fortress of swords, a metal storm of light and steel glowing with the shimmer of a sun that was about to skewer them with not even a patch of skin to remain on their corpses.

Kiba stood there silent and unmoving; the copies were about to riddle him with mystic steel any second now but he remained there still. Something was different, awfully different as he felt like there was no fear or any mindless charge left but a single feeling of stillness. He raised his right hand to the incoming storm up to eye level and closed his eyes for a second, not sparing a single look at them.

Then it happened - as the copies were about to kill him and turn him into a metal riddled corpse, just by being in contact with his arm they began to fall and disintegrate into dust and motes of light before his presence. His body was being reinforced and overlayed with tiny swords patching up his wounds and framing a layer of dense metal under his skin. They continued to rain upon him only to turn into dust and light while his King and her peerage was protected by a large bluish barrier of unknown origin which paused the swords movement in midair.

And soon the full scale barrage ended with all of the swords destroyed and useless. There was no light present as just the dull night took it's rightful place, things were looking a bit more hopeful.

"It's not possible, with just a weak link to halt such quantity... That's not normal..." after having said that, Valper Gallilei commanded each Golem to attack with no restraint.

Running with a unnatural speed for a Golem,his squadron crossed the distance between them and the Knight with ease - bringing down it's Excalibur over in a straight slash, Kiba created a degraded version of a short sword and parried the strike by shifting the blow that threatened to cleave him in two a little to the left so it missed him completely, black and reddish sparks erupting from the destruction of his sword bathed the space. The following strike he shoved aside with a second blade that was destroyed in a single swing,leaving him an opening to charge forward like a berserk beast.

In the split second between their strikes could connect, in the impossibly short instant he reacted by jumping up high with the push of his wings and stepped on the ground after successfully making a somersault.

Valper hissed his Golems to attack and kill him, they were incoming with the blades of Excalibur digging into the ground before he could land. One of the swords was raised, almost severing his legs if not for the steel that reinforced his limbs into a tight mesh,preventing his organs and blood from spilling out.

Unexpectedly, the stone soldiers were being destroyed into raining chunks of dirt and rock by a thunderous wave of magic,disabling them into nothing more than slabs of stone with their copies eroding fast. It gave Yuuto a opening to charge ahead for the head of Valper Gallilei with quick strides until he reached the said destination with a slim scimitar that began to immediately degrade and Valper retaliated with both swords to block said attack as well as use more copies of Rapidly to match his speed.

The Blood Knight was, without a doubt, faster, stronger, with superior skill due to Excalibur and vastly overpowering him in brute strength. But power isn't everything world as even the mightiest would fall under the tenacity and improvisation of a weaker being. Humanity has proven that hundreds of times as they kept prospering in comparison to the supernatural races.

Metal met metal in a flurry of sparks with tainted splendor against holy radiance resonating and creating a link between swords and minds. Kiba immediately conjured another blade,this time it was with a serrated edge and steel blue in color with a simple guard, which blocked the second Excalibur before it could connect with his face. He was barely pushing back the fat priest with only his ingrained skills saving him by a hair's length from being cut into bloody ribbons.

 _The church was of a white color with stained glass and mahogany doors,an ornate exterior with ebony,glass and marbled footsteps._

"You cannot beat me boy! Not yet!" he threw his copies at him to put some distance in between, but they eroded in his presence before they could pierce his flesh and separate muscles from bone. In return he spawned another sword of jet black thorns to aim at his legs.

 _"Valper reached out to the fragment sword of Excalibur Blessing, which upon touch rejected his very presence as unworthy to wield it. It was the fifth sword that had rejected his soul into letting him used it. Crestfallen, he walked away from the church in cursing his own unworthiness of not being a chosen user until he met it. A being of immeasurable power who could make his wish come true and even more."_

They moved by instincts - higher reason was left at the back seat to give way to a more barbaric version of their swordplay.  
The air between them continued to be filled with multicolored specks as swords were being forged anew and destroyed at an alarming rate. Swords made from darkness clashed against blades of holy splendour, a circular stroke almost severed his head by an inch only to be deflected again by a dissipating sword of steel blue and then once again to lock blades, Kiba was thrown off by a fast kick with a Excalibur infused metal boot to his knee. Only a light cut remained but not without revealing the luster of metal underneath his skin.

"Why do you struggle so much, boy? Did you not want to die?" spat Valper with an amused but serious glare, continuing to slash and duck with his armor absorbing Kiba's sword until he snapped his blade like a coil and drove it through his shoulder and threw him up in the air.

The next strike came with a stab in his wings as fast as lighting, slamming him down on the ground with Destruction copies locking his movement, somehow being able to bypass his rejection of was no finesse in his next strike, it was barbaric and pushed over his head with a powerful slam, only the unrelenting and primitive drive made Kiba rip his skin off to escape the fatal blow by a whim.

 _"No matter how much i tried, it doesn't seem to work. Maybe i should give up?",through his dispirited voice, echoing throughout the room, he threw his research papers on the ground in dejection._

 _"There is a way... But it will require sacrifices to make, you would have to cast away your humanity to succeed. Are you willing to pay the price for it?"_

 _Valper Gallilei reached out for his sprawled papers,his eyes looked like he was contemplating over what he was going to - it was most certainly inhuman and vile but he knew it had to be done. "I cannot let humanity perish, we must create a hope for them to survive the Apocalypse. Even if it's by the death of many, humanity must survive no matter the cost." through a determined look he voiced out his unwavering drive to make it happen, " If i can't do it...then I'll create someone who can in my steed."_

Valper continued his onslaught with vigor,he lifted his sword to attack while he guarded himself with the other one,"Are you giving up so soon,my boy? Where's the fun in that?", rushing faster by switching to Rapidly, he cleaved his side and threw him away to a safe distance to prepare for his next move, "Use it! You're my masterpiece... I didn't put my time to waste in crafting a useless piece of junk so stand up and use it!"

He was standing before the blonde Devil, with his raised Rapidly over his head with a rather sad look on his face. There was something in it, his gaze specifically. As if he was pleading him to end everything, to release him from his duty. "It seems this is it. Then I'll be going now - a world to drench in flames awaits!" with nothing to restrain his actions, he did not hesitate anymore to put him out of his misery- clone blades from every side surrounded Kiba, their light created a cage to make sure nothing could interfere with hiw final objective, his blades were being drawn out and pressing against his neck as he retracted them and swung forward.

 _"Use it... You're not alone anymore... Accept it,don't run away from what you are... Because you're a..."_

The blades swerved with pressure, being driven by pure ferocity and rage in a decapitating blow with light, the Destruction copies flew straight away to skewer his flesh in unison from every angle possible. With nothing but a small,miniscule gap in their alignment. Incoming were they with his flesh burning with the sensation of scorching metal being pressed against his damaged skin.

But it did not cut through him - each blade fell apart in his very presence! Before them did not stand a Devil anymore,but the pure soul of Man was raised in this forgotten by God place with it's full magnificence released from the vessel of a Devil. The whole area was now like a small sun, beautiful and warm as a mother's embrace - such light did not hurt any Devil in his presence, it was not a tainted shimmer but a warm ray of hope. A song of Victory.

Everything that was hurled against him broke apart - to the sheer exalting bliss of Valper, the Original Excalibur cracked and broke down into tiny pieces, motes of light before him scattered around the very presence of a soul and seven fragments fell on the ground lifeless with no glimmer remaining in their pieces. Ribons of light stretched up to his severed left hand, creaking and readjusting the broken metal into sharp talons of silver blades with a red orb in it's center. A beautiful, unimaginably, inhumanly blissful wing of blades pierced his severed left hand.

"This is the light... I've been searching for my whole life... So beautiful.", in awe and terror, Valper Gallilei strode back as far as he could have survived it's blinding light,with his armor resonating in recognition of the silver bladed construct. Those were the only words he could muster strength for to say as it's aura engulfed his soul in a white thread of light.

It shone like a second sun, as if it held one within its very to life as the wing of silver blades rearranged and reformed into a sleek gauntlet of serrated blades of silver, a cross of blue emblazoned on the back of this metallic gauntlet blazed with power and on the level of his biceps resided a red orb, the vessel of blood for his friends souls coarsed through his body like a wave of power. Blood and metal mixed together in an almagalm of mystic steel, steel made from the very souls of those who stood besides him.

Yuuto regained full clarity as he stretched out his new arm with a slight twitch, his eyes regained their spark of life in full glory of a Knight.

"Balance...Breaker!"

 **[Sword Birth: Blood Fort Clarent: Sword of the Betrayer!]**

An illustrious, spiraling and coiling with a silverish red light ribbon forced it's way out of his new limb into splitting waves of matter, converging and overlaying each other in rapid growth of light, metal and blood into a commingled mesh of a flawed blade. Binding and unwinding it's structures, reinforcing it's self onto the material plane as the light gave away to something of a different essence.

From his left hand emerged a sword long forgotten in the centuries; only it's name remained in the history and literature books but never it's fate. A broadsword of silver and red with a merged handguard over the blade, it's red pommel ended in a sharp edge with a reddish tip of a ruby. It's blade was not ornate as Excalibur would be - it remained much more simple and yet so dazzling for a sword of such caliber. Red accents went down to it's middle part,ending into a single rune of red and a single red edge marred it's flat point. The guard was much more of a construct of silver, sharp feathers clasped in one side as an auxiliary blade while a small red chain dangled towards his arm with a silver luster,yet the faintest smell of blood could be sensed.

"It can't be... The Blade of Absolute Demise, the sword of Mordred!" belched in it's presence the vile man over scrutinizing it's shape. Still a broadsword yet not a proper instrument of war originally, it had taken it's blood tainted form to suit the thirst for vengeance of it's current wielder, a sword that could match the instrument of his death. A blade worthy of being used for the primal desire of revenge. The form that was used by Mordred at the Battle of Camlan against the Rhongomyniad and Excalibur of his father, King Arthur.

And in a twisted sense of irony those two figures shall clash once again on the battlefield that was the province of Chikuzen.

With his pride renewed, Valper Gallilei rose back on his feet with a remarkable speed, pouncing at the newly reacquainted with his Sacred Gear Knight with his remaining sword in hand. The earlier rejection of his friends souls had rendered Blood Excalibur unable to spawn copies of it's wicked nature thus leaving the battle to shift to one of pure swordsmanship and attrition. But still,it did not hamper the old man in summoning more blood to his iron clad replacement limb to forge a spear in the form of Rhongomyniad in his right palm to act as a secondary arm in his attack.

Crouching down to avoid the brutish swing of the spear, Kiba flexed his powerful legs and shot forward, with a raised Clarent in his left hand and streaking forward, projected a hooked blade to wrestle the backswing of the spear while amping his left hand towards his Excalibur in locking blades.

Making a step forward, Kiba shifted his hook blade in a twist, blocking the deadly spear only to register it's changed length - with a wild thrust to his ribs on the right side it ripped through the suit but was deflected by steel under his skin,but not without causing more damage to his health.  
He could not make anything more than one blade as his new Balance Breaker only offered him the use of two highly specialized weapons to match any dual wield opponents, but what it gave in return was much more than he could ask for in his life.

Shifting his center of gravity, Valper rotated his spear in a quick succession of flinching and pushing back the boy with a series of thrusts with the sharpened steel almost cleaving through the bone of his skull with ridiculous ease, switching to Destruction's larger size to withstand the heavy swing that came from the bent back Yuuto, who inadvertently fell back from the recoil and was greeted with a stab in the shoulder.

At the same time Kiba's eyes narrowed, his instincts flaring up like crazy as he slammed the hook blade into the shaft of the spear and with Clarent on his left - wrung out the shoulder plate of blood in chipping it off and drinking the blood used to make it. His feet were brought up in a fast kick on the breast plate with what remaining strength there was,offering a small gap which he exploited while the spear began to reform. Just by being near it,he was burning and would bleed out like before if it weren't for Clarent's ability to keep him whole and the more blood it drank,the more sharper it became.

Using his wings to drag himself away, he still remained silent with the pain making him feel numb and barely thinking straight. Now he could feel it, his body shredding and being kept by blades in place to avoid the earlier wounds from reopening. If .it he would die a slow, painful death but he survived so long so he must not die lest lose everything once again.

"I've always dreamed of being a hero, a King with a legendary Relic at his service." his strained voice drawled out blandly from mouth, and the blonde Devil could not help stare into the dull black eyes of the iteration of Arthur Pendragon as he looked up at him from the distance on his guard, "And now i have it. Something more, something even better", he purposely made .him to hear every word loud and clear,"...i have an adversary to sink down to the pits of Hell."

That unnerved the blonde Devil; just for the simple desire of being a hero, so many lives were extinguished and exploited for something so stupid! No matter with what intention he had started the Project - the result was quite different than it was expected.

"Do you know how many lives you threw away for that piece of trash!?", Yuuto bare his teeth in a beyond angry visage which convoluted his features into a menacing,bloodthirsty glare.  
"Those kids did not deserve such a cruel fate...even if it meant to save the world from some apocalyptic fate. Every life is precious! Who are you to decide our lives?!"

He was done with words now. There was nothing more left to say, it was pointless to ask anything more from this man.

"For the sake of many...a few had to die so the rest could live. Isn't that what means to make a sacrifice?" Valper fixed his missing pauldron by drawing more blood and with a slight brow asked in wonder,"...isn't that the way you Devils are - killing one of your own so this shaky balance would stay in place,while deluding yourselves it was for the greater good. Don't make me laugh boy!"

With his spear and sword ready to kill, he ran straight ahead with his auxiliary armament raised to strike in it's throw while Kiba switched his hook blade for a small throwing dagger with energy. With a slight throw at his direction, the dagger flew upwards at the spear, zigzagged away from it and then from the left struck his arm only for Blood Excalibur in Rapidly to vibrate so fast as to avoid any damage. Yet it exploded,creating a small opening, a moment he had to use in order to deal a blow and pierce that armor in one go. A task that was not easily executed.

Leaping forward with his feet barely touching the ground, Kiba was moving as fast he could while still keeping an eye on the Bishop , only stopping once he reached his vicinity and with both hands on the pommel slashed two consecutive gashes over his armor: one was blocked but the other teared through his defense in leaving a sizeable wound over his shoulder with Clarent drinking more blood to power up it's _Blood Frenzy_.

"A good idea but..",Valper retorted with a sick smile, glancing up from his glasses with a baffled look. A fast streak of the spear followed, locking with Clarent while his other hand remained free to slash at will at his legs. Only being able to leap back, Kiba pushed his strength to get away from the Bishop and crouch to miss the stab but wasn't fast enough to escape from it. The spear was deflected by his skin but not enough to prevent his throw as the Devil was pushed back.  
"..but it won't save you from this!"

Excalibur switched to the configuration of Transparency, making it's user invisible to the naked eye and fading away from Kiba's eyes. There was no telling where he was but the Bishop had ran away from his previous and dove straight at the bleeding on the ground Gremory. Outrunning, despite his dropping stamina, Valper Gallilei readied himself to skewer the crimson haired King on his Holy Relic within a split second. He was sure to succeed, forgetting one simple fact - there was another person, lying in wait. About to pierce her skull,his advance was met with an opposing strike of a punch to his face, which made him lose balance and trott back a step or two to counter it and attack again, hitting something hard to his surprise. On a second glance he noticed it; a black suit with a hood bared his path with it's arms crossed into a X formation guard with the smell of amonia striking his senses.

His eyes widened in surprise, the construct pushed over his sleek spear with both hands and with a blindingly fast stroke delivered a small dagger with a red stained blade into his front plate and despite the successful hit, Valper Gallilei mussed over it's stupidity and with his sword cleaved off it's left hand and stabbed it with the spear. Surprise took a hold of him when his senses registered the incoming Knight, he was invisible so how was it even possible? And only then did he realize it; the construct crushed his sword arm with it's remaining strength, giving off his location to the Knight and with a last push of strength, threw the Blood Excalibur far away and enveloped him in a suicide attack by splicing the priest in blood. The toxic blood of a Dragon that splashed over his armor.

No damage was dealt to the fallen on the ground girls,the brunt of the damage was delivered to the priest with enough force to degrade his armor - it was beginning to devour itself and reconstruct but there was a limit; the blood of Fallen he collected wasn't infinite and in time would run out due to the toxic properties of the blood.

"What-"

That was the only thing the old man could slip out of his mouth, he was no longer invisible and wide open to attack. In a final push to the limits of his body Kiba lifted his sword above his head and locked eyes with the old man. In a final bid as well, Valper Gallilei repaired as much as he could his armor and used his still materialized spear to remove the construct and then a spear of light smashed into his stomach from nowhere,throwing him far away to Kiba's direction.

" _It ends here,your time to be judged has come, Valper Gallilei."_

Ribons of blood scattered and swirled around the edge of the sword, reeking of blood in it's now crimson colored edge were coiling in the space that was around him like a whirlwind. Sparks of silver and red emitted energy in heaps to each side with mist of blood following their path. Tainted light, holy and demonic densely layered over the sharp tip of Clarent with it's rune glowing blood red and resonating with each spec of the red liquid in patches. It wasn't a light that hurt Devils,it was something rejuvenating and strengthening in his hands, shockwaves were being spread in a circular pattern and with a step forward, Kiba brought down his sword in a single slash with the words.

"Goodbye, you're no longer a part of my life. I'll see you in hell,Valper!"

A gigantic wall of energy ripped apart the space around it,encircling and wide in the form of a blood arc. Air was being devoured in it's wake,leaving nothing but a red the faint smell of blood burning through like fire. With no mass or set parameters, it passed through the resistance and curved with all the force of behind the arc landing straight with ashock-wave of air almost solid due to the speed it travelled.

Valper Gallilei smiled in a sincere way as if he had finally achieved his true goal, a complacent look plastered itself on his old,wrinkled face in a final smirk as if he had won. His armor was destroyed by the acidity of Issei's blood, leaving him nothing but a frail old man who fell to the gigantic toll of using the Relic for so long. His mark glowed once more before it disappeared. It was not in arrogance but in a sense of twisted pride did he stand up and tried to run away,only to sense a chain wrapping around his legs. He could not escape despite his attempts and in the end made peace with it as he stretched his arms out to welcome the blast with his final words directed at Irina.

"I leave the blade to your care,my dear. Make me proud, will you?"

 _"I guess my work here is done. The Project was a success in the end. I leave the fate of humanity into your hands, Adam. They will need someone to protect them from these monsters... In my stead... That's what i made you for..."_

And he met the arc of blood with no regrets...

XXX

20th August, Chikuzen province, Forest of Dead Leaves outskirts, 20:55 pm

He ran with every ounce of strength he had in pushing his legs to go faster and faster, his breathing was uneven and his steps bulky and devoid of any elegance. The drive to outrun his pursuers outweighed any force of resistance his tired body was making as if he stopped for a singular moment - he would surely be dead on spot,pierced by a multitude of light spears in every region of his body that could kill him. It was a fight of uneven odds; his mortal physique against the dense,fortified bodies of the Fallen in pursuit. It was some inhuman effort to run away from them with his severed arm causing nothing but excruciating pain whenever he took a step forward. And they didn't seem like they would stop for a long time until he was dead.

Thanks to Vali's unexpected assistance in freeing him, Saint Lucca stormed his way out of the citadel with the death of a few guards and the relentless chase of a few more who had the unshakable advantage in having wings to reach him.

He was just at the ending of the forest, armed with a single light blade in his right hand and nothing but a uniform to keep his body covered in. At the end of a crossroad where cars passed, but it was dubious that someone would stop for him to get in and risk themselves getting caught in a skirmish between supernatural foes against a mortal man. He would only survive if he could reach the border and call for help someone who could actually do something, but it was no guarantee that it would work out as well as planned.

"Catch the dirty rat and fuckin kill him!", the pissed off voice of a higher ranked Fallen hissed his compatriots to go faster and snatch the elusive Saint for he could throw a wrench plans. But on second thought - if he lived, he could usher the forces of Heaven to attack but still it was much better if he was dead. That would surely entice them to act up on this display of hostility, enough to stir them up and start the War over.

It was dark, it was gut wrenching to see ahead of his direction as he was using the trees as a cover before he could land at the crossroad and think of something. Survival was the top priority of every living being in the face of impossible odds, he could die fighting them or die with no resistance. But the former dictated his honor to stand up to his tormentors and fight them head on,even if it would equal to a suicidal last stand.

Lucca hid himself in the branches of a tree in one jump before they could reach him, only two seconds after did they arrive and descended towards the dirty ground at the end of the forest.

"Keep your eyes open! He could be anywhere, he couldn't have gotten far away given his injuries." a lesser Fallen female blurted out some advice to her teammates, making them shift closer back to back and stop their breathing for a moment.

It was silent. More than it should be, that they could tell was the calm before the storm. Each one had a light spear, tightly clutched in their palms and ready to rain upon the runaway priest. With a single flick of a finger, light spears flew above their heads into the trees and around the place,destroying the area of any hiding places and they tensed up even more as it was far from over.

They did not suspect that Lucca had actually hidden under a nearby stone,ready in wait to distract them and take down as much as possible. It was not whether he could run away, he would have if there was a good chance of doing so but the outcome would be still the same even if he did. So he chose to fight in spite of everything common sense dictated.

A Fallen Angel almost silently gave them a command to stay put and move together - they did so as well. With their senses up to the max, slowly moving further to the road, they watched out for every angle possible to ensure he could not surprise them.

A small pebble fell into one of the tainted Angel's legs,causing him to lose his tempter and throw his light weapon at the perceived direction of the throw, only to hit nothing. It that moment where their formation was broken, an opening was made. Lucca jumped straight ahead at the unfortunate Fallen with his light blade merged with his hand due to the Origin of Almagalm, producing a wing of serrated blades over his left hand. Stunned in the moment of surprise, he couldn't react as fast as he could which resulted in a deep slash across his face,bringing him down to his knees.

In the next instant, he was locked in a battle with 10 Angels with him barely keeping up due to his missing arm and the strain of channelling his Almagalm over the blade which was much larger than normal. Spears of light clashed against the wing construct, birthing sparks of yellow and gold motes in the space between them. Another one parried his advance in kicking his stomach, sending him flying over the cold asphalt with the rest jumping at him to skewer him alive on their spears. It was going to be a short battle, that was easy to tell. Even a saint could not win so easily against the likes of them with a simple weapon that shared their affinity, something more was needed in order to achieve victory and get out alive.

Just as he was going to be skewered, a black minivan going with the speed of 150 km/h rammed into the squad of Angels in pushing them aside the road, thus saving the young man from getting stabbed to death. Two figures emerged from the doors of the said vehicle - a tall man of the height of 1.94m with bulky build in a black suit with a hood,keeping his face hidden. And a much shorter male of the height of 1.74 with two Glocks in each hand.

Rushing towards the side of the Fallen Angels, they began to mercilessly kill his pursuers in a quick manner of succesion. The taller man had swung a large broadsword of cobalt with a gold edge, bifurcating a set of three in one clean swing. The gun wielder rained bullets with explosive properties at them,stunning their movement enough to provide an opening for the larger man to cleave them down further. Side to side they blocked their attacks,dealing damage as the fight dragged on. Lucca did not remain still; he swirled his wing against the neck of a unsuspecting Fallen female, ripping off her head with considerable strength to the blow which made her severed head smash into the stomach of one Angel - who subsequently was rendered into splinters by the blade of the giant man. The shorter one raised his right arm and pulled the trigger, sending a bullet straight to the cranium of a man, preparing to cut apart Lucca.  
And within another minute they were no more...

"It seems we got just in time to save your life, my friend." the younger male's voice sounded familiar. He rushed to Lucca and pulled him by the arm, going straight towards the minivan. "You sure have God's grace at your service, 're as lucky as they get" in a slightly different tone he blurted out something he could recognize any day of the week and to whom this catchphrase belonged to.

"I didn't expect you to swing firearms at Fallen Angels, Rudgard. You sure saved my ass back then.", Luciano had the time to joke at the behest of his acquaintance, he had already extinguished his light blade and had to be supported by the young man to walk," which means if you're here...something bad has happened. Otherwise you would leave the Pope's side for nothing in the world,right? "

Rudgard removed his cowl before the opened door of the black minivan and stopped for a second to wait for the larger man to reach them as he was brandishing his sword of the blood of his killed adversaries. He patiently waited until the bulky man placed the cobalt colored sword into a case and patted the youth Saint on the shoulder.

"It's good to see you again, Lucca. But we must save the pleasantries for later...there's work to do." courteous and with a lighthearted laugh, he awaited the youngsters to enter the car and just then did he remove his hood.

"Paladin Strada...", Lucca could not hide his disbelief when the man revealed his true identity - the previously thought to be deceased Paladin Vasco Strada. There was no way he could be alive, it was some trick to get him at some remote place and kill him without anyone knowing about this.

Lucca instinctively tried to jump out of the car,only to be stopped by the reassuring voice of a bass-baritone from the end of the inside, exactly by the right side.

"Stay your horses,kid. It ain't Easter to go looking for a hole to hide in."

"Exactly. Well,you should return back anyways... There's cleaning up to do...",rather pensive, Rudgard pulled the sliding door back, locking them in.

"Sorry for unceremoniously barging in but it had to be done. Your flight accident wasn't really an accident - it was clearly sabotage by the works of **them**.", from the front seat as he fixed the frontal mirror, a bearded face revealed it's self in the produced reflection. It looked calm but dangerous, compassionate yet stoic in it's demeanour,"so your mission to assist the Executors in retrieving the fragments was thwarted. I can't let the World know about this yet, we don't have time to waste kid."

On the opposite front seat stood an aged man of considerable age. Yet his eyes gleamed with pure compassion and life, eyes he knew well despite their faded color. His whitened hair was left untouched, short and silvery white because of his advanced age,he wore a white cassock and a matching zucchini and on his neck dangled a simple cross.

"Your Holiness...", only those words could escape before he could say anything else as he was cut off from elaborating further.

"We don't exist. Remember that well kid... Don't say our names or it will attract Them to our location. We must avoid it at all costs..." the driver shoved his leg on the gas pedal and set off at an unknown direction.

"Where are we going then,sir?"

Baffled, the young Saint could not help but ask where they were going or what they were going to do. It seemed so surreal and improbable - one of highest figures of the Church was with two of the most skilled Executors at the current era,previously thought dead or killed in action.

Vasco Strada took the words out of his mouth, " _Nowhere_. We're going to nowhere." and the car vanished from the road...

XXX

21st August, 7th Daze bar, 02:30 am

"I'm sorry I'm late,had to check up on the boy's condition" his gentle voice echoed in the vast space of the room behind the bar counter. At this time there was no one unlike the usual; it would be crowded by various influential and powerful beings of both human and supernatural origin who would dabble into silly conversations,make deals or just have a glass of vodka in peace. And they would forget about it's existence with no magic being able to recover those memories.

That's why only his baritone voice could be heard as an apology was offered. Castor left his jacket over the edge of a chair and took a moment to relax while waiting for the others to decide on what to do.

In the little pocket dimension within a pocket dimension room were three of the 13 members of the club with the added presence of Azazel; The Doctor, Castor,Arthur and Azazel were gathered around a small table in a velvet room of black and white tiles and a nice tune was being played in the background. A single chandelier illuminated the room, giving light to what was left on the table to lie down in a white cloth of silk with golden scripture over the fabric to prevent the contents from trying to rip through the place.

"Issei's condition is getting worse," Castor went on. "I saw it... The fading, the flickering between existence and nothingness was there... And his mental state is degrading even more than before. I had to sacrifice the use of that Cadre to anchor him back but i fear it won't be for long..."

He turned solemn when he projected the images in his mind. The desperation and insanity he saw were something worse than they were before. In his mind he knew that the boy was fighting it,a losing battle against himself with nothing to save his soul from being erased slowly.

"I see. The feeling of not being able to save someone's life despite having this power," Chesare MonBlanc sputtered as he tried to maintain his composure. "It feels crippling, as a doctor i feel helpless... We must do something more than this. We'll need him in order to win", he raised his glass of vodka in a shaky way,his demeanour turned dead serious and he implied something that was definitely not going to be accepted, " if it continues, we might have to detain him and keep him safe and drugged all the time."

The barman blinked. It was certainly something he knew that would be said, his own thoughts were conflicting with the younger man's idea. He wondered if it was really the right thing to do - to mingle despite the shared pact of non involvement in each other's life and work. "Given your intentions, you are most certainly proposing to chop off his limbs and keep him locked in here till we need him for the final battle. Just to have the first Sephirot intact so we will have the full use of ours?"

"…It is a possibility. But i rather wish we didn't have to resort to that. He is sure to avoid us now, because of what we did. It was all for his sake,but the barrier was broken by that wave."

"It was private work. For which i thank you for your assistance." Azazel could not hide his gratitude for the understanding they showed to his cause. "Still, so many died in the fire and because of that Bahamut. If i were to join the fray,things might escalate and the Fallen would be branded as accomplices to this experiment. I cannot let that happen!"

"I understand. May i ask you to try to forge a peace treaty between the Factions?" The Irish gentleman waved his hand off for a moment until he felt a tugging pain in his chest, his voice was muffled and he had to take a few pauses between each syllable before he continued, "Aside from finding out the identities they have taken in both sides, what shall we do against this Khaos Brigade's actions?"

"Kill each one of them of course." monotone and powerful, the doctor was not above thinking of eradicating the Brigade but the problem lied in what to do with the side of Heaven and Hell. "It would not be so hard to slaughter yet i believe that their desire to create a new world is not bad. But I want a world for humans to be free from the exploitation of the Devils and the Angels.",he shrugged with a deep sense of irritation in his groan,"but making it happen won't be so easy if we account their leader, Ophis. Even i doubt we could kill her so easily as she is an Original just like our dear friend, professor Mayer."

"We'll spare miss Vali if that's what you're wondering." before Azazel could voice out his concerns,he was cut off by the timely intervention of the usually quiet Castor. Such declaration gave some peace of mind to the millenia old Watcher, his adopted daughter would not be targeted by them. Even more- something in his tone told him that they should just snatch her away and have her join their side. She wanted to fight strong opponents, then she will fight them.

After the situation calmed down a bit, Chesare pushed the wrapped in a white cloth object towards the owner of the bar with his hand in a friendly, if not more lax manner. He raised his voice and gave a glance to everyone around the table before removing the white silk cloth a bit,unraveling the said object to their eyes and what he planned to do with it. "Atleast we got this one heck of a bad boy. So let's work on the desired removal of these chains,known as Evil Pieces, for the sake of our beloved youngster Issei. I'm sure he'll be overjoyed."

True to his words, Chesare unearthed the Holy Sword of Durandal, Paladin Roland's very own sword he stole from the church. It was done thanks to the commotion outside and the little distraction spell that was placed over the church. They now had almost everything they needed to make it happen but there was still something missing - the lack of an Evil Piece and subjects to work with.

"I see. The Miracle of Separation might do the trick. But we'll need some fine specimen to test it and find a way. So what do you have in mind?", Azazel curiously touched the sword and could no longer contain his scientific inclinations any longer, " We should make a Sacred Gear out of this piece. I've got ideas we could work on it." and he finished with a strangely maniacal and high spirited laugh.

Chesare's smile shifted to something more devious and creepy. With another cup down,he had a refill and laid down his idea on how to get Evil Pieces - "I believe that the use of Stray Devils would provide us with more than enough material to work with. They still retain their Evil Pieces, even if in a degraded condition as hypothesized, they would they prove useful to our small endeavor. That way we won't have to resort to kidnapping... _yet_."

"I like this one!" Azazel said with excitement. "You humans are certainly fascinating creatures. I can't but feel envious of you sometimes. You have the potential to grow,to be anything unlike the rest. Flawed yet so beautiful...", he had the most radiant and respectful smile on his face. Not once was he awed by the nature of humans- it was every day that he would learn something new from the weakest and yet strongest species and incorporate it into his own arsenal. The roles were now reversed; once he had taught humanity and in turn he was learning from them with each passing day.

"As much as i would love to have this exhilarating conversation on the nature of humanity...", the bar owner had to put a halt to this merry conversation, "we need to plan our operation on the retrieval of the Spear of Longinus. Time is of the essence...and it's running out...", he remained unmoved by trivial conversations, his nature of going ahead of time was kicking in their work,hastening the lax atmosphere into a much more suitable command center as it should be. Still something else made an impact on them,something much more than just their time running out.

"You're right" Azazel spoke up. "But the current location of the Longinus class Sacred Gear is in the hands of the Khaos Brigade. Vali told me that."

Arthur's head swiveled around to look at the doctor and then back to the Cadre in a surprisingly questioning look. "You must have been informed with false information, dear friend. That Sacred Gear is nothing but an imitation of the real thing. The real Spear of Destiny was last seen in 1945 during the ending stages of WWII and hasn't been located ever since" with a small pause to catch his breath he continued on,"until today. A part of it has been located in the deepest part between the dimensions, deep into the Dimensional Gap, the region of the Void." and he further added, "You sensed that wave,didn't you? "

"I think half of the world felt it. The awakening, the birth of a new successor. The Witch of the Void..." muffled, under his breath the Italian doctor murmured his thoughts but not loud enough to alarm Azazel.

"I doubt you would recognize this signature given your imprisonment... But that is perhaps the awakening of the Witch of the Void. A being first recorded by the time of Gaius Julius Caesar. She has appeared at times of change and decay - the fall of the Roman Empire, the Plague, the 100 year war and finally but not least during the WWII."

Azazel felt the need to add something, a hypothesis on the identity of the current incarnation."That nun i gave the Red Dragon Emperor...she's essential to the plan so it's highly possible it's her. After all,it did start in this small city of a Devil Slum. We could have hit the jackpot or we inadvertently brought something that could be exploited by the true enemy..."

"I agree. If you excuse me- his phone rang from the back of his pocket. A jazzy tune brought some life into the otherwise tense atmosphere for a bit until the Irish man slowly turned around and asked kindly to be excused on having to answer the phone.

7th Daze bar,behind the counter, 02:43 am

After he had left the room with everyone else to answer his call, Arthur Halle Mason summoned forth a small void to block anyone of them from hearing his conversation with whoever it was. It appeared to be something really important if he was using that method to hide it. But what was he hiding exactly?

And he finally answered. Reluctantly.

 **[It has been awhile, hasn't it, Arthur?]**

His smile was no more. His complexion was as if he had all blood drained from his system, leaving a palid corpse with a face distorted in paranoia and disgust. So much that he had difficulty keeping a straight blood froze,his spine felt a freezing chill run down all over his body. He could , his legs didn't let him take a step further...

 **["What do you want? I told you...I'm done with this. I don't want to do this anymore."]**

 **[But what will you do to the sins you have committed? You still work for me..don't you forget it. Oh,I'm sure dear Beatrice did not forget what happened 30 years ago, the winter of 1985!]**

 **[** **"** **I'll make you pay for everything you've done...I swear it on my soul, I'll stop you."]**

 **[Stop us? Boy,your soul is mine contract we have isn't something so easily broken... So listen...I have a job for you.]**

Arthur began to sweat profusely with anger coursing through his veins. He wanted to end the call but his hand would not let go. Not until it was over, that is.

 **["W-what do you want me to do?** **"** **]**

 **["I want you to kill...** **]**

XXX

20th August, Astaroth Family Manor,Underworld,23;55 pm

 _"God damn! This place is the same as i remember it. So this is what they call nostalgia?",_ he walked through the gates of the manor head on with not even the guards stopping him from entering the premises of the House of Astaroth. After all, it was Diodora's home as well, sadly. A place he deluded himself into believing it was his home where someone waited for him.

The guards that surrounded the gates of manor were in much larger quantity than before time; the information regarding the House of Astaroth being targeted in a mass culling of influential families was kindly presented by an anonymous benefactor with the massacre of a Sitri Peerage and other families being targeted as proof. Undeniable evidence indeed. It was only natural for Grand Duchess Astaroth to request more protection despite her pride - to have to inquire about something from someone she treated as to be a because of her gigantic pride but for the sake of not wanting anyone to do her job, it would be an insult to her family as if they were incompetent. But this time she had to swallow her prejudice and ask her son, second Maou Ajuka Belzeebub for help. Just like any other family would do in times of crisis.

A manor of black marble and ivory. If a color had to be assigned to this abode it was beyond a doubt black. The garden of Black-eyed Susans was so big it would take a couple of minutes to reach the front doors of ivory that proudly decorated the otherwise black building of marble. It was a big place where Diodora used to play in the garden with a little girl for whom he such warm feelings, only for his love to wither away like a flower in the season of winter. It was no doubt the family of Astaroth preferred the black luster of marble - unmoving and immaculate was the reputation of this house. And much more their notoriety for business.

As he reached the front door of his home, Diodora could not but wonder what exactly was he doing at this hostile place, why did he even come here when he definitely didn't like it?

 _"Sometimes i really hate myself for doing this shit. Oh well, who cares?"_

Opening the large ivory door,a corridor of marble and gold was stretching out to where the eye could meet. Paintings of various origin and value were laid before his eyes; pieces of art with the value of millions greeted his presence and much did the painting of his father remind him of the days of past forgotten. If there was something to be said,the young Devil loved his late father more than anyone else in the family could ever imagine. The way he looked at the portrait made him feel a bit of nostalgia, his morose expression didn't light up enough to make him feel better. Only the clatter of shoes brought him back to reality.

"Welcome back, Master. I hope your trip was an enjoyable one." the voice of a young woman attracted his attention to shift his gaze from the portrait to her.

"Oh, fancy meeting you here,Lucretia." was the only thing he said to his Queen.

Lucretia Fabiano was the first Holy Maiden he ever took from the hands of the Church all those years ago. A beautiful maiden of flaxen platinum ice blonde hair,parted from her forehead into two sections with some strands of hair falling down her delicate features. Her amber eyes were full of life as bright as the sun. As much as her life as a Devil allowed them to beam with life, that is. Her wondrous figure was gently wrapped into a satin dress of black with a bolero over her shoulders. If anything, the Duchess treated her well for she was talented and useful and worthy of respect, unlike her second child.

The Astaroth Queen courteously asked her King on how he was doing only to be made shut by a unnaturally polite Diodora as he was not in the mood for any chit chat. He just gave her a sign to follow him to the large family room to rest. He did not say his room which meant she wasn't going to be a vent for his anger. Or that was just her wishful thinking kicking in.

Halfway through the corridor, Diodora had a quick glance at the walls with a dull expression, his eyes didn't beam with any glow behind the black shades he wore even behind closed doors. A habit he had picked up from being around the human world too much. It would have scared his business partners if he showed them his unnatural yellow eyes of a snake so he always wore the designer brand of aviator shades. Even his teammates from the Vali Team once referred to him as an FBI agent,much to his chagrin.

Minutes later, the two of them stood together at the family room while they awaited for the appearance of the notorious for her elegance, Grand Duchess Astaroth. And, like the corridor, the room was as decorated as a throne room, suitable and lavishly designed for the use of royalty. A roof of gold and mahogany sprawled above their heads, they were just below the diamond chandelier which illuminated the whole area with a cold shimmer of muffled light. Nothing in this room was of any value to the Astaroth Heir, it was just some objects and furniture he could get from somewhere else. What was missing here was perhaps warmth. It felt awfully lonely in this room. Even he could not deny this fact - it was never the same without the presence of Grand Duke Astaroth to make it livelier.

The gentle thudding of feet echoed as the double doors opened on their own from the other side. A rather tall figure strolled in, adjusting the level of her forearm long black gloves with lace patterns. She was dressed in a fine black dress to her ankles in the style of the Victorian era and a simple jewel necklace of silver with onyx in the center of it's making adorned her tender neck, both articles accenting on her physical appearance and her vast wealth in the amount of billions.

She appeared to be in her mid twenties, but her appearance wasn't the only thing to this charming smooth skin was like growing under the lights of the chandelier, her buxom figure filled her dress generously. A figure that would put to shame even the most beautiful model there was on the face of the earth. Her long dirty blonde hair was styled into two braids going across her temples and ending in a singular braid like a crown. The other sections of her shoulder length hair were left to flow freely. Her features were delicate and soft,impossibly perfect in symmetry and her complexion was a bit pale but never the less contrasted well with her apparel and two moles stood under her left eye.

The way she presented herself and the way she gracefully moved,as if she was walking on air did not express any excessive arrogance but more of well meaning even shared the title of the most beautiful Pure-Blooded Lady of her house with Grayfia Lucifuge in the Underworld. But what was her most defining trait were the eyes she had. Unparalleled in their inpredictability and cunning, they only lacked the disturbing sensation that was associated with her clan's eyes.

The very same snake eyes of a yellowish color, only of a lighter shade than her second child's eyes.

They belonged to Malina von Astaroth; The Grand Duchess of the House of Astaroth, Diodora and Ajuka Belzeebub's mother.

The matriarch of the house did not react any further from giving the frazzled duo a small glance. Her eyes were directed at her room, she had a fast look at everything and just then did she proceed to walk straight to the stunned released a small breath of relief and continued to move until she was close enough.

"Lucretia, may i ask you to leave us in private? Thank you for understanding, dear." Malina gave her a pleasant look through tired eyes to the former Holy Maiden to give them some privacy.

The Queen immediately rushed for the door by the very moment her caretaker gave her an order. She knew what was going to happen and hopefully to see it but such luxury was taken away by her order,an order she had to comply.

Now that they were alone, Malina Astaroth took another glance at him and noticed the faintest mark of a cross on his face. It had almost healed but her trained eyes of an expert did not fail her at noticing the fact that he was doing something stupid again, she had a skill at hiding bruise marks and swellings that no one would even notice there being anything wrong.

"Care to explain?", she pointed at his almost faded mark with some emotion in her words like never before. Her tone was like that of a reprimanding mother, only more distant than angry.

Diodora didn't say anything at first, he just kept his composure as much as he could and with a slight tilt of his black shades with a finger pressing on their frames,his yellowish eyes produced a detestable glow.

"Well hello,Mother. It's good to see you again."


	15. act14

Act.14. Bloody Mary & Schnapps

20th August, Chikuzen province, Forest of Dead Leaves, 22:17 pm

It was all over - Valper Gallilei and the Holy Sword Project were put to an end. On the dirty ground stood his ripped in two corpse with blood seeping down all around him like a puddle of blood, going down and bathing the soil with the crimson shade of death. On the other side Kiba fell to the ground with his Sacred Gear dispersing and opening his wounds to bleed open,Rias and the rest were on the ground as well, bleeding and barely able to move. The aftermath had led everything in ruins,the very ground was tainted with ash and the whole city destroyed in one night.

The barrier was destroyed, which led to the use of teleportation possible - from a few minutes of wandering around, the Phenex peerage finally reached this spot and before them was the sight of bloodied bodies, slowly bleeding out and barely holding still to life. Another teleportation circle etched itself on the place, from which the Satan's Queen Grayfia Lucifuge emerged with a small squadron of Devils to assess the damage but was untimely late. She had only gotten here as fast as she could, her first reaction was to run straight for Rias and check on her condition while she ordered the rest to gather her peerage and bring them to her.

"What in Satan's name happened here?!" were her exact words when she touched Rias's body only to stain her hands with blood. Her mind went disarray, she didn't panic but had to do something fast to save their lives. She brought her arms together and used her magic to stop the bleeding as much but it would still not be enough - they needed medical attention right away.

"I would like to ask that as well. ", from the other side a group of Angels descended to the ground with their white wings illuminating the surface in yellowish light. Said wings disappeared into nothing, leaving only a set of humanoid beings to gently step on the soil. The leader took a quick glance at Valper's cadaver, only shrugged it off and spotted Irina helplessly lying in her own blood. And 6 Excalibur fragments between the corpse of the old man and the blonde haired Devil's previous place.

Both opposing parties gathered around their respective comrades and still kept their distance from each other. The Angel held Irina in his arms and ushered one of his soldiers to use a healing spell to save her. The female Angel placed her thin arms over her bloodied face and began chanting an Aria of Healing over her,in which her wounds began to close up only to be alarmed of something wrong; she sensed her lifespan was halved drastically which would take much more than any normal healing would do.

"Was this your doing?", irritated despite it's serene voice, another Angel shot a death glare at Grayfia to which she did not stand idle. She didn't pay any attention to it at first as tending to the wounded was much more important than petty squabbles.

"I'll assure you", calmly she began to retort but not without tensing up and staying on her guard at all times, "it has nothing to do with us. So let us not waste any time for trivialities.", shortly responding with calmness on her face,Grayfia carried Rias away while the rest of her squadron took Kiba,Akeno and Koneko in their hands and the Phenex peerage followed suit.

A few teleportation circles extended over their position,engulfing the area with a dirty, cackling light of Devil origin. And they were gone in a flash with only falling motes of red spreading across the tree stumps.

An Angel took all of the remaining fragments and tried to reach out for Blood Excalibur in short stretch - the blade did not respond to his wishes of being touched. It emanated a reddish glow, repelling the white clad being from it's hilt and straight out flying towards it's new master. It even changed form to suit her needs; a small red bracelet with a white cross slapped it's surface over her right wrist and to the shock of the Angels that were around her - it devoured the spilled blood from her body in a flash with a small vine protrusion and then glowed off into a static bracelet once more.

"It appears you have assisted our people for your own reasons. Though it feels repulsive to admit it", trying to look as best as possible and not let his dislike for Devils get in the way,the leader spread out his wings once more and gave an uncanny mix between a smirk of meckery and a smile of gratitude, "i guess we could actually coexist peacefully in the future...But it's not possible right now...", quietly mumbling to himself he inferred one thing that slipped into Irina's ears,  
"after one of your people killed our human representative of the church... Jorge was a good man..."

Irina was returning to full cognitive functions, her head was dizzy and her vision blurred as a photograph with all of her body aching from the pain. Her senses were yet to return to normal, she was still under the instinctive drive of fight or flight which caused a problem for the Angels in restraining her and having to use a induced sleep spell to keep her from falling onto the ground. But before she was put to sleep she overhead the key words to understand what was happening - during her mission away, the Pope was killed by a Devil.

Each Angel extended their white wings and prepared to ascend high into the skies but one could not help but stop for a moment to relay something it felt. Something certainly wrong and unnatural had irked it's senses like a jolt of electricity going down it's spine and spreading out through it's whole body in turn cold chill made it jerk into a unnatural tremor, the air was thick with tainted miasma and vice in the density of a invisible fog. The rest aborted their flight and stayed to check up on the advice of their fellow Angel,they felt the crippling sensation soon enough to stop.

"I sensed something... It was like that day so many years ago... The day God died..." they stood in a circle with spears of light ignited and on edge. The sensation was growing stronger and stronger with each second passing, only the Angel who held Irina was in the center to acts as a messenger if something were to happen to them.

The air was rustling, a light breeze passed through their skin like a warm wave, alerting them even more than before. It began to rain - heavy drops began to fell over their heads with it intensifying it's splashing sound. The blood and ash were streaming like a river,washed away by the purifying rain into something else,something to wash away the carnage and death that had taken place here. It was lonely, it looked surprisingly calm and serene for a battlefield. For all of the death that had taken ahold of this unfortunate place it was beyond quiet...

And then it died out. The thick miasma was gone just as it sprang into existence... Only rain continued to fall over the dead earth with life never to grow on this hallowed tomb, known as the Forest of Dead Leaves...

And a single blue butterfly flew over the the corpse of Valper Gallilei also known as the Genocide Bishop...

XXX

20th August, Hyoudou Residence, Living Room, Kuoh City, 22:16 pm

Asia was sitting on the sofa in the living room, quite solemn and brooding over the sleeping on the said furniture Xenovia. She had opted to stay home and tend to her sister despite the risks of leaving Rias without a healer in battle. Still she knew it would be alright as Issei was there,he would do something to bring them back alive in no time so she focused over her own agenda on planning things out and find as much as possible on what was really happening. The defenses of the Residence were strong enough to withstand almost any concentrated siege or attack from multiple attackers, even if they were to somehow breach the door - they'd end up in the phantasmal closed space of the house in no time.

The room was rather warm; Xenovia was tugged into a thin blanket on the sofa like a caterpillar in it's cocoon, she was still sleeping soundly with nothing to disturb her peace in the otherwise lonely Hyoudou Residence.

Asia was standing on the edge of the black furniture just before her wrapped in a red blanket feet, sitting in a calm, reserved manner that exuded utmost respect and courtesy while drinking warm lemon tea from a porcelain cup on the wooden table in front of the television. She appeared to be rather calm but her emotions were booming like a gigantic volcano about erupt and spew magma in every direction.

 _"I wonder if the things I'm doing just to get what i want, what was mine... are even right."_ the blonde's eyes shifted into a sharp gaze as her attention shifted towards the artificial skin gloves she wore over her blackened limbs. Her mood turned quite awry when she began to think about everything. Her body shivered over the sensation of her first taken life - and it wasn't just one life she had taken away. She somehow maintained her balance in not spilling out any tea on the floor by a chance.

 _"Tell me now...do you honestly think it was fair for you to be nothing but a tool for them? Those bastards deserved it and you know it."_ the little blonde girl was sitting besides her, hugging her side tightly and she tried to make her feel better in her own way.

 _"I know it's true but it wasn't right... Still..."_ , Asia left her cup over the white saucer on the table and began to fix the ties of her blouse whimsically while lackadaisically swinging her legs back and forth. Uncertainty. She was feeling uncertain over the course of her actions; whether they were wrong or right began to seem like those concepts did not matter anymore. She was already past the line...And she knew there was no turning back. She had gazed into the Void and it gazed back at her,reconnecting them together in a great pact that she could not revoke.

 _"But still what? Be more honest with yourself...",_ the little girl nodded and placed both of her hands to rest at her lap as she leaned backwards and snuggled into Asia's side. She placed her head over the blonde nun's shoulder and her eyes flickered with a cold stare, straight into her green eyes in a compassionate yet blunt look. Her black dress ruffled a little as she had readjusted her position and made a flick with her index finger into the direction of the wall that stood before them _._

 _"Just take a look at him - he knows he's lost everything but he's still fighting it. I can tell he has killed a lot of beings and has watched many die...but he's still doing everything he can to further his goals. Whatever they are..."_

What she pointed out were the various pictures of Issei and his family.

 _"…It felt so wrong to kill them...yet it felt like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders."_ Asia's face twisted a bit into a pensive look, marred with an almost invisible smile forming over. She placed her hands on her lap and stared for a second before she exhaled a small gust of air and continued with what she wanted to say _."They killed so much people to further their agenda,so many innocents were left to rot just because of their actions...I'm... ",_ her hands began to shake with her fingers clutching onto the fabric of her summer dress _," It was wrong but i helped a bit to make this world a better place...I'm no different than them...but still they had to pay for the misery of those who died."_

 _"You're doing this to save people as much as possible. You even sacrificed your innocence to stop them from killing many more. You are the kindest person i could ever know..."_

 _"I want to help everyone. I want to save my father as well. I just want to live...to be happy, to have someone love me back..."_ the corners of her eyes were swelling up with tears, she touched her cheeks fastidiously in a sense of despair _," i just want everyone i care about to live... So if it means i have to sacrifice everything for them..."_ she said through a teary eyed face, _"I'll destroy this cycle, I'll remove everything that's causing them pain. If God doesn't care...then i will save everyone. Even if i have to stain my hands with blood..."_

 _"You have done more than enough. You don't need to stain your hands any longer",_ the small blonde sagely answered back. She twirled her finger in a circle, opening a small rift that would not be detected by the house's defenses by any means possible. A black pitch opened up before her eyes, with it directly leading to the deepest part of the Void - the Throne room was laid before Asia to peer into it freely _,"While you were adjusting to everything that happened, i took the liberty of using whatever remained of those killers and made something useful to aid you."_ she made a generous look and gestured for her to see _,"Though i couldn't use that Cadre or you'll would have been revealed. Such a pity..."_ she even mussed over her luck in not adding Armaros to the roster.

True to her words, in the Throne was a glass panel with chains wrapped around it tightly. A single humanoid shape stood there, ready to be used for her needs - a maroon blue suit of armor calmly rested inside the transparent cage with chains. It was of a immaculate luster,it's armor was molded into the shape of a person, an animated armor to act as a familiar. It's shoulders were adorned with small spikes,it's helmet had a single slit to act as a visor with a blue glow emanating from behind the metal in a cold light. It was beautiful, it was 's pauldrons were riddled with a butterfly motiv, it's gauntlets had something like a rose formation of blades. It was similar to a Corpse Doll but still so different than it. Yet it was still uncomplete...

Asia gasped in surprise - those who had died were merged into a single familiar to protect her and fight for her. She wouldn't have to kill, she could use it to save someone's life and remain hidden from view.

 _"It needs a name. Your familiar, how should we call it?"_ her words sounded like she had an idea but wanted to hear her opinion on it. And just then both, in unison with the same speed and intention said **,"... Königin der Rosen..."**

To both of their surprise they had the same name in thought. A german name to christen it - Queen of Roses she chose to dub it.

 _"My previous partner was a german girl from Bremen,she fancied flowers a lot so she named her familiar with that name. Seems like your predecessor's experience in firearms has rubbed off on you. She was active during the WWII if you ask."_

 _"I see. There were others before me...I've wondered..."_ after the rift collapsed on it's own, leaving no traces of craft being used in this closed space,she finished what she had to say, _"i never asked you about your name."_

The little blonde girl picked up what she meant by that and took a moment to think. She looked as if she didn't know why, she brought her little palms round her cheeks and after another second to think on it,she told her the name she chose _._

 _"Aisa.I think Aisa would suffice in the manner of our communication from now on. I sort of fancy this name, i usually take a different one with each iteration so call me that. It's for convenience's sake that we should call each other with our respective isn't telepathy quite comfortable to use,am i right?"_

 _"Yes...Aisa...Asia"_ , Asia had a wild guess on that part _,"our names are quite similar if you think about it- especially that if read backwards, my name is read as Aisa. I see what you mean for convenience..."_

 _"Quite spot on the observation, Asia. But i think there's something you must do first - use the familiar i secretly hid in that scarlet girl to see what's "_ she added with a voice filled with hope.

 _"Ok...but I'm severely drained so at most i could last for one quick jab."_

 _"It's more than enough...let's start."_

Aisa's hands clenched into fists. Her focus was unbreakable, Asia closed her eyes and concentrated by using her partner as a link through the small familiar on the island. Her breathing paused as she witheld her breath and focused so much that it began to hurt. Until after 19 seconds, she was ejected out of it - cold sweat rolled down her forehead and her breathing was uneven. It hurt...but it did the job.

 _"You did it! We just made it in the brink of time - you stopped time for a moment. Chaining his legs so he wouldn't run away was the least we could do."_

Everything was quiet. More quiet then it ever was. Unsettling. Discouraging. The silence was crippling with fear, the moment Aisa stopped herself from answering any further. Everything became uncomfortable, more so than Asia would expect it to be. There was something wrong in this. Terribly wrong...

Aisa gave her a puzzled, frightened look as if she was terrified in human terms but just then she switched to a brooding expression. One that would be similar to a human expressing it's baseline nature in the heat of the moment.

Asia reacted to this silence with a bothered grimace of unease and mixed with her already compromised mood; it turned into something of a frightening anticipation of the answer _._

 _"What's wrong? Why did you stop talking? What just happened?"_

Aisa turned to her once more with a calculating gaze and only said with a low,devoid of any warmth voice.

 _"I don't know...It...wasn't me…"_

XXX

A little while after they were taken away by Grayfia, the Queen of Satan perched up right at the front door of the house. Issei's house to be specific.

The wife of Sirzechs Lucifer knocked on the mundane looking door,she wouldn't even try to breach it for nothing in the world. It was way beyond her means to do that as her previous attempts were fruitless. Something that had ever since irked - she was a lock picker and she could unlock everything with time...but this one wasn't...

On the other side of the door,Asia meekly stepped through the corridor and looked through the newly added spy hole to find out if it was Issei - only to her dejection she just saw Grayfia. Her thin fingers reached out for the doorknob in a tight squeeze, she didn't let her guard down at pushed herself on her toes and twisted the knob a little, only a little in case she had to slam it shut and wait. She would fight if necessary as it could be someone else masquerading as the maid like older woman.

And they met face to face.

"Miss Argento, you are required to go straight away to the Underworld. Rias and her peerage were greatly hurt and require your medical assistance in nursing them back to health." she was frank. She didn't grimace or change her tone even once, Grayfia maintained the air of professionalism, strictly speaking. Something in her rather robotic tone stressed over the the words Underworld, recovery, assistance which made her realize she had to leave her sister alone in the house.

"But what about Issei? Is he there with them?", through her worried gaze,a single concern was shot straight at the Queen in asking whether he needed treatment or was he even with them in the first place.

With one glance and a shake of her head, the Satan Queen answered her questions with honesty."The Pawn was nowhere to be seen at the site. All i could understand was that he is probably alive - he could have escaped.", she did not lie about such a possibility. It was all quite possible to believe that, given his attitude towards her husband's little sister. The look on her face was disturbed and annoyed - Sirzechs would probably go bonkers if he saw his sister in that condition.

"He wouldn't...leave. I know he's not like that", Asia began slowly,unsure if she really meant that. "If anything they're alive because he did something... He's not going to do anything bad... But", she took a breath of air to relax, she was unsure on how to go there without leaving Xenovia behind. If Issei came home it would've been for the best in both occasions.

"Please don't get me wrong, miss Grayfia... But i can't leave the house unprotected. Isn't there someone who can heal them as well?" she was going to say something else to try to get out of it but just like an unexpected or rather expected situation, Issei just passed by from the opposite side.

Battered,wrecked and barely standing he slowly reached at the door after a minute. Despite Asia's immediate attemp to lend him a shoulder for support he rejected her offer with a uncaring wave, making her stop in her tracks and think things over. Grayfia was a bit of stunned by the condition he was in,tried to wring out the truth and probably chide him for his absence by her husband's sister's side in a single dry look. He just made a unsightly grimace and went past her and Asia inside the house.

The only thing he had enough strength to pronounce was the ever monotone voice he had the knack of speaking with,"I...kn..ow..why. Just go...I'll be fine...probably." and disappeared into the corridor of the house.

"So..",unfazed by his weird reappearance, not even puzzled if he was hurt, Grayfia shot a questioning look at Asia with the words 'you can't refuse any longer' in the mental message she projected."You are required to go to the Underworld. Please step over to the transportation circle and we'll off in a minute.", her personal circle manifested under her soft black shoes, extending over to the size of two people to enter,"He is the Red Dragon Emperor. I am sure he will be fine. After all,he is a Dragon."

She didn't need any other arguments to use. A dragon type Sacred Gear offered some healing, he looked like he needed more rest than any healing despite the former nun's protest. Even the argument of the peerage being branded as Strays or given to others if Rias died had a bit more impact on her thoughts. After more than enough arguments were thrown in rapid succesion, the blonde Bishop finally gave into her demands and secretly prayed in her mind for nothing bad to happen to the two.

"…Fine," she said with a heavy heart but still moved away from the open door to the magic circle that was 3 meters away as the house redirected it's locking point away from the front door. She moved over and followed behind Grayfia in the clothes she wore. No time was left for her to change from the simple attire she wore in house,her priorities were in getting back as soon as possible to her sister. And so embarked on her visit to the Underworld, passing over to the circle and they were gone in a second.

Meanwhile...

"No one seems to be around. It's best i leave him here." Issei said in a low and heavy voice. "It's a good thing they didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Lest it would have quite annoying to deal with them.", Issei's voice suddenly changed to a stronger one,a mature voice with a single tint of gentleness in it. Because it was Issei yet it wasn't really him.

Issei placed his arms over his chest and walked over to his room wearily until he reached the abode,his domain and fell over on the bed with his clothes on. Then he made a final remark to himself, "Rest well, Issei. I know you'll probably hate us for this but i want you to live. You're too important to die,not yet..." and a faint golden light escaped from his eyes. The very same aura emitted from the Harvest.

 _"You handle miss Vali. I'll get Issei back home. And we need to discuss our next move so wait for me at the bar.", Castor lifted the drained Issei over his shoulder like a bag of potatoes while Azazel took Vali in his arms and nodded with approval._

 _"You should eat that Dragon. I'll cover for you, the Angels are here..." Azazel retorted with a serious tone as he faced the Major. A quick idea dawned upon him - in a matter of seconds he disappeared from plain sight and then returned as fast as he disappeared with the Ruler fragment in his hands while holding Vali._

 _"And now we can pinpoint the Khaos Brigade's location exactly. Or atleast one of their groups." he did something to the fragment, something useful that would help them surely in the future._

He had used the most simple,most mundane spell from the 9th tier of magic - **Body Jacking**. It was due to the Heavenly Dragons Magic Resistance that protected them from spells that were below 8th tier,including the same class itself. Excalibur's abilities were not classified as magic so they could affect them with nothing to stop them, such as Magic Resistance. Though he wasn't so well versed into magic as the owner of 7th Daze, but still a bit better than Issei in some areas of spell casting.

He left Issei's body to rest while he ejected his consciousness from his vessel and returned back to his own body fully conscious. Body Jacking offered the temporary control of another's body by having the caster split his attention to move it, remaining in a semi-conscious, lucid dream like state to achieve the result. It was quite straining and it only had a one time per day use. Breaking that limit was possible but the price wasn't something really pleasant to pay for.

Issei was now alone in his room. Or so he thought...

XXX

 _Everything was burning. The stairs, the walls, black smoke was expanding through the corners of the not so large building with the terrified screams of agony ripping through the air like a knife. It was blazing, every inch of matter was burning with unnatural black and blue flames colliding against each other mindlessly in a waltz of embers._

 _It was hard to breathe. The pain was excruciating, unbearable to describe. The feeling of being devoured by flames was there - bodies were being scorched alive with the innocent screams of dying children and staff going around in every direction all over the orphanage. Everything was going out, her consciousness was fading away under the strain of not being able to escape. She was straddling on the cold white tiles with her hands pulling her faintly towards the blocked exit in a final attempt to survive. The shrieks were keeping her awake so far, she couldn't help them despite their pleas for help._

 _Things began to fade out of her vision, blurred lines and colors distorted her sight until she could no longer move._

 _"Am i going to die here? Why...why do we have... To die. I don't want to die,i don't want to die!", her mind was swept away by the crippling fear of Death's hands wrapping around her small body in a tight embrace. It was Hell._

 _The last thing she remembered before she closed her eyes...it was a shrouded figure in black... And another one with a thin veil of butterflies over it's head..._

 _And then the sight of this Hell disappeared in darkness..._

"Oh God...", panting and trying to catch her breath, Xenovia jumped out of the sofa, throwing away the blankets that covered her body aside. Her sight was blurry, her breathing was uneven and it was painful. So painful she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, something she didn't get the chance to do.

After a good 5 minutes did she regain her composure. Atleast to a somewhat acceptable state to think things was so tired she couldn't really grasp the gravity of the situation, everything seemed so blurry right now. She was alone. That she could tell but not where she was exactly other than being in a living room. Xenovia stood up with difficulty to the one thing that immediately caught her attention - she came closer to inspect the pictures on the wall. She finally realized whose house this was.

 _"So even that monster has a family. Or he used to..."_ she did not make any false conclusions, it was quiet and there was no one else. The feeling of loneliness, the strong emotions of pain in the walls were more than enough for her to hypothesize what has happened. She examined each photo with care,those happy memories reminded her of her time with her father and Asia. Something that made her feel out of place _,"The target...he looks so normal. How did he end up like that...even Asia's with him. Is he protecting her?"_

She took a chance to breathe, her chest tightened with a sudden pain aching through her body. It finally hit her - she slumped down on the ground with both hands over her face,she felt so pitiful and powerless. She pitied him,she hated herself as much as she hated the rest. So bitter were the tears she shed, enough to poison herself on grief and regret over the past. She lost her home,she was separated from her family and she was sure he did something to her. No matter how much she called for Durandal - it was gone...

"What...am...i going to..." through her sobbing voice,muttering words of worry,she stood up and immediately went to the door to run away but it was magically locked.

Her exit was cut off so she only had the thought of frisking around the place or find the caster. If she was lucky, that is.

XXX

The next day news of the destroyed city of Munakata reached out to every ear around the globe like a windstorm - from the news on the TV it looked like a natural disaster had taken place,judging by the manipulation of the media by supernatural means. From a booming with life city with the population numbering 96,000 to a single piece of a building and 30,000 survivors roughly accounted for with many more to be found. Even the memories of survivors were altered completely - they knew nothing of their loved ones deaths. Nor how any of this even happened.

The whole world was on edge; both the Devils and Angels had their respective meetings over the situation and by the swift political maneuvers of the Governor of the Fallen, a summit would be held 12 days ahead of the current time. Still the other sides did not respond yet to such an invitation respectively.

In due to recent events of a mysterious force killing off the members of Pure Blood families, rumours were being spread like a wildfire around the high class families. Said actions brought a change - every family had requested extra tight measures to be put into use for the survival of Devil kind, which brought the Maou and the Devil High Council to issue a warranty on traveling out of the Underworld and from their respective territories. A global ban was placed in order, no one was to leave the country or even go near any place where there might be gatherings. Each household was to summon back their respective members from Earth, no contact was the policy issued by the leaders in order to prevent any mingling between families. The chances of it being a Devil were quite high as noticed by the higher ups. Inspections and persecution were the get go by the so called Devil Police in their search for any collaborators to this anti-Devil movement.

Meanwhile...

21st August, Gathering of the Church, Vatican,Italy, 14:56 pm

"Given in consideration of the current predicament at hand", one of the cardinals spoke with a voice of tranquility, "we must move on the implementation of the Brave Saints system and propose it to Heaven's authority for use. What happened at that island is utterly unacceptable...how many people do you think will have to perish for us to get back on what was our goal?"

Silence swept the gigantic hall where each cardinal resided,there were a few Angels as well in their authority as overseers of the political process. It would have been silent if not for the apprehending voice of a peculiar cardinal who stood up and began to talk.

"Aside from retrieving 6 Excalibur fragments and putting a halt to the Project...we have lost contact with one of our Executors. And the previously thought to be lost Saint Lucca has returned..."rather pensive in his mood,he elaborated further,"He was crippled by a Fallen Angel so he would need some rest."

Cardinal Giovanni growled with a low voice and carried on,"and given the magnitude of the situation- the death of our Holiness himself, Pope Theodorus III by the hands of a Devil...I demand a trial for the one who did this. I vote yes for the Brave Saints system."

"But what shall we do in concerns with the balance? Many more will die if that happens." an old Cardinal on the left corner of the room spoke up his opinion in correspondence with these factors. His old, faded eyes were glimmering with concern and worry over such a blatant declaration of war. "If a full out conflict between the Factions erupted then many more innocents will die in the crossfire. I do not wish to see another tragedy like this..."

"Those Devils, those Fallen Angels steal away humanity's finest! They enslave them with those wicked Evil Pieces by offering them all of the riches and glory in the world in exchange for being turned into servants. Being slaves unwillingly or willingly, they are forced to fight for the cause of those wretched Fallen tempt them, they kidnap them and use them for their goals" Domenico Giovanni argued back.

"How you much more do these people have to endure? How many more will they take away, casting their souls into oblivion with those devilish tools. I clearly know that the Brave Saints are similar but it's different - it's done by a sacrifice for the greater good. So don't you think of any balance when people die meaningless deaths by the hands of the supernatural."

He knew it was true. The Brave Saints were based on the Evil Piece - surprisingly or not,the Host of Heaven had somehow acquired a pair of the devilish tools by undisclosed means. It was both a blasphemy and a blessing, a way for justice to triumph over the wicked, even when the power itself came from a mockery. Yet power was not evil inherently. It was by the one who used that respective power for their own gain and morality, shaping it into what people believed there to be evil or good. And he knew it; even if it's predecessor was demonic, it would shine bright into renewed pride of being in the use of humans.

"…I vote in favour of using the Brave Saints. It's our duty to protect the people from the inhuman things that lurk in the darkness." another one voted,his voice shifting back between stern and soft. He was swayed over by the cardinal's words in his own sense of desire - to acclaim more power than before so he would join the winning side, just like any other human would.

A younger in appearance cardinal countered with a vicious tone in his voice,"I protest against this heretical idea! To use a creation, based on the Devil's work for our people is truly madness! Have you got no shame,Cardinal Giovanni?!", the opponent of this idea slammed his feeble arms into the wooden table between them in a fit of anger. He could not bear to listen to such foolish drivel, atleast foolish to his ears.

Giovanni didn't bother to glance his way. He just pressed further with the argument of using classified information, information from the higher ups about a certain host of the Boosted Gear. Someone that has eluded their attention until an Angel mentioned about him and went missing after a while...only to be found dead on a remote island by accident. It was a message for sure,that they could tell...

He frowned further. "We must also retrieve the Boosted Gear from it's current host, no matter what it will cost us. They seem dangerous perhaps and we require a user by our side if we were to battle against the evils that lurk in the shadows", he spoke with a confident disposition like he was addressing children in their games of like and dislike,and he did not omit to say that if necessary, they would put the current host down as he was on their list of targets,"...and the enemies from within..."

There was a moment of silence. The last words were like a bullet passing through the heart.

"Still, those Devils assisted our people in retrieving the stolen Excaliburs", the youngest looking cardinal took his turn to speak up what was on his mind,"we were able to finally have 6 of the fragments in our possession. Locking them away would be something foolish", he was implying of the theft of weapons from the vault of special armaments,"...we did lose some of the weapons in the vault so we must find suitable users for them. And as cardinal Giovanni said", the most chilling look was directed at end of the table in a cold stare,"It's possible that the inside man would steal them again. Am i right?"

"As much as it pains my old bones", a rather unimpressive man of medium height and a silverish hair spoke up admist the verbal he protested and marched forward."We cannot let chaos roam freely into our cardinal has a point",he addressed the issues with a diplomatic approach,"The culprit must be punished for their transgression but let us not judge everything as a stated fact. It's possible it could be anyone...even a inside man as mentioned. And we are required to wait for Michael's response to the offered peace conference. Because we can't go against the Angels wishes, we are just mortals who can only talk and make decisions."

"If only Paladin Strada was here...He could have done something...Shidou as well. " the unison of voices echoed through the large room. The Angels at the meeting remained reserved in their responses,abstaining from giving a definite answer to this dispute.

"Maybe...But humans aren't as weak as you make them out to be. We cannot let those Devils do as they wish with people's lives. No other being decides what's good for people, it is our job to help people in any way possible. Let us vote, shall we?" Domenico pressed the matter with utmost importance and laid out the foundation for their choice.  
Soon after each member present voted in favour or against the use of force, it was something unexpected that had happened.

It was the votes - half of them supported the implementation of the Brave Saints while the other were keen on waiting for Heaven to do something while a third remained neutral. This development had further upset the Devil hating Cardinal Giovanni who was racking his brains over what was happening with his personal Saint. Xenovia was yet to be found. He feared she might be deceived into something dangerous and would leave his side on a whim.

The meeting was adjourned finally, leaving him with enough time to reproach the matter in alternative ways. His friend Valper Gallilei was no more, his pawn was out of his reach and his plan was falling into pieces with no mending the cracks in between. Everything was going in the wrong direction.

 _"How did this all happen, Valper? How could you let them beat you so easily... And that girl too,where is she? After everything you've worked for to go to naught... It's my turn to play my part in this world. Not just for myself but for the people who live in this world..."_

He walked through the corridor with the intention of getting some air to think clearly, his emotions were booming like a gigantic flood in ready to wash away everything that stood in his way. His pace was a bit slouching and slow but he tried to maintain his composure as much as possible, as much as his face could hide his anger over their inability to act. Yet something disturbed him, something nefarious was behind his back and smiling.

"Having a bad day,Cardinal?"

"Who are you? How did you get here!?" Domenico turned around to see a dirty blonde haired youth in a black suit and black shades over his face. The old man shivered in fright of the strange man that stood behind him, he took a step back and would have ran away if not for something preventing from doing so. His legs were like frozen,his blood was freezing and his breathing was heavy."What are you..."

"A dissatisfied man like you. I know it was you who helped that fat priest with stealing those fragments. I want the same thing", His eyes were glowing and peering through the black shades with his attention locked on the terrified cardinal. Intrigue and curiosity flashed for a singular moment until he took a step back and leaned against the wall to give him some space. He acted quite casual but his body language pointed out towards nefarious,"You hate Devils,right? I hate them too. So let's help each other - I'll give you what you want and you'll make Heaven kill them in a war. But i want humans to live."

Dumbfounded. Surprised. Fearful.

Those words described well the mental state of the older man at the moment. Something in his mind was telling him this man was certainly not a human being but did not feel like a Devil either. It was as if he were of a different essence than what he knew about, only adding more fear to his already swirling with emotions head.  
He tried to gather his thoughts as he finally got a chance to speak up what he thought. Not without fear of course.

"How do you know that!? What are you...going to do to me?"

"Nothing really, we've been watching you for a while and i find your hate praiseworthy. I think we could work together..." he began to speak," tell me... What do you most desire? What is your most sacred wish, Domenico Giovanni?" he came closer and pinched the frames of his glasses and blinked once before locking eyes with him.

Their eyes had met. The Cardinal of the Vatican looked into his eyes with a entranced gaze in his own, his heart was going to burst into pieces by the sight of those eyes. Deep eyes of a yellowish shade with snake like pupils carefully examined his wrinkled face as if they were looking for something. The eyes of a snake. A silent understanding went between both of them and he finally revealed what he wanted all along - praise.

"What do you most desire? You know you want to tell me,old man. I can give it to you if you say it." alluring, tempting and inhumanly charming, those eyes pried out everything from he kept secret to the World.

"And I'm not a Devil like the others,I'm something more than those filthy liars." he placed his glasses back and rose up with a few steps in the opposite direction.

"I...i want to be the Pope. I want to kill all of those Devils for taking away my sister... I want them to pay for everything."

"That's the spirit! We are the same,be it human or a Devil. I know you would hate me for being one but what i want is the same. A brand new world, a better place with no Devils or Angels. My master would be pleased so let's have those silly skirt wearing featherbrains use those things."

"No...no,no! It's not that. You tricked me! There's nothing stopping me from calling forth those Angels and having you slaughtered." he protested immediately.

"I would rather you didn't do such a foolish thing. What my boy says is true." a distorted, genderless voice of a many rung into their ears. It struck as a lightning in the hearts of both men,unbelievably powerful and weak at the same time was that voice that thry couldn't believe it. Diodora just played along but honestly speaking - he had yet to grow used to that.

Behind Diodora stood his master - the smaller figure who was causally hanged around his back, hidden from recognition and seemingly out of place. Unworldly as it was, it felt awfully different from anything this world had to offer from gods to the most mundane fairies there were. It was something out of any comprehension the human mind could give,alien yet familiar as if a human would react to something they feared the most.

No signs of teleporting, no flashy lights or any of the usual. It was just there, it unnoticeably appeared from nothing. It was possible it was there from the beginning, it was possible it wasn't there. Nothing was certain of it. Or if it was something in the beginning, it was as well It and not. The only that mattered was the presence and what was going to happen.

"He's perfect. Vicious, ambitious and willing to do everything for the future of humanity. I like this one!" the figure with black and velvet robes appeared to have smirked but there was nothing under the cowl of it's apparel,only inexplicable darkness surrounded it's identity. It wasn't able to be perceived, not yet atleast. Diodora showed no discomfort, rather he was amused and content with this choice as he nearly chuckled in his usual manner of self irony.

Giovanni's eyes narrowed with unperturbed revulsion. Fear gave way to a much more suitable reaction - disgust took it's place with deep roots sprawling through his soul like an infection in a sick body. He was being offered a one of a lifetime chance at getting what he deserved, only that it was offered to him by something ungodly, nefarious. But a pragmatist's nature would surely overcome such spite in the long run of things. Be it Angels,Devils or the rest - it didn't matter much if he could just gain power and overturn the natural order in giving humans what he believed they needed - freedom from all of the oppressive forces out there.

Diodora scowled at him,then gave a wicked smile escape on his face in fascination for the conflicted man's thoughts. It even looked like he was secretly sympathizing with the servant of faith in his own way, he didn't show it of course. The man, known as Diodora Astaroth was an enigma no doubt. What he was thinking, nobody really knew but when he thought about something... It made him feel his wrath taking the better out of him.

"The papacy elections will be held soon. So i want to help you reach that post and do as i wish of you. It won't be anything radical, just some planning and strategies." the velvet clad being leaned over him and whispered into his ear. Diodora didn't really hear it but concluded on it being important. It removed itself from the cassock wrapped man and finished it's proposal with a short expected response,"You have 24 hours to decide on this proposal. Nothing is stopping you from declining, we could always find another one. But you won't get what you seek..."

The expression he now had was something of a mix between anger,uncertainty and reluctance as he continued to stare at the strange duo. He didn't trust them at all and chose to keep his eyes locked on them while thinking over those words. Convenient it was without a doubt, he had a thought, something that nagged him in the back of his mind whether it was actually possible or not. He would be found out if they gave a word of him actually helping the Genocide Bishop in stealing the Holy Relics, he would face execution just like Freed Sellzen and Valper Gallilei were supposed to. But he didn't know if he could escape as they did.

"Oh, our time is up. We'll be waiting for your answer tomorrow. Don't wait too long..." and before he could blink- they were already gone...

XXX

21st August, Kuoh City,Outskirts, 17:48 pm

At the end of the small park was Issei with a pack of smokes in his hand and a green lighter in his other. He was wanted to get some peace of mind before having to depart for the Underworld to check on Asia and the girls,he was given a message by the blonde nun to have him check on her sister and mostly because there was someone who wanted to see him. And he had a pretty good idea whom it might be.

When he woke up early in the morning he spotted a peculiar Executor sleeping on his living room's sofa in a blanket like a baby. He didn't exactly remember everything from last night but so far he pieced everything that he knew into something understandable. He was eaten alive by the Bahamut, gone berserk once again and in the end did a combo with the White Dragon Emperor and Castor to put it to eternal sleep. Asia surely had brought her to his house for treatment, he didn't knew what to do with her so he just did his morning routine, bandaged his whole body and soon afterwards made a breakfast for two.

And before she woke up he left a single note to her with the breakfast and went to school. He was persuasive enough with his words to make her stay put - when he got back home from school she was still there but she didn't say a word. Her previous bravado was gone, only leaving a disturbed girl at his couch. He just gave her a sign and told her that he'll get her sister back so she only had to wait for it. And he went out for a walk - the place he knew one of them would be.

Issei snapped himself out of any thoughts and looked around the place for any signs of life. At first he didn't notice anything but on a second glance his senses registered the presence of someone being there. His scars did not burn with pain which meant it was a human being, a relief but not so much as he couldn't let his guard down. He had learned his lesson well...a lesson by the cost of his life...

He was feeling a bit better after last night but not in a condition to fight with his usual capability. If he were to be attacked he would certainly lose,he was risking his life by going out alone but the consolidation of him being alone was more than enough to push him forward. And there on a bench across his direction, at the park of beautiful Daffodils was a man.

He was clad in a stylish white dress shirt,a black vest with buttons covered his chest and back with two small buttons on his chest to keep it in place. His hat was sprawled across the suit on the bench and he was leisurely observing the clear blue skies while his cane rested over his lap. His fingers were adorned by the soft fabric of his black gloves which held a single lighter and a pack of cigarettes in a tight grip.

His appearance was that of a middle aged man in his 50s, with graying temples and a full head of deep brown tresses. It was Arthur Halle Mason who was sitting on that bench, whose soft brown eyes held a look of relaxed contemplation as he looked up to the skies with a thin smile that seemed nonexistent on his rough face. He touched his goatee in a rather unimpressive gesture and after a second or two tapped the box of cigarettes and grabbed one in the air with his lighter doing it's was staring into the skies as if he were looking for something beyond it,something far more mysterious than what was here on Earth.

Issei immediately wanted to leave unnoticed so he amped up his Presence Concealment to the max and his visual distortion ability in preparation to run away. But his life was one of the many who suffered from the machinations of Fate, someone who really loved to toy with his nature in order to bring about the worst kind of things over his head. And it was almost every day now, given what transpired in these 2 months ever since he became a Devil unwillingly.

 _"Honestly, i don't want to live on this planet anymore. Every single time it happens...when will i get a break from this running gag. What have i done for you to hate me so much, Fate?"_

He was cursing his fate yet again, bitching about his awful luck as he didn't want to see any of them. Not atleast for a month, he was with all honesty expecting them to stab him in the back sooner or he had it. That was the one thing he knew so well, his death fueled that further - he knew Raynare was an assassin sent to kill him, he obviously went on that date to find out if she knew something or was in any way connected to that night two years ago but the compelling voices of the dead within his soul had semi-consciously manipulated his mind to let his guard down and feel something for her. And when he died they took the form that traumatized him the most in order to break him further and take control of his body. To live once more on this wretched plane of existence by having him die and then take over his body,free of his will for their own deeds to do.

They took the form of the one who killed him to remind him forever, to make him never forget and never to miscalculate. The act of dying made him feel so out of place, the past possessors were using that image to tip the scales into their favor in their fighting and corrosion of his mind and soul to take over and experience life once more. And what a better way than to use something like the girl who killed him to brutalize him even further. Even his reactions with Matsuda and Motohama were a byproduct of his reincarnation and trauma.

As he was engrossed so much into his thoughts, he forgot to react fast enough and go unnoticed. Not that it would happen really - an Apostle could recognize another even if they were hiding themselves well. So well that even the World would be fooled but not them. And not him of all people...

"No need to rush,my boy. I know you're there so have a seat." was his answer when he immediately recognized the passive activity of Keter. Each one had a special connection to the rest, Hilda had the most sensory output as she was the filter, the siphon through which their powers were being cleansed. And it was Issei who gave her the most trouble with his condition.

He took another inhale from his Black Camel and shifted his gaze towards the perceived direction of Issei's, he just sat elated and with a grandfatherly aura he prepared himself for a verbal trashdown. He was guilty, he knew that well and surely things wouldn't go smoothly for him. Yet it was for his safety,for Issei's wellbeing as the symptoms were worsening.

"I know what you're going to say... So do it and hear me out on why i did that." an honest yet stern plea rung into his ears like a shotgun.

Issei sighed in frustration. It was pointless to run away from the swordsman - he had to talk his way out of it, they were beneficial to each other and he would never forget how he took him in and became his legal guardian despite there being no information on him other than his name and address(which was constantly changing), he had to uphold his own as Issei Hyoudou Mason for this predicament. He lowered his _Presence Concealment_ and visual distortion to visible levels and had crossed the road to get to the bench and sit awkwardly before recollecting his thoughts.

Luckily there was a barrier set up so they could have a conversation undisturbed. Issei had activated his own barrier just in case. He couldn't fight as usual so he had to rely on magic to fend off enemies.

"I know what you're going to say", Arthur began after he pulled away the cigarette from his mouth and shifted his position to a leisurely one to make him feel more comfortable with him,"What i did was wrong. It was in contradiction of our shared pact of non-involvement in private affairs...but i just had to do it. Despite everything you might say i did it to keep you safe.", he hesitantly said with a low voice and carried on,"I'm sorry..."

He smiled at him with a complacent smile and awaited for his answer fully prepared for the backslash.

"Yeah, you're right. It wasn't your job to mingle in my work but honestly", Issei felt the need to light up a smoke so he bit the paper tip and pulled one from his box," i understand your feelings somewhat but i won't lie i really understand. You did what you thought was for the best but why exactly did you have to do it when it's not your job? I just want peace and the ability to do what i do with no inhibition." through his monotone voice and dull eyes of a petty criminal he lit up his cigarette and took a deep breath before smoking.

"Because you're being too reckless. What if you died back there? Do you know what would it cause? You're a grown man but please don't throw away your life so easily",he ran his fingers over the surface of his cane with a singular touch,"i know it might seem bleak but i want to believe there is hope. If anything..."

"I'm not interested in small talk. If that is what you wanted to say then." by this moment he had half finished his tobacco, "I'm leaving. I'm not mad at all,i did the same thing to her with the same conviction." His eyes peered into the distance, solemn and emotionlessly looking at the skies.

 _"I'm not mad at all... Why should i be when i did the same thing. She'll hate me for that but i can't have her be dependant on me...she's not the same..."_

"You spiked her tea to knock her out? Correct?" the older gentleman waved a gesture at him, implying he knew how he did things. The man knew his modus operandi so well he could spot on what he was thinking about by the slightest changes in his unmoving face. He wasn't a liar usually but he hid things from the barman, though he would say half truths and cryptic statements to keep his distance.

Issei didn't flinch or react as much as it was expected - "I don't wanna talk about this. But yes,and thank you for installing a kill switch in her shirt. I'd rather kill her myself than to let anyone else hurt her..." he had never told him of his pact with the girl. They would die by the hands of one another if things were hopeless. To that extent was their partnership, not a relationship really. Atleast considering now.

"I don't know what you're doing exactly but i want you to finish what you started. To find the killer and make them pay.", Arthur's voice trembled a bit, his warm brown eyes had the look of sadness in them. No pity or sympathy were directed at him,only a single enigmatic smile of the man known as Arthur. "I know we can't save you but...",he felt pain whenever he was about to say the words that stuck in his throat, Issei immediately noticed that but remained static.

And then interjected.

"You know that there's nothing that can change it...so don't struggle and worry about it. It's not a burden you should carry." reserved and a bit distant in his reply, Issei tapped the box of Dunhill and took out another cigarette to switch the already burnt one,"...either way i don't have much time. At most i probably have 5 years at maximum or even less now. I just want to end this already... I don't think i could take it any longer..."

"Still, i wonder..." Issei felt the need to talk for once, he changed the direction of the conversation," why do i even need to fight for humanity? Just look at us... Why do i still keep living when it's possible I'll die before finding out the truth. We're no better than any of them...What makes us human?" with a chilling bluntness he turned to the sitting next to him man with a empty stare," how do we even know we **exist**?"

"That i do not know. I've wondered on what defines us as human. Is it memories, our mortality or something is it not our flawed,vile nature? Something much more than just flesh and bone in us. No one knows what makes us human but..." ,He placed his hands onto his lap from within it's reach a small book appeared. A simple black cover with gold engravings, "i wish to believe it's potential, ability to choose... "

"There is no justice or equality in this barren wasteland of a world. I don't believe in concepts such as Good or Evil,those are just words to discourage you from what you really are. There's so much pain and hatred,Death is all around us,wars,poverty and misery are our nature. I don't see anything in us that could potentially change the there is no choice or free will really..." Issei calmly responded. He never wanted anything of this to happen, he never choose this to begin with."The only thing that is equal for everyone is death,it doesn't matter how you'd die or what you'll leave behind... But atleast you won't feel any pain after it..."

"Insignificant as we might be in comparison to the universe, even if we're nothing but a single flare of life in the eyes of Creation..." with a simple gesture of his scholarly hands he tapped on the cane. "I believe there is something worth living for. Even if we'll be forgotten, erased by the ravages of time - there is something within us that can make a choice. I didn't choose this at all but i can choose what to do with this."

Issei and Arthur calmly sat under the radiant sun, peaceful and calm with their conversation. From a casual, small talk it turned to something more.

"The Demiurge is dead, the God they speak of is no longer here.  
And yet I'm sure no one knows what's happening really. After i learned from Phenex about it, it made sense finally." Issei said so with the calmest expression he had in his limited number of facial expressions, it still looked like usual face.

He wasn't surprised. The previous night before busting through the barrier at home,Ravel and Issei had a quick discussion over it and to be wary of the Astaroth House. Not only them but every House from the remaining Pillars, even the Phenex and Sitri as it could be anyone. Even them being the ones who are doing this culling of influential families, either by being sleeper agents or the more likely erasure of his memories.

"So you know... He is in an essence a God. An ignorant one just as we are. Because if what people call God is dead then we would never have had the powers granted to us right now." answering with a sagely disposition, the old man implied of the nature of the Aspect of Wisdom that made the material universe and it's relation to the other side.

"I see. Well the Bible wasn't so wrong then but still... why does life even exist? It's nothing but suffering and pain- people die meaningless deaths for no reason, others are crushed by the struggles of higher beings and we don't have a choice but to bear the pain and keep going because... We don't know what lies beyond death, what's on the other side if there is anything like that." sarcastic and serious simultaneously, Issei made a puzzled and resigned to the brutal reality face with nothing but a single scrunching of his brows into a deep scowl that stuck like a mask to his face.

"I'm scared of dying as any other being would be. What lies beyond is something we can only hypothesize on and hope. The soul might really exist but what proof do we have that gives us confirmation we are real?" Arthur made a steadfast twitch with his brows and his relaxed eyes gained a dark shine to them." But I've heard something about that; the Earth's magnetic poles are being balanced by a portion of the souls on each section. Both benevolent souls who chose not to reincarnate and remain ignorant and bound to be system and atrocious souls who were placed there to balance it."

"It's a possibility but from what i learned from the Devils is that there are no souls in the Underworld. They say Hades keeps them to be judged but i don't have any confirmation on it." Issei expressed his thoughts on that question he asked himself from time to time. As far as judging by what he learned from Rias Gremory, there no souls in the Underworld as they did not deal with souls. But what about Heaven then? That he was curious of. "What happens with us really, do we just cease to exist and that's it? Does it really even exist, is it just some illogical concept penned by hundreds of years into our heads. If it does not exist, and yet it feels somehow like they make us think we actually exist. Just an illusion to harvest for prayers and for slavery."

"They don't really care,do they?" the atmosphere once more changed," Angels or Devils don't care at all about humanity. They're supposed to be both the protectors and enemies of Man but It's really simple if you think about it", nodding his head down and grabbing for the black fedora over his suit, he looked into the distance with a certain sense of spite. "Both sides use us for their needs; be it prayers or feeding off our sins. As long as we stay ignorant and greedy they'll harvest us or if we found out the truth..." the man reminisced over the Angel he met in Akihabara then, which he killed after letting it go. He didn't need to as it would forget him but not the information it had on him. But how they got passed through the defenses was something he was pondering on.  
" they would do anything to keep the truth from surfacing just so they could continue to use people. Even if it meant **killing someone**..."

"This is what life is - we were born into a society which spelled out with brutal clarity, and in as many ways as possible, that we are worthless and evil creatures from the moment we are born. We don't get any equal footing, some get everything while others get nothing despite their hard work. It's the same thing with the meritocracy of the Devils." He found their concept of strength foolish and outdated, what was true power to him was knowledge. Because even with a weak body, if brains were involved then even the strong would fall prey to the efforts of a mortal man who used his ingenuity and mettle to strive and overpower them.

" I'm sure there are decent people from among each faction, but those are a few and viewed as odd by their kin. For some higher beings they sure act like humans. Strange, isn't it?"

"Hypocrisy, lies and unequitty are just natural for us. And every little or small thing in existence." the barman exclaimed and finished his cigarette.

"James Baldwin. Such a fine writer." Arthur tilted back his head and peered up into the sky, at that very moment the sun began to shine brighter as it came out from behind a cloud,"God won't help us if we don't help ourselves first. But i don't see IT in the way everyone thinks of God. Because in every spark there is something special, something divine. Even in our wretched nature because it's not perfect, being perfect is scary and displeasing as nothing changes. The Angels for example."

 _"In this world, perfection is nothing but an illusion of people's expectations . Illusions like that existed only by the people having high expectation of a certain individual but to that individual to answer their expectations, it feels like being in a prison, not being able to make your own choice in life. As I thought about that, a certain individual comes to mind. Rias Gremory."_

"Perfection is something ugly; nothing changes with it. It's unnatural and boring but it's still something people strive for." Issei retracted his legs into a comfortable position and leaned back on the bench."I'm far from perfect, rather I'm probably the most imperfect and flawed there is and I'm okay with it. From others point of view i am one of the most disgusting things there are on the face of the earth but that's what makes me who i am."

A sardonic smirk graced Arthur's lips as he said,"We are flawed as well, and most certainly we are no Saints. What we do - we kill and kill. There's no justification to our actions but it's what we do,even if it is with noble intentions. We're not good people but someone's gotta do it."

"Most certainly..." Issei gave a short reply,devoid of any sentiment.

 _"Me,you,the whole world and every intelligent being is fucked up. I'm not wrong, this world is wrong. No,rather fucked up is the correct yet I'm probably just as wrong and fucked as a result of being in this world."_

"Yet somehow we subconsciously ask Him to tell us what to do and not bother to figure it out on our own." he was right about that. People, when stuck in a predicament would turn to God and ask for Him to resolve their issues. And when there was no reply,they cursed his name within every language they knew.

"That's how our lazy nature as humans dictates us to do." with a snarky remark Issei felt a bit better but still not far from being alright. "After so many prayers and no reply, man turned back towards the heavens and once again tried. Our inherent foolishness made us ask and ask until it finally ended with humanity no longer relying on god, alone and ready to fend for themselves. And here we are now."

Arthur pushed himself up and opened the black cover of the book and began to read through the passages, he was searching for something. His eyes traced something interesting and he finally made a sound after it became awkward silence.

"And because of that foolishness we began to learn and fail, stuck in the process of trial and error for centuries. But those mistakes became lessons to be learned, a new generation would repeat them and the next and next. But the striving to learn from our mistakes is something each one has, regardless of bias and beliefs."

"Yet no matter how much we learn, we forget about it. Always stuck in an endless cycle of retribution and hatred because of differences and beliefs, slavery and crusades are something normal for people to act upon with whatever bullshit justification they use as a way to justify themselves through the Demiurge.Done in the will of God? That's just bullshit!"

He let out a sigh as he lost himself in memories, "The weak grow weaker while the stronger take everything... It's all that matters to reality" Issei's mind was riddled with the images of people dying helplessly, carnage and bloodshed like a mountain of corpses littered his minds eye in a field of red flowers, a field of bloody remains," Just because someone is weak now doesn't mean anything for the future. But strength isn't enough. Like seriously?", the most annoying thing came to his mind," do people think by being stronger they'll be some heroes who protect their friends? Like there aren't other 's just so damn stupid!"

"I have never agreed more to anything else", a light chuckle escaped from the back of the older man's throat, he cleared it from anything stuck and gave a heartfelt laugh while still maintaining his serious disposition.

"Even with power we cannot save everyone. But it won't stop me from trying to save as many as i could. And we're no bloody ass heroes with a cape or some moronic protagonist who doesn't kill the villain." it was a while since Issei heard him break away from his polite tone and switch to a much more menacing one. Especially the smile he made when thinking of art - he knew what he was going to say so he prevented that from happening. He was swallowed by a King Bahamut for God's sake!

"I don't know if I'm still me anymore." Issei told him, feeling a little bit frazzled. He was feeling awful, searching and pondering on that question for as long as he remembered. "After i became a Devil and ran away for two weeks...", he paused once and gulped down with a scared look, which in turn puzzled his companion into listening with care." i could feel it... I was transforming into a Stray."

He nodded."That's why i have a inherent dislike for revival spells. They just make you a slave to someone..."

"It was a test as well. The Evil Pieces have that nefarious function; if you're too far away from the King, the automatic response for that 'act of disobedience' is the demonic energy inside you going berserk without the stabilization properties of the King. Thus creating a dependence on the one who made you into one of them. But it seems it won't happen if you gain consent." it still felt like a load of crap with such annoying gimmicks.

He was telling the truth. Ever since their creation, the Evil Pieces had been installed with a safety measure to guarantee the servitude of it's recipients to their King, a failsafe to be exploited if they desired freedom or doublecrossed the said Devil. A cage in exchange for power, a choice that was not much of a choice as Strays could become potentially powerful and threaten the balance, the leash their owners had on them. Devils were Devils for a reason and wouldn't just let some filthy reincarnated Devil rule over them.

"I actually meant the prospect of a past possessor thinking of being me. There are so many of them, i don't remember things that i should... So what if it isn't me really? I'm not a human anymore, no matter how much i try to be."

Over the exuding sadness and uncertainty he expressed, Arthur placed his hat over his head and lifted the cane from his lap to his hand and said," The soul is an endless darkness. It is like the night sky above our heads in it's foreboding gloom, vast and cold  
in it's nature. Tainted by lies,despair and sins in an never ending spiral of depravity over our bloodthirsty and flawed nature. But even so...there is beauty in it."

Issei was a bit stunned but nevertheless regained his stone cold killer composure in his retort to that statement. He even lit up another smoke as the chain smoker he was - alcohol and tobacco were his companions, never to abandon or betray him in any way.

"There's nothing beautiful in us. It's just as you said it but the end of the road is a hallowed tomb of the dead, a death riddled path with a one way ticket to complete annihilation", his gaze sharpened like that of a vulture," You could always kill me if you wanted to. Or just lock me up if you wanted to. But i don't care - I'll just tell you one thing I've learned." some bitterness swarmed up in his words,they gained a metalic sensation which cut deep and with a acidity so malignant. "There's only death at the end of the tunnel. There is no hope in the pitch black sky for people like me..."

Arthur turned back a little with a melancholy look in his eye, silently cursing himself for his lack of tact but he had started it and he must finish it. Even if it just a thought of his, he wanted to say it out loud to the world. To Issei.

"There might not seem to be any hope in this world, there might be only blackness and gray as humanity is but a sea of pitch black. There are so much lies, hypocrisy, betrayals, hatred and the good doesn't even show to us. It is why I think of it as an endless sky - the malevolence is enough to paint the entire sky black. But there,somewhere in the limitless sky glow stars, the souls that shine with such pure light, those flickers of radiance that shine so bright in between the void of black, glistening with compassion and selflessness.

He averted his eyes for a moment before turning and staring right at him again," What do you see in it? What do you think of when you look at the skies above us?"

Issei blinked twice before thinking over it.

"Usually we think of how Insignificant we are compared to it. How transient our existence is, how far we are from the beauty of the stars that light the sky. I personally think of what is beyond them."

"You asked why did we have to fight for humanity. Why should we fight for such a undeserving, merciless pack of filth who does not change or tries to resist their nature?" his posture changed. His very aura changed to something else, something beyond the scope understanding. Something in him felt different than before, a sensation only they knew of existing. Something that was between them,between 13 strangers who were chosen to test and save humanity from it's self. The protectors of existence, The Apostles of the Apocalypse...

The left side of his face was replaced by an empty void that had taken it's place. Yet it was not empty if one gazed into it - there were various particles and light inside it,reminiscent of the universe and with time flowing through it in multiple lines. His left eye had become the most ideal black there was in existence, the very Void itself was in his existence. And there were numbers flowing around each one of them. His voice was changed to something archaic, something primordial and filled with power of the most terrifying kind. But it did not sound threatening at all - it was warm as the sun. As the embrace of a mother,peering through the soul.

"It's because I fight for the tiny specks of light that outshine everything else around them. I fight for the darkness that surrounds them as light does not glisten in light, it exists in the dark. I fight for the fate of humanity and it's potential...i want to believe that there is hope in the end of the thorny road. Because i know it, because i fight for souls like you."

"I'm not human anymore." he said when he stood behind him.

Slowly, he turned back to how he was and just the single thing he said was something reassuring. "Even though your life has been a tragedy, it is a beautiful story. It does not matter if your body was changed by the hands of a Devil, even when you no longer feel like one... I do not see a soulless husk of an abomination. All i see is a Man who has defeated the impossible and defied the hardships of Fate. A soul... I see the potential, i see a human because you still are one to me."

There it was. That melancholy smile of a past best forgotten...

Issei stood up and began to walk past him,not turning around and kept going silent. It seemed this had a profound effect on his thoughts as he threw away the cigarette and stopped for a singular moment of silence.

"Thank you for those kind words...", he mumbled quietly to himself but just enough for the barman to hear them and smile.

 _"*But the foolish, scared human that was here for 15 years is long dead and gone. I'm something else,_ _something much more evil than that_ _. I'm not just any normal human, I'm a Dragon...*"_

And soon both figures disappeared from sight...

XXX

21st August,Gremory House, Underworld, 18:15 pm

"You look better now. How are your wounds?" nonchalantly calm, Issei turned his gaze towards the direction of Xuelan and Ravel's beds where they peacefully lied on. He had taken the train to the Underworld, escorted by Grayfia herself and straight forward to the infirmary of the House of Gremory to check on Asia and his two companions. Those three were his responsibility so he had to do something about it - and surprisingly he even made some food for them, packed and still warm so far.

"I'm fine so far. And what about you?" were the words Xuelan muttered after barely rising from the bed and gently placed her head against the headrest and gave him a neutral look. Ravel was in a better condition than her but she woke up as well. They had some time to rest but the three of them were severely drained and tired,especially Issei.

"Well...getting eaten alive by a King Bahamut was quite the experience. I don't remember much that is." short and efficient like always he mumbled quietly about getting eaten but casted away their doubts by being brutally honest with them.

" We almost died a few times last night. That's why i don't want you to involve yourself with this any longer. Just leave everything to me while you handle the intelligence gathering." a single proposal was made by the use of rotten eyes and a stoic face.

"We did it because it was right. There's no way we would let you go alone." Ravel interjected immediately. Her voice was rather gentle and nice but Issei didn't really pay it no mind.

"It's not about wrong or right. It's about you surviving this madness. We got lucky but next time we might not get that luck. And it's not your fight, really." Issei took a step back and fixed his attire,"You're a target as well as the rest of your family, Phenex. Do you not value your life?" he sassed back at her with a uncaring at first sight glance. He didn't think they should carry his burdens, neither Sona should any longer. He had messed up their lives enough so it was time to back out.

Both girls grimaced in displeasure in response to those words. It was their burden as well, they didn't want to just sit idle and do nothing while he risked his life for their sake. They understood that he preferred to do things alone, that won't change but they were together in this and they wanted to help as much as possible. Xuelan even had enough strength to lift herself up and grab him by the colar of his apparel and pulled him down to her eye level. Much to his confusion and chagrin.

 _"The hell is going with this?! I don't get payed for this shit."_

Before he knew it, her hands had moved away from his colar to his face. Her grip was strong and rough but her hands were really soft and tender and caring. She stared into his eyes, both locking glances with each other. An angered yet compassionate look of a girl against the look of a indifferent, despaired boy.

"You gave me freedom, you care about us. I can see it, you're afraid because by being near you we'll get hurt. But you need support just as everyone else,you're not alone in this fight anymore!"

Issei instinctively pulled himself away from her grasp and turned backwards to avoid her gaze. It was really awkward, he didn't know what to say or think of as a response. Things went from neutral to uncomfortably awkward for him - she was acting nice with him. He didn't need any niceness from anyone nor sympathy, those only brought bad memories and pain. The memories of a normal life he couldn't continue to live anymore...

 _"What's wrong with these people?! So pushy and intimate! Damn stupid harem drooling fucker, why did i even go through with this?"_

In the next instant, with much embarrassment he murmured under his breath,"Don't bother. Everyone who's with me dies or suffers. You don't deserve it..." bleak and with sweaty hands he went to the small night stand and grabbed the food he prepared for them and with much difficulty handed it to each one of them.

"We owe you our lives!" the Phenex lady began to unravel the package and took a bite from the sweets he had cooked for them. She munched on it rather fast and then continued. "It might not mean anything to you but..." her eyes trembled with a unrestrained respect,"...to us it's a great occasion that we're still alive. If it wasn't for you everyone would be dead by now. So it's not like we're doing it because we feel obliged. Not at all." she puffed her cheecks in a dignified manner, she was a tsundere no doubt.

Her brother chose her to finish his collection in it's full glory; every type he had and even two sets of twins to the roster. Something Issei respected somewhat. He held no grudge against her brother, they were both dragged into this by their own fault and he just thought of it as business.

Issei sighed. He wasn't in the best mood at all. His mind was somewhere else,he participated like a machine in his responses in this conversation. Mechanical answers,learned through extensive use over various business trips where he had to speak. They always ended up with a lot of blood,most of them atleast.

Issei looked at them both.

"There's no need to be so tsun-tsun over think of it as business - i assist you, you assist me. Simple, clear of any attachment and efficient. I did it because no one deserves to die like that,torn away from their family...So there you have it.", with a business like aura,something he acquired from the influence the Sitri Heir over him, he made things clear to them - no feelings and attachments because he could die any minute and he didn't want them to be hurt. Even someone as him wanted to lessen the pain for them,even if his methods weren't quite nice to begin with. To keep his distance from them,not to have either girl feel something for him. The last part was delusional so he just wrote it off.

"Tsun-tsun?", the words struck Ravel like thunder. She blinked as his words went through her head as a metaphorical arrow, she didn't like it very much of being reminded of that. She suspected he saw through her facade as to hide what she felt like, he was perceptive enough to understand and read her like a book. Something he knew very well in just 6 days with minimal information available to process.

"You're the type that really cares but you have difficulty expressing what you truly feel. And you would hide it like it's something wrong." Issei nodded but his response had been mechanical. He wasn't really paying attention at this point as his mind flashed over the scene he had seen constantly on repeat."You're nice..."

 _Corpses were lying over the desert, bathing the golden sand with a red and black tint of blood like rain. Bodies were stacked on each side of the vast sands with red flames engulfing their lifeless flesh in fiery tongues._

His mind replayed the memory over and over again until another one popped up.

"That kindness of yours would get you killed. I'm not saying anything against it, it's not my job to point out the flaws that come with it."

 _The sight of the bleeding Ice Elemental was before his eyes. Her white gown was stained with the blood,pouring down her slit neck in shading her palid complexion with the shade of red. Her words were still fresh - they were here and there was no chance for him to hide forever from them._

He was feeling like he wanted to puke,he was sensing it's influence spreading all over his soul with whispers of lunacy and promises slowly filling up his head. With a blinding fast reaction he unfurled his bottle of pills and drove a small heap of them down his throat to their surprise. It wasn't often when they saw him taking these pills,he always did it when they weren't watching him.

"Are you alright? Let me help you..." both tried to reach out to him despite the distance and the pain but he waved them off with a telepathic twitch of his eyes in saying "It's okay. It's okay." But despite that they almost fell to the ground if not for his shakily moving hands in catching them. That brought pain of course. It was a far stretch to say he had completely regenerated the tissue properly, they were currently mending once more properly with the gained resistance of the King Bahamut's corrosive stomach juices and it's infamous for it's toxicity and acidic properties, Toxic Breath.

He averted his gaze from them and with a slight shiver in his voice gave them something just to know how things stood." You people don't deserve to die. There are good people among the Devils. Not that good actually exists. You get the point, neither of you have to risk your lives so don't." rather annoyed, a slight bit of peeved and somewhat underwhelming he carried himself like he used to. "We can't trust each other in reality. It's someone from the Pillars, Astaroth are most likely involved despite being a target - it could be to tick off attention. Or it's someone from them." he cocked a single brow while pondering," And it's possible we are a part of it. Be it memory erasure,sleeper agents or a controlling spell or mark..."

The atmosphere wasn't the best at the beginning, in no way possible was it pleasant. Stiff, cold and business like was it's nature but for a moment - things turned rather sour and moody after he mentioned his theory to them. Even if they protested it would equal to nothing - the mood was killed just like that by Issei's work. The special skill of Killjoy Maker. It was some miracle by so far on how they dealt with him these six days of being together, the ORC disliked him for reasons obvious but sadly it was required to go and visit them.

Xuelan clapped her hands,"Fine by me. If he doesn't want us to be friends. Then so be it. It's obvious he wouldn't change his opinion, you don't want our friendship so there's no point in trying to make it happen by force." her scowl deepened," let's just take it slowly and try to be civil. Someday we'll make it happen and be friends as we are strangers so far."

"Works by me. But don't regret it by being near me.", Issei gave her an approving nod.

"So let's help each other and i doubt we'll regret it. You're really kind under that nasty face of a spineless goon." Ravel couldn't help but smile in her brightest aray of expressions, her eyes gleamed with warmness as she saw something about him that others failed to notice. Xuelan gave a heartfelt smirk and gave a thumbs up, Issei just gave a creepy grin which made them feel uncomfortable but they casted away their doubts.

The door suddenly opened. The sheer unexpectedness caught them off guard as a tall blonde woman stormed through the door and she approached Ravel and Xuelan. Her dress fluttered in swirls as she took a fast stride straight for the blonde girl with a raised right hand in a slap. She was like an older version of Ravel, the resemblance was almost impossible if it weren't for the fact of that being the Lady of the Phenex House.

"What in Satan's name are you doing?!" through a mix of rage and concern she let out her emotions slip off their leash,the usually stern and reserved woman was not in the best mood. It was visible that she was beyond reasoning, the slap she delivered onto Ravel's delicate face produced a echoing sound that spread throughout the room. "Do you have any idea in what danger you placed our family name. And you..." through a spiteful visage she turned towards the Chinese Rook with a slap from the back of her hand,"why did you let her do something so stupid as risk her life?"

What more,the mother of the Phenex siblings shoved the food on the ground with no problem, she just shrieked with rage towards Issei,"Get out servant! What is this food they're being served?!",a twitch and then a brow were raised in acerbity, she didn't care what he had to say. She just turned around and gave him a grimace of annoyance before he could even speak.

He just left. He opened the door and shut it behind him. _"I'm used to it. Nothing strange or different."_ was the thing he expressed to the Rook via eye movement. An ability they had acquired to converse with just blinks and movement.

"Do you even know what you did, mother?" Ravel could no longer withhold herself, she began to question her mother's actions spontaneously. The place where her slap had connected with her skin was red and still burned with pain.

"What? I just wanted some privacy! Servants shouldn't mingle in our private conversations." she was haughty. But it wasn't her fault, she was emotionally affected by everything that had transpired last night. With her composure regained she turned towards her daughter and asked with the most mushy voice she could knew she was wrong but she couldn't just stop herself from doing it. Subsequently she hugged both girls and apologized.

"Where is that fine gentleman that gave us this priceless information? I want to thank him personally."

As much as they hesitated, Xuelan pointed out the obvious - "You just sent him away, milady. He was the one who kept us company."

There was no way she remembered how he looked like - during the Rating Game he was masked almost all of the time and when he switched to Onyx Diabolica he was undistinguished from everything else. Only those who were fighting him saw his visage, the rest of the spectators perceived a distorted silhouette in a costume due to his visual distortion ability.

"Oh my goodness, what have i done?" the sheer realization struck her like a truck.

She had messed up big time.

XXX

 _"I don't even know what I'm doing here. Friends, huh? Such conviction, such kindness... It's going to bite them in the ass some day."_

He was walking down the corridor of the infirmary with thoughts of what to do next. He was pondering on either one of his fellow club mates involvement in the span of things, or what reasons they held in such participation. He always thought it could have been one of them to have caused his transformation and choice of being elected as an Apostle. Though it was a bit hard to influence the system to choose him, it didn't pick it's bearers on a whim nor just any tragedy to happen. There many more factors in account for it to happen.

He would even dabble in thought of it being an alternative version of himself who sprung this disaster for the sake of the world. Or maybe a time displaced doppelganger who used the identity of X to make him pass through the mistakes he had made safely and change the timeline.

Everything was possible. So possible that it hurt to think of what or who they were and how dismal things would get. He could be the killer of his parents actually, that was probably false given the message Shidou gave him, X's assistance and his general disposition. But it wasn't to be trusted lightly, always with a grain of salt to whatever it might be.

 _"That lady was kinda hot. So this is what Phenex would look like in the future? Totally my type, blondes and brunettes are the best."_ silently humming to himself a strange melody while walking, he couldn't resist the urge to flounder in his nature of perversion by imagining all of the possible scenes in an eroge game.

Showering in the bath with Ravel, hugging her tightly in the bath tub while talking about the world with the company of a bottle of red wine and a Cuban cigar like a boss. That would have been nice if he were normal that is.

 _"Ok. That would have been really lewd and great but it's not going to happen. If i were a normal person it wouldn't either, but i don't have time to think about such a thing. Because it's not like that,i can't even stand being touched by others..."_

 ***How you like me now,boy? Don't worry, you'll join them real soon."**

And just for a second, that memory flashed before his eyes. The cadavers, the black eyes of the dead, the torture he had endured two years ago that night of October. There was no way to forget it, a memory wipe wouldn't be effective in the way he was now. Before it might have been but not today.

 _"Yeah. I know it's not possible. I need to do something about it, and then i could do what i want. If i have any time left for it..."_

He had crossed the distance from the room where the Phenex girls resided unnoticeably, he was standing right before the door of the Gremory peerage. A large, lavishly decorated door stood before his eyes with the walls of marble adding a cold aura of nobility and solitude. Something he could relate to but not enough to emphasize with.

There was silence. Once again he questioned himself on whether to enter and probably get some slack as per natural order demanded or to just let it go. But neither were choices he could avoid from making - he would never bow down to anyone else. Not because of stupid pride but because of the feeling of being a trinket for someone's status, an object, a slave. Yet he decided to go with what he had planned - he was going to ask her to use their database in his search and probably get consent to do whatever he wanted to with it.

Having knowledge on each member to use against if they tried something funny to getting an audience with a specific someone who could help. And to gain a tremendous boost in knowledge over the matter of the leash,called the Evil Pieces and to find a way to remove it. Being a Devil was actually a weakness, he didn't know how he still had access to the Boosted Gear when he was not a human anymore.

Humans and hybrids were the only ones who could wield a Sacred Gear because of their status and possession of a soul. Once turned into a member of the paranormal, the Sacred Gear's power would be sealed and unusable in normal circumstances but there were ways to go around it. Just like Raynare and Kokabiel did - by the use of human flesh or blood as they had the property of the bearer's soul. But what were the cases of Yuuto Kiba and Asia Argento? That he wasn't sure but had his theories.

But he was no longer human. Before his conversion he had still been human, even with his slow transformation into a Dragon he didn't need the prison that was the Boosted Gear to use it. He was the Dragon itself, not just a simple user of a Holy tool and his soul was intact as Original Beings had something of a soul,an essence to define them to boot. So his conversion did not take away his ability, but his persona and soul were eroding slowly due to the things that lurked inside.

It was over. He touched the doorknob and slightly pushed it down to peek from the angle of the now slightly opened door.

To his eyes the sight of the injured was revealed - bandaged and strapped to beds with various healing seals and spells to assure nothing bad would happen. On four beds in a row were Rias,Koneko, Akeno and Kiba. Dressed into white pajamas of sorts and sleeping soundly with the exception of Rias.

She was just staring into a blank point with nothing registered in her field of vision. Such a pitiful sight on how the high and mighty were standing there silent and unmoving in a contemplation of what had transpired. Truly, she was thinking over everything and doubting herself when faced with the truth. It was something natural for expectations to fail people when the truth was slapped hard into them mercilessly, viciously breaking down their perceived ideas and good intentions into nothing more than wishful thinking.

Issei stepped forward and pulled out a nearby chair and strapped his legs over it in a single manner of sitting uptight before her. Something in her reminded him of the past,of how we was under the false impression of being able to do everything if he wanted to. But it was far from the truth. So so far from it.

He looked as if he were confused. Or he was just awkward and uncomfortable and didn't know how to start the conversation.

 _"What do i say, what do i do? Why is forcing myself to speak up in what would be a superficial conversation so hard? Nah, i hate those but I'll make an exception. Even though i don't like her i don't think she should burden herself with expectations."_

"You actually came all the way down here...rather unexpected." Rias finally spoke up. She didn't look at him, she just kept staring down to the bed with a pained expression brewing over her face. It was no secret she had cried so much as to leave red from rubbing her eyes marks. Something obvious to the naked eye. She wasn't the same as before; gone was the pride and bravado that she always put up as a mask, leaving only what appeared to be the real Rias behind the mask of a Heiress to a distinguished family.

Issei gulped down in surprise to that. He didn't expect anything at all but found it in himself to speak. To comfort her as much as possible for he still had it in him, even if it was for someone like her. "Yeah..."

Silence once again heated up the already dismal mood. It stood for several minutes before Rias forced herself to talk once again.

"You were right about it... The battlefield is something beyond what i had envisioned in my mind. I wasn't ready at all, i just thought i could save him from what he was turning into but i really understand it now." tears once again began to swell at the edges of her blue eyes," I'm all just talk and no bite. I thought i could do it but it seems I'm no good. I'm scared, i was so scared at the prospect of dying that i couldn't believe it.", her hand twitched , fingers curled into fists as she tried to suppress her anger once again.

"Yeah. It's scary,i can't deny it...But you know what", he ran his hand over the thin blanket with fingers clutching onto the white cloth in a fist," despite knowing you didn't stand a chance. Despite it being foolish and a risk", he spoke with clarity," You still tried your best despite knowing you could get killed. It's not something like playing soldier or the power of friendship could make you live another day."

"So if you can't do it...just step aside from the frontline and keep your peerage safe. I didn't save you because you were young and unexperienced." he rolled his eyes back into their sockets as a sign of annoyance," i took that job because I'm sure someone would cry for you if you ended up dying..." he was sure of that.

She had a loving family, no matter how flawed and pushy they were, they would cry for her with bitter tears for all eternity. And it would have been a bitch to deal with their court and political bullshit for something that was expected of him - for a Pawn to protect their King with their life. But she was never his King and would never be.

"People always misunderstood the true nature of is something more sublime than just fighting and killing. Horror is about facing something inevitable, something unstoppable, and about knowing that whatever you did you'd never be able to be victorious. Horror was about coming face to face with a truth that you just couldn't bear, something which changed ones entire perspective, what made something which seemed innocuous and innocent into something which had in truth always been malevolent and cruel."

She struggled to keep her frustration from showing. Her hands opened and clenched periodically while she had her eyes closed in intense concentration. "But it wasn't enough... I didn't save them. Back then i don't think i could have done anything, i feel so weak and...useless. I-I'm nothing...but a...liar and a selfish bitch. I just get everything on a silver plate while they fought with everything they had..." she continued to sob. She couldn't help it, she felt her heart ripping apart from the fear of the uneviatable.

"You're alive. The rest doesn't really matter as you're still here but this should be a lesson to never take things for granted. This world is cruel and merciless",he took a deep breath before speaking," there's nothing that says we're entitled to something so don't expect me to save you next time." he just sat still with no reaction. Nothing went past his face, it was just blank and mechanical in nature." So cry"

Rias couldn't believe it. She couldn't find any reason or meaning behind the words he said. It was him for God's sake! It totally passed through her, there was no way he would say that. He was a unpopular, disgusting, good for nothing perverted loser whom she pitied and brought back, but it wasn't just that. There were always ulterior motives behind each action, conscious or subconscious in nature.

 _"Oh,seriously? One time I try to be civil and nice and i get this? I was once nice - i was despised. I was nice twice and you what i got as a prize..."_

"Cry if you want to. It doesn't matter if you laugh or cry,the world doesn't care. But let it all out because it would hurt more if you do so. There's nothing shameful in crying, but cry for something that's worth it."

Her eyes squinted at first. She tried to stay strong but her overwhelming emotions were like a lake,an uncontrollable vortex of spiraling feelings blowing up in a miserable faint smile. A smile which scrunched up in pain and suffering, eyes which drowned in tears and just a faint trace of life in her hallowed sobbing. Her face wasn't in her usual visage,it turned contorted and unsightly with guilt and realization going across each corner of her otherwise beautiful face. But no one looked nice when they were crying.

"Just because you think you weren't strong enough doesn't mean shit." he raised his voice a bit and looked straight into her eyes with a conviction she hadn't seen before, "It's not because you weren't strong enough. Why does everyone think that with just being stronger they'll protect someone? Sometimes we just can't do anything about it."

"Why..why...why?" sobbing, she tried to pick herself up from the pitch black hole she had sunk in. She had met despair, she had seen death and destruction and much more. She had seen what he was and what he was capable of.

"…It's because life isn't fair and graceful to anyone. It's not cream and roses sadly. It's mud,sorrow and struggling in the gutter." he said in a heavy and grim tone."It's not because you were weak...don't misunderstand that."

 _"It doesn't matter if you have power or not in saving someone. You can't control life, it bites back and fucks you over tenfold. Even i couldn't save the Sitri peerage for her_ _._ _"_

"W-what..do you...mean?" Rias called out to him with a sadness like never before. Her voice trembled, her arms were shaking with desperation and rage over her weakness."You change and save people! You're strong and capable! I'm not so don't talk like that!" her sobbing quickly turned to a roaring sound her vocal cords produced. She slammed her hands down in a fit of anger and she gave him a frustrated look." I envy you... You do things i can't do no matter how hard i try... Do you know how much it hurts?"

 _"Of course i know how it feels. To be unable to change the outcome, to be helpless in the face of peril..."_

"You're under the false impression that i can do everything. I don't save or change people..." with no hesitation whatsoever he spelled the truth he had been living with. "I've killed much more than i have saved. I can't save everyone, neither am i strong as you make me out to be. I'm just me and nothing more." he crinkled his brows in response to that remark.

"And still, you're alive. It doesn't matter anymore what you were before. It matters what are you going to do now that you know the truth" and before he gave her a chance to speak he finished - " There's nothing to be envious of me. We're totally different and incompatible, different worlds and different fates to follow."

Rias did not move from her position. She raised her head to look at him finally and began to stare. She remained exactly where she stood in the exact position, unmoving.  
"I'll try to change. That's what." she rubbed off her eyes with the sleeves of her clothes.

"Why should you resign yourself to this world and change who you are? Would that be you, would it? I think not." he responded with a dull tone of chiding. He still kept his distance from her,his hands were back on his lap and he still looked like a petty crook with the way he said things. "We fail many times, we make mistakes much more but even if you couldn't do it the first time. Just get your ass up and try to do what you want because crying over spilt milk won't change anything!"

"It's not so easy,damn it!"

"It's not. It's stupid and a waste of time.I know you're using me, i don't know for what reason but It's plain obvious." he just said it. No restraint or consideration. He just spelled it out bluntly for her to know that he was no perverted idiot who'd follow her like a dog just because she had a great pair of boobs. But he was a pervert, no doubt but not a stupid one. Just a nasty and cold jerk.

It was obvious - both sides had their own agenda and used each other for their needs. She was manipulative, he was much more than her but both sides had something they wanted; everyone wanted something the other had to fill in the gaps of their respective void. But why shouldn't it be beneficial to both? And once there was no further use they could always leave the other and be on their way.

"Compared to me you look perfect, you're admired by everyone and what you do is always praised. But you're not perfect, no one is perfect. I'm not judging you, it's your life so it doesn't concern me but just to make it clear" things changed. His gaze sharpened as illustrious steel, his teeth rattled and his aura changed to a razor blade like shroud around him." I'm not going to be a pet or a servant. You remember my words so don't try anything funny. But just for today", switching back to his own pace of a awkward boy he raised his hand and gave her a single nod.

"I don't care what you think of me or whatever you're going to do. Just know that if you want to do something - just do it and say fuck it!"

She chuckled to his disgust. The same way Raynare did but it was slightly different. She smiled, but he didn't believe it. He never believed her once.

What caught his attention the most was the book of fairy tales she had on the side of her pillow. And most of the stories were about a prince rescuing a lone princess and living happily in a far away land. It was something of an obsession of hers, that he had noticed when he was required to visit the club room. The library shelves were filled with fiction of similar nature, the way she played chess by herself sometimes as he learned during the training trip not so long ago gave him an idea.

"You like fairy tales? Quite unexpected at first glance but not so much." he tried to talk. He had something in mind, depending on her response.

"U-um,yes. I do actually", hesitantly, not sure if she understood where this was going she replied with a tinge of nostalgia over something. It was written all over her face.  
"I just enjoy their storyl- it got cut off. He spoke up before she could finish what she had to say.

"Because you want to be loved for who you are as a person and not as the face of a aristocratic household." his eyes glimmered with a confident aura, he was trying to see if his thoughts were correct. He had observed her, how she acted and carried herself around people. Add the knowledge of a fiancé and the result was this.

"I'm right, aren't i? It's so easy to spot it - just as every princess wants to find her very own hero on a white stallion, your wish is such a common desire from fiction. That's your escape from being born into a family among the high society, fairy tales sure are nice but nothing more than a delusional lie."

Stunned. Bemused and frightened at how close he got it right, she turned away and looked at the floor and said.  
"What's so wrong about it? I don't want to be seen as the sister of a Satan nor as just some trophy. Just because i am from a Pillar family doesn't mean i want to be seen as a figurehead." she snapped at him.

"I want to be loved as a whole. As who i am really."

"It's a contradiction."

She was puzzled. "Why and how exactly is it contradictory?"

"Because you want to be loved as who you are,the full not as a Gremory - because if you really wanted that, to be loved for who you are shouldn't they love you as both Rias and as Rias Gremory?"

She couldn't respond to that. The words sunk in as she realized where she was wrong and how contradictory her wish was in reality. To be loved as Rias but not as Rias Gremory certainly didn't mean the whole thing as she thought. A cough escaped from her mouth before she could continue to speak.

"You're really awful, you know that?" only that choice was left. She tried to smother the embarrassment under the mask of her typical self, not sure if it would work.

 _"Is that a compliment? My,thanks but you forgot to mention the fact that you're a still a bitch to your people. Who the hell would name someone Kitten just because they looked like one?"_

"I know. Anyways", he began in a new direction,"i always knew you weren't human if you've wondered. But i didn't know what type you were until that day in June. But it's not the sole reason for which i avoid you." he dropped it like it was hot. Issei just smirked in his own creepy ways as much as he followed that with a snort,  
"I hate people like you who enjoy dabbling into fake pleasantries and small talk, people who have everything and haven't worked for it even once. But i don't envy you. If anything I'm glad I'm not like you people."

They stood there with no answer from Rias. Akeno woke up and eyed the whole room in search of something through her dizziness. She looked terrible just as everyone else. Her hair was let loose with no ribbon to hold her raven black hair in place. That sight alone reminded him of her, enough to turn away and with the best of his ability not to fall under the strain and puke.

"Ise...is that you?" faintly she whispered but pain struck her with that attempt.

"There's no way you'd mistake me for someone else." he sounded harsh.

"Still the same asshole,aren't we?" teasingly she gave him a sadistic wink. There was no way she would let out on such a occasion to mock him. She wouldn't let it get away for nothing in the world. He was her antagonist, her villain to blame and hate and as the _hero_ she insulted him on his behavior with her trademark mirthful gaze of sadistic belittlement.

"Yeah, yeah i know. Anything else you have to say?" Like a machine he spoke back to her. His reaction was to press back and let her sink in her words before giving her a response." I've got work to do. So if you have something to say,say it cause time is precious and i ain't got all day."

"Thank you..."

 _"Huh,what the hell? Is this girl for real? Sometimes i wonder how does old man Barakiel handle this kid? I seriously need to have a drink with him sometime."_

"Don't thank me. Thank that pretty boy over there for saving your asses," snarky, deadpan like was the way he said it. Nothing unusual for someone who wanted nothing with them.  
"I'll be leaving then..."

Just as he was about to leave, Asia showed up at the door with a handful of towels on her arms. She was quite surprised and approached closer with something to say about.

"She's alright. Don't worry." Issei said so, he knew what she was going to say anyways. He almost forgot,"I want to check out your access as well. And there's someone i want to talk with, it's important."

"Ok. It's not a problem." Rias's responded with a neutral tone.

Asia went past the spot where he stood and placed the stacked towels on the King's bed. She still gave him a radiant smile, full of worry and compassion. The way she smiled made him feel uncomfortable for a better lack of words.

He moved away from the room and passed straight through the door with it closing behind him. He was finally outside and brought his hand on his chin.

 _"It was easier than i thought which creeps me according to plan -now i just need to get those files. That girl...there's no way she's normal..."_

He began to think. His brows creased downwards slightly with a semi-scowl fixing itself over his face like a glued mask over a plastic mannequin.

 _"How is it possible to smile like that after everything that happened? Start by suspecting the one you would least suspect - that nun. There's a reason for everything, why Azazel told me to protect her..."_ his eyes squinted with a voice of suspicion growing stronger in his head. Things were normal, too normal for him to even feel safe. He was at a place where anything could happen - absolutely anything in the den of enemies.

He bit his lips hard. _"The Harlot...the Antichrist and the opening of the Gate 20 years ago..."_ he was skimming through details in a possibility of something under his nose. He was always suspicious ever since he was receiving those messages. And then once again that thought came to him.

 _"That girl could be the Harlot, the Whore of Babylon... She probably is the one... I should wait before taking any action, acting with no basis could either fuck things up or help us a lot. For now I'll wait...but if it's that,I'll have to kill her..."_

XXX

21st August, Sitri Family House, Kuoh City, 20:35 pm

Things were awry, the sour aftertaste of what he had done stirred his thoughts in a plethora of anticipated reactions, on what to expect from Sona. If one thing was certainly clear then that would be painful and unpleasant but when did he aim for pleasantries and the like?

It was getting darker and darker as the veil of the night covered the city with the stars rising on the horizon. After that conversation with Rias he had returned to Kuoh to finish what was needed to be done by using the reason of going to visit Sona. And of course, Rias didn't like it one bit. She was still too far away in her rivalry with Sona, he was much closer to the bespectacled StuCo President than he was with her. Maybe. That last conversation did make her rethink everything from scratch and made her feel like she wanted to try, to not be so controlling and have things happen on their own accord as her forceful approach did not bear any fruit.

She even talked with everyone that was awake, discussing their problems and how much they haven't really tried to understand and help each other. Even Asia was included in this small gathering where they all cried and hugged, sans Kiba as he was still sleeping soundly and was still in critical condition despite Asia's healing.

By the use of the situation Issei had made them grow closer and united, he laid out the foundations of their patching up and still did things his way but he wasn't going to sit idle and watch some tearjerker scene. There was something greater in importance than to stay and watch them. He had placed some automatic constructs and seals over the rooms he visited and a secret transportation circle of his own making, hidden in plain sight. People always ignored what was right before their eyes.

Meanwhile...

Issei was walking towards the house of Sitri in Kuoh, a big residence at the other side of the school, far away from the Gremory's house which was in the opposite direction of her's.  
He would be there soon in a minute with a small handbag on his back, clad in dark clothing with various spells placed over it to keep him safe just in case. Anything could happen, literally anything could happen so he was prepared as much as possible for it.

Even if it meant fighting a delusional Maou who thought she was a magical girl. Said thought creeped him out, aroused him and then just plainly creeped him out again just by thinking if she were to team up with one of his clients, Mil-tan. If that didn't usher the Apocalypse then what would?

 _"I don't expect her to react normal. This is going to hurt like Hell. Wait...I am a resident of Hell now. You get the point."_

He was walking with a slight discomfort from his torn off and reknited anew legs, a hunch was much more correct to say regarding his movement. It was painful but manageable to deal with, a few extra seals to keep them intact and voilà - but as with each step he walked towards the home of Sona Sitri, the tingling sensation of his Brand was growing exponentially with the shortening distance between them.

It wasn't usually the case, they felt pain when they were closer more than necessary. Yet the created bond between them made them able to sense each other when they were in close proximity and would cause a tingling in each area of their Euler's Identity, their Brands. He didn't show any sign of distain and continued with the same speed in that direction.

It wasn't a far stretch to say he was nearby. It was an absolute, unavoidable truth that he was coming closer and closer as both sides felt the pain intensified.

And soon he was right before the front gates of her house. In comparison to other residency belonging to Devils in the human world, this one wasn't flashy but of a humble nature. Big but not so unwelcoming, efficient but not without it's regal aura of nobility to encircle it. The first thing he did was to confirm his identity with the guards that maintained security like every other time he went to see her. After doing so he waited for the gates to open and safely pass through the barriers that obscured the residential area from any unwanted guests.

 _"Let's get through 's better this way, it's for the best."_

Issei passed through another set of guards by the entrance, walked up the many stairs that led to the 3rd floor and on the left he spotted her butler, Abraham Basset who leisurely stood and didn't say anything and only gazed back at him with a sympathetic gawk.  
He looked like there was something on his mind currently but did not forget about his presence under no circumstances.

"Please enter, young lad." courteously he invited the youth to step up and check on her.

Issei didn't say a word and crossed forward to pass through, only that he got caught by the elder man by the shoulder with a terrifying grip, pressed on his nerves. He squirmed with piercing pain spreading across his upper body like a plague, he could feel the strength in his legs fading away.

"She hasn't eaten anything today; nor any refreshments. So i kindly ask you to be patient and careful with my master, mister Hyoudou." between a lisp and some fumbling the butler released a hidden threat between those words of his, something Issei immediately caught by reading between the lines and freed himself from his grasp.

And as a sort of gratitude he opened the handbag only to pass the British butler a nice bottle of Johnny Walker/Black Label and gave him a nod. Under his mustache, Abraham smiled back and nodded with approval as he took the bottle and called for a servant to secure it for safekeeping.

"Just don't be so rough with her. Good luck, lad. You'll need it."

"Probably. Thanks for helping me out last night."

And he went inside.

XXX

The room where Sona stayed was unnaturally cold and the sense of austerity could be picked up by anyone with ease. It felt broken, so empty and colder than ice would be, a den of misery and regret had it turned into from a warm welcoming space to this former shadow of it's glory. Hostile and lonely were just the right words to describe what he felt at being here. A feeling so deep ingrained into his psyche as it was the same. It felt like home...

On the nightstand was the bottle of prescription drugs he had delivered to her, open and two of the white pills were on it's cap with a glass of water nearby. While Sona was sitting on the large window bank and stared into the distance with a certain amount of sadness. To what he noticed; she was wearing a simple set of short trousers in black, a thin white hoodie with pink strings attached to the hem and underneath it she wore her undershirt, which exposed her stomach and shoulders. Those were covered by her hoodie anyway so it didn't matter much. Only that she didn't speak a word nor she acknowledged his presence.

The silence,the atmosphere between them was beyond the level of awkward, it felt lifeless and rather bland. Purged of anything resembling hospitality, sterile and uncertain. There was nothing pleasant in this environment, it felt so wrong and yet so right in the way it was; a clear representation of what their relationship was in reality, underneath those words. Selfish,beneficial and cruel with a special amount of pain to bring them together. If there was any life before, it had been extinguished with no mercy. And just near the table was a vase of Marigolds.

Issei calmly sat onto the bed, removed his bag and placed it over the blue blanket over her bed and began to unpack his paraphernalia. There was a certain amount of humility he presented while preparing the glass canister to which to pour his blood into, he had brought some other things as well - surprisingly he had taken two purple hairclips with seals underneath to use for everyday needs. Some alcohol and of course something to measure her vitals.

He looked at her with a reserved gaze, dull and boring but something in it felt awfully different from anything else he had shown. Remorse? Or something much more miserable over what he had done to her. There was no way out, things were going differently from the beginning, rather nothing changed from the start. They were back to square one and even though he knew it would happen, he had to do it otherwise he would drag her down. He recognized the way she acted towards him; not as a person but as a lifeline, a dependence she placed on him. It wasn't the way she was, she was the strong willed and independent type who would stand her ground and exuded confidence in her actions. But that was gone. Only a shell remained of her former nature.

He rolled up his sleeve and with his index finger into a claw he ran across his skin and made a precise cut to let the blood flow into the container he had prepared and closed the cap to prevent it from dissipating. Then he placed it carefully on the bed and rolled his sleeve down with the self inflicted wound healing up.

Issei shut his eyes and gave a weary sigh.

Neither of them said a word as they sat in silence. They remained silent for half an hour.

After 30 minutes had passed, she finally took the initiative to break away from this painful atmosphere.  
Slowly, Sona removed herself from the window but she didn't turn back to see him. She observed the skies through her window and after a deep breath she slowly began to talk.

"Why did you bother to see me?", her brows scrunched together as she was about to unleash her emotions but she gave her everything into suppressing them back down so her voice would appear calm and reserved. It passed as such but her hands were clenched into shaking fists in front of her chest.

 _"What should i say,what should i say? I don't have anything good to use for this occasion. I expected this but it seems i wasn't prepared as i thought..."_

He didn't say anything. He couldn't really say anything as it would hurt her more, he knew she didn't want to see him or hear anything from him. But there was no escape, if he left she would be mad. If he didn't it would be the same result. Choosing which evil to take was a hard decision but he was used to it so he finally gave in.

"Because i know what you're thinking about this. And i know what's going to happen but better late than never."

"I see" was her only response as both fell into silence once again for 20 minutes.

 _"This time...it's the time to do it. I can't bear to see her like this. It's my fault so it's time to face the consequences of my doing."_

He grabbed the canister and lifted up from the bed and stepped forward with utmost carefulness, hesitantly taking each step that lead to her, he felt something in him snapping and burning yet he ignored it. For the first time he could say he had a bond with someone else, a possibility maybe not so much. They were together in this,suffering and fighting to survive between paranoia and despair,not being able to move one despite their best efforts. That was for him exclusively but Sona wasn't the same.

She knew he was behind her. His presence was miniscule, unnoticeable to others, not her as she had learned so much from him and could bypass through his stealthy approach when she wanted to find him.

"You know...what you did was despicable... So don't you show up when it's not needed." no emotion,just a machine like response. Her calm voice did have a tint of annoyance but not so much as a wish to leave her alone.

"I know what i did and i just..."

"Just wanted to apologize, correct? Just to see how miserable i am and how much I'm scared,right?" she turned around. The mask of calmness she wore fell apart when her eyes met his own. Her lips quivered and her eyes bore into his with scorn and disappointment.

"Am i so pitiful for you to do whatever you decide on with my feelings?", it was so painful to say it but she had to make a voice was muffled and almost at the point of crying. Her complexion changed, her heart became like ice and she steeled her gaze like unbreakable metal. From a meek girl she turned into something more of a wrathful Devil, she wanted to hurt him so bad and at the same time did not.

She needed to make a point."Answer me,Hyoudou. Just what right do you have in deciding what to do with people?"

Issei sighed and stretched his arm to her while holding the canister. "I don't have any right or obligation but...", he had difficulty in speaking his mind. He was actually hurting a bit just by watching her. She never deserved anything of this, such a compassionate and understanding person was never meant to bear this burden. Especially his.

"...I wanted to keep you safe. Because you might have died if you went along with me..." he averted his gaze from her and handed the blood she required to stabilize her condition.

She had enough of this. Sona bared her teeth in a pissed off face, and with a push knocked off the glass canister on the floor which broke and stained the carpet with red. No matter how hard she tried to swallow it, no matter how hard it was to keep herself from acting on emotion, she looked up with a blunt gaze of emptiness and bit her lips to keep herself from breaking apart. Those words were not what she wanted to hear, she wanted something of a different essence.

"Just to keep me safe? Do i look like i am someone in need of protection?" she snapped back," tell me one thing, Hyoudou. Who are you to decide on what i should do? I tried to understand your way of thinking, i really tried my best to help you. I tried so hard to get you out of your shell and it seems it has been for naught...Just tell me...did you ever see me as something else other than a nuisance?"

"Can't you understand i did it for your safety? It was the most logical and efficient solution so i acted upon that." he didn't flinch. He was a logical person at heart and did things in the most productive way to ensure results. But this was done out of pure concern for her - she could have went berserk like last time, he couldn't keep her safe and fight at both times so he took what was the morally wrong choice but the one with the highest survival rate.

"I just had to do it. There wasn't really a choice..."

"I guess i was wrong in my judgement of did you ever think how i would feel, did you? You may be able to see through and analyze people like a book but you fail to grasp that they have emotions. We are not machines yet you still fail to see that.", her face flushed with anger, and her eyes were piercing right into him with a detestable glare.  
She had never let her emotions rule her,she was always calm and logical in the face of danger but it was a first seeing her so angry and hurt.

"Leave me alone.I don't want to see your face."

Once again she went back to pretending he did not exist. As if nothing happened, she went past him to the nightstand and took the bottle and pills. She had difficulty in keeping her hands from shaking, the bottle she held in her palm slipped on the floor and she crouched to get it right up and clean the floor.

"Do you believe you could have done anything in that state? I'm just trying to protect you for God's sake! Can't you fuckin understand that i give a fuck about it!" he roared out with aggravation.

He knelt down, took the bottle from the ground and gave her a hand to stand up. To which she responded with a neutral gawk but he saw her fingers curl into a fist as she tried to suppress her anger once again. He knew she wanted to punch him straight up in the face but before she would do that he wanted her to hear him out."I couldn't care less for people but i just didn't want to see you die. And this is the only way i know."

"What happened with us as a team, as partners? Or was that another thing you found unnecessary? I honestly can't believe why did i trust you in the first place." after that she calmed down with frightening swiftness, and stood up on her own. She took the pills and went back to the window.

She barely avoided it,she felt like she was going to snap and kill him. She knew she didn't mean it but she probably did. Her hands opened and clenched periodically while she took a series of inhales to calm down and opened the window to get some fresh air. She opened her mouth in trying to say something but instead she swiftly turned her back. And continued to stare to relax.

"...Yeah, I'm the same as everyone else. I'm sorry i didn't try to live up to your expectations. But i don't care." he said in a heavy and grim tone. He picked up the broken canister and threw it into the waste bin near the table. He slowly moved away slouching, footsteps uneven and the headache from cursing with God's name was still not receding for either of them. He felt like there was no way to reach out to her so he just did what he came for - he repeated the same sequence and prepared a new canister for her on the table.

"After all we weren't really friends in the first place. Just a bunch of random people who got together to in order to survive without nothing else tying us together. Just victims of the circumstances. I guess there's nothing else to say - I'm sure you would've tried to recruit me in your peerage just as that bitch would. What's better than hitting the jackpot in gaining a Longinus user in your peerage."

She pretended she didn't hear that last sentence. She remained exactly where she stood in the exact same position, unmoving like a statue in her wake.  
She had jumped up the bank and sat on the open window with a hand that either tapped the plastic parts of it in a monotone melody or just remained still.

 _"It's the truth. We were just using each other for a shared goal, just business and nothing else in between. I knew this day would come so maybe it's for the best. She has someone to protect her, she can handle it so it's not my problem anymore. And to think i probably felt like we were friends despite it being foolish... Once again it turned out to be a stupid mistake i never learn from..."_

Before packing his things and leaving he gave her a final goodbye. Nothing flashy or melodramatic, simply a one liner." I'm tired of this bullshit. I'm leaving anyway so I'm sorry if you ever thought of it differently." and he grabbed his bag.

As he was about to move away from the bed and reach for the doorknob, she turned around with a fast step, eyes fierce and cold. Without any regards and full of determination and possibly intoxicated in her disdain, she approached him in a not so graceful manner and with a raised left hand slapped his face hard before he could turn back.

He stood still, unmoving nor flinching.  
She brought her hand around and slapped him once again. And again. He didn't respond to her outrage,he persevered and lowered his eyes to look at the floor in discomfort.

Sona slapped him again as he didn't respond to her. She knew he wasn't the type to respond with violence but disregarded that. Her slaps eventually turned into fists that she brutally landed onto his face, scales covered his face automatically to protect him which infuriated her to no ends as she switched to a fist of ice to haul at his direction. He let her channel her frustration and pain to a certain degree but that last one would have knocked him down in his current condition. It wasn't enough that every time they touched caused resonance between them and their Brands glowed with pain, his body was at his limit as he hadn't healed properly and needed some time to fully was no finesse and definitely no precision in her last punch. To which he responded with a fast grab to stop it from connecting with his face and twisted it to miss.

"THAT'S ENOUGH! Damn it!"

"Do you think it's ENOUGH? Do you really think it's enough?" from a neutral voice it turned into a draconian roar as her eyes morphed into ice blue draconian eyes with slits and a few scales covered her face. It echoed through the whole house but no one dared to enter the room. She pushed him down on the bed with her fists in one mean punch before she tripped over him. It was just then when she let her words sink in. "I actually thought i could trust you. I even deluded myself in believing we could be friends. Just how stupid am i, really?"

His hands tightened in a push so he could free himself from her. "What was i supposed to do? Let you die there? Get eaten by a Bahamut?! Just what in the-

"Like i need you to save me!" she cut him off before he could finish. "I'm not some robot for you to control me! I could have done something about it!"

Ice began to form around her; he could feel his blood freezing with each second ticking away. Icicles materialized from the air in covering the room like a castle made of ice. And within that castle stood the princess and her dearest, closest enemy.

"Just look at me! I'm turning into a monster, an abomination and i can't stop it. Every time i look into the mirror i see something else than me!" she countered. Her words hurt more than any slap would. "Is that the extent of your trust towards me? Oh,should i have known things would turn out to be like this i would have never contacted you ever again. You threw away eight months of my time like it didn't mean anything! But of course you wouldn't care because you were stuck in your head and ignored it!"

"You think you're a monster,Sona," he was giving up,he was reaping what he sowed. "You think it's easy for me as well having this ugly, scarred body of mine and these visions i have?"

She remained silent to that.

"Then i guess you couldn't as you're not like that. But then that makes you just like me. An eldritch abomination, something that brings death whenever i come around. Is that how you see it?" his monotone voice lingered with residual emotions," and just how are you sure that those pieces have turned into something else,huh? What makes you sure about it,did you go out of your way and check on them yourself?"

"Because if they didn't, i don't know what could keep you would shatter and you would perish," she said something he didn't know about. "Maybe if i didn't meet you back then my peerage would be still alive. And maybe i would have been able to respond to Saji's feelings."

"Why do you always have to be that way, Tsubaki?"

His eyes froze in fear. She didn't find it anything worth of note and waved him off. She hadn't realized she had mistaken their names, neither did he feel he should have pointed this out.

It clicked with him, maybe she was actually right about he hadn't met her eight months ago things could have taken a different road. Either way they would have died on separate occasions or something unforseen would have taken place. But still hurt a lot - His eyes widened, the one person he hoped for to see him as a normal man only saw the monster.

 _"How much did she play the part of thinking I'm not? Why do i feel like i want to die, wasn't it enough that i lost everything and this. Yes i am one but i always knew you thought of it. Yes, it hurts. I'm sorry for being that way."_

"Fuck it, I'm tired of this angst riddled conversation. If you don't want to understand, then fine by me. And you're not wrong, they would have probably been here if i wasn't around. Yes,I'm a monster and so what?" by this time around his eyes and face had returned to normal. Even his boring voice was back the way it was.

Sona closed her eyes and took a deep breath to focus. When she once again opened them,they were back to their previous coloration and no scales were present any longer. It was something special if both of them didn't enter Juggernaut Drive, lest the whole area would be decimated along with everything living around here. The ice that encased the room turned into water then to vapor,which escaped from the open window.

"You're wrong." she fixed her purple rimmed glasses with her index finger while a giving him a singular snort to express her contempt for his actions.

"You're not just a monster- your an asshole! Would it hurt to spare a thought how someone else might feel?", her face flushed with melancholy. "I hate the way you do things,i really hate it." her breathing became uneven, her heart raced faster. Something in her was breaking, realization took her afloat.

No response was his way, silence his answer. He agreed with most of it in the back of his head. The only thing left was to leave, whether it was right or wrong didn't matter at all. So the obvious course of action was to his bag and move away from the bed.

 _"Sorry for doing this but i don't know any other way. I don't have any other choice - i can't hope to help you. Only you can. I leave the rest to you...Sitri."_

"I am all of those,that's true. You think you know me but you better think again." he swung the handbag over his shoulder with a circular move of his right arm. That gesture expressed his willingness to leave, he was done with it. And as for a final word before he would go away," But atleast i don't degrade myself ",a snort was unleashed."...by clinging to someone _like a lifeline_ …"

 _"I hate having someone to rely on me and vice on someone, helping each other out, and supporting each other. Most would say that's the right thing to do. However, that's just idealistic. In reality, someone always gets the short end of the stick. And that's...me."_

"…I was so wrong about you" she said in a low voice through gritted teeth.

"Leave and don't show your face in front of me ever again. I don't want to see you ever again!" she said it with the most menacing tone she could produce.

"I'm leaving either way. And don't worry about those Evil Pieces - I'm already dead or i will be soon.", his lips quivered and due to the different angles she couldn't see it. He knew there wasn't anything else he could do here. And he stopped right at the door.  
The young Dragon lowered his head with eyes affixed to the floor, grabbed the knob with a lax grip and pushed down to open the door.

That sight of him hurt more than expected. She could only turn around to hide her face,the mask she wore from being seen in plain was breaking apart,piece by piece it got erased and it was gone before he could even see her. In the same coldness she banished him, she walked away and turned her back to him as he was leaving and gathered what was left in one final phrase.

"If that is all it takes to tear us apart, then maybe we weren't all that close to begin with."

The door closed shut.

Sona went to the window.

It had begun to rain. She closed it with the curtains pulled over.

She waited to make sure he was far away from the door. So he would not hear her.

Sona ran away from the window to the bed, threw away the glasses she wore and cried out every repressed feeling she had withheld inside her heart.

XXX

"I did my part. It's your turn now,Levi-tan. I wish you luck in your endeavor." he greeted her casually with what she liked to be referred as. She squeezed his shoulder in pure bliss. Someone had called her as she wished, someone acknowledged her love for magical girls. A comrade, she felt him as a brother in arms.

Serafall waited at the door for him in normal clothing. Rather unexpected from her,she could be serious when it mattered. This was in fact their first meeting in person. He had only heard rumors from others and saw photos of her from Sona. Nothing more than that.

"There wasn't anything in the files regarding what you asked for,Dragon-chan. But there was something of a distortion recorded; 20 years ago above the skies in Cape are no records of anyone surviving aside from two kids but no names were listed. And about your inquiry of information on Paladin Touji Shidou - just old and irrelevant information. Nothing worth mentioning." she winked with stars escaping her eyes with glitter and lights. And to top she summoned her magical wand, gravely similar to Kaleidostick Ruby or Saphire,only pink in color.

 _"She really is messed up in the head as they say. So far for the first impression but it's totally wrong, I'm sure. Just what trauma does this chick have, i don't want to think about it."_

"Ok. You're delusional as they say you are. Yet i want to see that Mahou Shoujo costume someday." he replied dryly with a straight face. He was technically the straight man to her in this case, nothing less from Magical Levia-tan in the flesh.

"You got it, Hyou-tan! Atleast someone appreciates magical girls, thank you for existing." she bowed down and gave him her number on a paper slip.  
"Thank you for everything you've done so far. I promise I'll keep her safe,my precious So-tan." she switched to Maou Mode instantly.

With a flick of a finger he placed several barriers around the house and much more constructs for protection.

"Piece of advice - use a chainsaw and name it Mistilteinn. And what you're going to see,don't snap or go crazy." and he said his goodbye with the Leviathan.

XXX

22nd August, Underworld, Gremory House infirmary, 00:13 am

Everyone was sleeping soundly in their beds,undisturbed by anything else in the world. It was quiet like in a graveyard, not even a single small sound was made that could alert the guards from moving away and reacting.

It was past midnight but there was something tranquil about that time. Nothing out of the ordinary. Most Devils worked at this time but not the Gremory; not on this day and especially after the veto issued by the Satans, withdrawing any Devil on Earth from leaving and working. There was much work to be done, way too much to fix for a single day would be able to offer. But there was someone else who had a different idea at this time. Someone who wasn't sleeping...

Rias had felt much better and she snuggled into Koneko's bed to keep her company while Asia lied down on Akeno's bed. Kiba was the only one sleeping as his condition didn't allow any movement from his side or to be moved on something else. Despite Asia's best efforts in regenerating his severed left arm from down the forearm, it turned out conjoined with a peculiar silver shine of flesh and metal merged into a near perfect replica of his original arm which they could not retrieve. It could be easily hidden by the use of a artificial skin glove like the ones Asia used for her own limbs.

The smell of mint was around the room in it's corners. Issei had left a pack of mint bubblegum for them not to have bad breath since they couldn't exactly get away from their beds and someone brushing their teeth would be beyond degrading. That's what he thought.

Kiba didn't wake up once during the span of a day and a half. The reassuring fact was that he was alive and would survive somehow with no crippling injuries as thanks to the capability of Twilight Healing and their skilled user.

 _"It's time to wake up, Adam. We have work to do,my boy."_

The clock ticked away 00:14 with it's arms. It was quiet as everyone slept. Kiba was sleeping like a baby, bandaged and undisturbed by anything other than a calling for him. Only he could hear it's voice, asking him to come forth and do what he is supposed to. The burning sensation in his left arm aroused his sleepy head from dreaming - his eyes were open wide and he took a look around the room for anything suspicious. Nothing was there,just him and the rest who were sleeping.

With one leg on the floor he stepped carefully, then with the other he took a step and rose up in his white pajamas with an IV into his wrist, he removed it with precision and closed his eyes for a moment. From the darkness the exact same suit he received from Issei was materialized to the finest detail, the original one was repaired and could now be called forth as his own summon. It's fabric was wrapped with shadows around his broken body, masking his presence and identity completely. A black glove with a red pentagram was placed on his Clarent wielding arm, a sort of Mystic Armament to hide the nature of his Sacred Gear. And the possession of a Holy Sword that could be only wielded by a traitor, a long lost in the ages Relic of a past kingdom.

The last thing he did was to take a piece of gum and slide it under his mask before departing.

And like he was never there he vanished from sight. No traces were left of him. He was gone.

Somewhere no one knew...


	16. act15

Act.15 Tullamore Dew & Jack Daniels Pt:1

1st September , Hyoudou Residence, Backyard ,16:45 pm

"Throw an axis kick and aim for the throat!" Issei was sitting on a chair while he watched the Phenex girls spar with each other. It was still warm and sunny so he had a can of beer in his hand and leisurely sat down, observing their motion and gave some advice or ideas on how to proceed.

Xuelan sidestepped to her right with a fast axis kick to Ravel's chest. She flinched back with her arms raised in flames, blocking her onslaught until the black haired girl jumped in the air and executed a somersault kick and then followed with a quick jab at her throat. Griping tightly her tender neck, Xuelan spun around and threw the smaller Ravel at the grass lawn and had a moment of rest to catch her breath.

 _"Damn! That Phenex guy sure has great taste."_ Issei thought to himself while secretly eyeing the Rook from head to toe. She was dressed in a tight black top and matching capri pants, her well toned and feminine body hadn't lost it's charm by no means possible. What Issei liked was not just her generous bust but her slender legs and the way she gracefully moved.

The Chinese Rook's hair was tied in a low ponytail, the lack of her ox horns hairstyle was a bit of a downer for him- he had a thing for the cloth she used to tie her hair up in her usual look. Sweat rolled down her cheeks by the moment Ravel stood up and tackled her like a mad dog.

"Pass me that can, Low-Class Devil. I need some refreshments to ease off my mind from the stress i am subjected to." Riser was present. He went to the human world to escort his sister back to the residence, subsequently he decided to stay a day or two in regards to her condition. But honestly, he had something different in mind.

"Yeah,yeah. Have a drink." Issei reached out to the beer case and snatched a can of Tuborg with his left hand while he was laying down on the comfy chair. Riser still kept his distance from him but they were at a point where they could exchange words freely and be around in each others presence. Well,that would be a far stretch.

Riser warily grabbed the can with such precision to avoid any contact with Issei's hands. They had the distance of 5 meters in between chairs and communicated with a linking spell to keep their conversation private while they watched the girls brawl.

The flamboyant Phenex squeezed the can in his left hand while he remained under the shadow of the roof, leisurely watching his sister bite back with pride over her strength. The opener was already on the tin when he found the strength to say what he wanted to. His eyebrows scrunched in a uncomfortable,awkward grimace, it looked like he was leading a battle against his own nature of being a part of a noble family versus the real Riser behind the facade.

"You know...", Issei brought up the can to drink while never looking away from the girls in fear of something unexpected popping up, his gawking was sharp as a cleaver when he pointed his eyes straight to Riser in a cold stare. He left the beer down on the ground and continued with his words, "It's not your fault if that's what you're here for. I mean you got fucked over in this, i was used against you for it but i don't hold anything against you. We were put in a uncomfortable situation so we had to do it."

He was right. Issei didn't hold any grudge against Ravel's brother by no means necessary. He understood the position both were brought in and why they had to fight; each with their own reasons for doing so. If he didn't do that with Rias,maybe things would have gone differently? Or maybe not.

" After what happened i did some thinking on what i really what i want to do with my life." Riser took another sip of his Tuborg and strangely looked much more humble and collected than he appeared to be. That wasn't a surprise for Issei - he knew he wasn't as bad as people thought he was or how Rias would paint him. It was the same way he was viewed as sleazy and disgusting, but he had money and power so it was acceptable. He was just another youth who was under the effects of the status quo and idiotic doctrines of Devil society. Something not so far from human society either.

"Yeah,you're right but you're still a low level Devil."

"It's not like i ever wanted to become one. Just so you know." Issei calmly responded with a cigarette clutching around his fingers, he used his index finger to create a small flame and light it up like a boss would do. Sometimes it was really handy to have in your arsenal; even if used for everyday tasks." If things went the way i wanted to... We wouldn't be talking under these circumstances but in much friendlier ways. Still... I'll find a way out of this chain." something in him stirred up with a vile miasma circling around him like an aura. His fangs lengthened slightly, something he used as a makeshift can opener to pop a Heineken can from the case.

Riser looked away in fright.

After some silence he started again.

"I was so blindsided with having Rias that i forgot what i really wanted to do. What really mattered to me..." he looked moody all of a sudden like he was going to fall under his depression once again and cry over the sight of a dragon. But what came out of his mouth wasn't squeals or screams, words. His own realization and thoughts were handed out. "Losing her made me realize that i shouldn't rely on my name and laze around just because i have talent and wealth. Nothing is going to be handed out on a silver plate, so i should make an effort. I've never lost before but it was probably that what i needed to open my eyes and think over what i was doing with my life."

 _"What?! Are you acting nice with me? It's not me who did this, it was you who helped yourself in doing this. And you're not so bad, people always judge by general behavior and looks but you still have a really cool harem."_

"And i can't help but hate you despite everything you've done for my family... People see me as a cripple, a stain in the long line of the House of Phenex. Expectations, expectations and always expectations! I'm tired of this tirade,i just want to do something i like and make do with what i want. And that includes getting the family heir position" his voice spiked with a muffled sense of contempt.

"I know you were forced into this and still...i just feel so down about it. I really liked Rias for what she was - yes,she's spoiled and a sheltered princess but she had some good qualities to her. It's not that i am mad about her doing it so much as doing it with some nobody.  
Why you and not me? Or you fell prey to her Glamour?"

Only Pureblood Devils had the ability of Glamour/Allure to enhance their charisma and attractiveness to a certain degree in recruiting humans for their own needs. Reincarnated Devils only had varying degrees of the lesser variant of Glamour - they had Charm. Kiba was a prime example of having more Charm, it made him slightly more attractive, adding a small bit to his natural ability to attract girls.

That last bit. Those words resounded deep into Issei's mind, he turned away from his field of sight and sighed heavily like the world was falling apart. That had hit a nerve, something he tried to forget but would never be able to move on from it. Time does not erase the pain completely, neither would he feel better if he erased those memories for the feeling would always pertain in his vessel.

"And it's not my problem anymore. And yes, i am a nobody which is better for me. And i don't have anyone to worry over or love." he mumbled under his breath. Something that passed easily with the blonde haired man, he still felt like it was unnatural but he maybe knew about it from Ravel or she was kind enough not to tell him about it.

"I know about it...She told me of your circumstances." a slight tinge of sympathy was repelled by the dragon's natural barrier like a bouncing ball off a steel wall.

 _"Sometimes i can't help but feel the need to really keep the tsundere bitch in check over what she talks. Oh well…"_

"Aren't you risking your life by going behind the ban, just to get here?" Issei blinked twice before saying that.

Things may have settled down a bit,but the ban was still in effect as of now and it didn't seem like it would be revoked any time soon. There was still that offer by the Governor of the Fallen Angels to have a conference and yet there was still no answer from the other two factions. If the proposal was accepted, a meeting would be held on the third day of September in a specified location yet undisclosed.  
What he did went against the new policy of meetings with other Devils and leaving the Underworld. Issei would have had to go but he didn't care so he just gave them the finger and wiped the memories of the guards that came to take them.

"Going behind the rules for my family is what i do. So even if i am to face tribulation i will stand up for my sister", he growled back. Despite what people thought of him he was a man worthy of respect for the affection he showered his sister with. He risked his life for her like any brother would, he went against the Maou Law just to see her in facing imprisonment for this act.

"I respect that. You're not bad as they make you out to be. Just arrogant and let's be honest", Issei turned towards him once more with a surprisingly lecherous grin,"...you have great taste in your choice. You've got two sets of twins in your harem! How can i not respect that!" he smirked perversely. He was seeing his dream in Riser's peerage, an impossible dream he had, knowing how he was and such but he wanted it. Even knowing it was just a whim, just a simple desire he was bouncing back and forth to ease his mind.

"The best curve on a girl is her smile." Riser let out a heartfelt grin escape on his face in recognition. He waved his hands in a lackadaisical manner. What Issei noticed was the way he gazed at Xuelan, his eyes gleamed with pure bliss over his former Rook. She was giving everything she had against his sister, overpowering the younger Bishop with ease but was falling back due to the magic Ravel used to fight back. The way he looked at her gave it all. He turned away from them and returned to what he was going to say.

"Just kidding..." Riser smirked with a perverted gleam in his eyes,that grin turned to the most perverted gaze Issei had seen in his life," look at that ass!"

It was was the very truth that his words spoke of- he was a perverted lad as well. An aesthetic desire,a craving for the beauty of the female body ran through his veins like the very flames of the phoenix, a will so hell bent on dabbling into the sweet eros of female beauty.

He looked so proud, like there was never a depressive moment in his life. Only joy and happiness remained in this singular moment of brotherhood between two men. Issei immediately fixed his eyes on the black haired girl with a renewed vigor - he had always thought she was beautiful, charming and so much his type but he never expected her personality to be pleasant as well. Not too cheesy nor too cold,just the right amount of pride and humility and coupled with her looks she made a really great girl to take as a wife. But there were things that he wouldn't have the chance to experience or even wish to have. Something impossible to even wish for... She was surely nice...

It was a bit unexpected yet expected. A bit of pride, some lust and some ogling at her made him feel he had made a great choice. "Yeah. You're totally correct on that one."

Suddenly the other man spoke.

"Yeah,i admit i am arrogant. But that's just who i am..." Riser spoke with a slightly defeated tone. He was changing slowly but with visible results. Realizing his own faults, he was much more calm and collected than before. What he had experienced had made an impact on his view.

"But you're honest with yourself. I'm kinda glad you got out of it - i don't think you would have felt good with that girl. But atleast we got out of this predicament." were the exact words he said. He didn't think the blonde harem king would have been fine with that annoying girl, he was better off by himself than to listen to superficial rants and spoiled princess talk every day.

"What was she like? I'm wondering if she had to go against me...", his eyes squinted in thought, "why didn't she go for that lowly blonde servant of hers? He's much more closer and good looking than you are." Riser voiced out a thought he was pondering on. Something Issei had pondered about as well. Why him instead of that pretty boy, they were much more closer than she was with either of them.

"I agree with you, Phenex. They're far more closer than us, and he's a man still so why didn't she use him? He's the pretty type for whom girls would fight while I'm the super creepy and disgusting edgelord who no one would look at." he puffed out a few circles of smoke in the space above his head, "It's probably due to the need to find a new kid to have and by means - a total loser to spite you further by saying he is better than you." he made a sagely twitch in reasoning with that possibility. She was spoiled and arrogant just like Riser but he had more in common with him,he viewed it as business and nothing personal.

He could stand him with no problem, he was much easier to handle than a drunk Hilda or a pissed off Eleonora. And those two were impossible at times. When she was drunk and when the other would accidentally happen to be in the same place as him. Last time it ended...with a city almost lit on fire.

It was time for lunch already. Asia went out of the kitchen with a large tray of hamburgers and passed it on the small table that stood between the two men. Issei took one and began to eat quietly while Riser remained defiant in eating commoner food.

Asia looked at him with a beaming smile and continued to push the tray towards his way in a open invitation. Riser looked around twice. There was no one watching him. Asia gave him another telepathic message and finally broke him down to submit into eating her delicious hamburgers, she placed effort in them so she would have felt bad if he didn't take a bite out of courtesy. He broke down, he snatched one of them and began to eat like an idiot who had never tasted burgers before - the nicest people were scary like mad hell. Her smile turned a bit serious and she took a seat to Issei's side.

"Hamburgers aren't so bad,are they?" she asked with a sweet voice.

The Phenex almost choked in having to admit this defeat as well. He could no longer resist the need to eat hamburgers, he had found a bit of paradise in this small meal of a human. He returned to his dignified attitude and said with no spite," I do not enjoy this pedestrian meal as much as you claim to have me eat it. I am a pureblood Devil with power and wealth so why should i eat this-

"Just shut the fuck up and eat." was the monotone voice of Issei spitting a one liner to cut him off.

Ashamed and speechless he let it off the hook and began to munch on another burger with a uncharacteristic for his upbringing manner like a savage beast would devoured their prey. Between bites and embarrassment he muttered something he had to admit to himself - he really liked burgers no matter how much he posed as a high and mighty aristocrat. He loved Burger King too,McDonald's was his favorite out of them all.

"Fine, fine they are really good. I admit it."

After a few minutes the girls came back to eat with them. They went inside to rest a bit with Asia keeping them company and leaving the boys to talk about business. It was rather considerate on their side, something to be appreciated no doubt.

 _"I regret being so easily tricked by a pair of mounds. I never wanted to be a Devil, if i could turn back time I'd never have become one."_ _,_ it was the recollection of Rias's bare mounds that flashed in his mind like a homing beacon, it made him squirm with disgust. Not with her but with himself.

"That last charge... It was pretty good for a low class Devil." through a baffled half smirk he stuttered slightly. There was just a cold sense of contemptuos respect behind his words, still it haunted him to this day. What he saw was a horrid white eyed Issei in his mind whenever he took a look at him. He was still shivering at night but with some help and medication he was slowly returning to his flamboyance.

"Well, i didn't want to be hunted down like some wild animal, you know. You underestimated them but if we we're to fight again which is pointless, it would be different." he said it like it was a certain fact, they were quite lucky he looked down on them in his dismissal of their abilities. Things would probably end differently now but nothing was of a certainty.

"It was my mistake. We all make mistakes sometimes. And my mother felt ashamed in having offended you." Riser made a gesture of wanting a smoke but couldn't let his pride in asking for one. Luckily Issei was perceptive and threw him one with taking out a new one for himself.  
"In that regard my mother proposed an idea. I honestly don't want to go with it but would you mar-

He was cut off before he had time to finish his mother's proposal. " I refuse. I cannot subject her to that..."

He was perceptive to a fault. He picked on the change of tonality in his voice, the relationship between the Gremory's and Phenex families was strained but that didn't mean they wouldn't try to acquire Issei by using marriage to reward him. They didn't remember exactly how Onyx Diabolica looked like but there were faint traces of the horror they witnessed that day. That final charge with putting everything on the line was being spread throughout the Underworld. Only for these rumors to die out in a day,never to be heard again. He was something to be dealt with diplomacy and a delicate hand, violence wasn't the way they would deal with problems. Well, it depended on the circumstances at hand.

"I see. A lot of nobles are still courting her and i wouldn't let you have my sister so easily. I'm against it but it's not like i could say anything against my mother's wishes." he cocked a brow. And a sigh followed. "I'm not the heir of the clan so i don't have a say in it."

 _"What? Weren't you proclaiming yourself as such? You're such a spoiled was some scare tactic probably."_

"It's not right to make her do something against her will. And to be honest", a deep melancholy look painted his face in recognition of the obvious truth he had been living with. There wasn't any chance for someone like him, he was just an ordinary kid despite the contrary facts about his nature. Girls like her could never be with people like him. If it weren't for the dragon's natural ability to lure in females or power, there would be no such thing as that. It didn't work like that - save some girl and she would grow feelings for him in return. That was just in some stupid harem animes he watched from time to was a logical, pragmatic person who didn't believe in concepts of the likes of love and romance. Girls just didn't fall for people because of something like saving them or patching up a relationship. Love at first sight was even more of a bullshit wishful thinking.

"How can you love someone else when you don't even love yourself. It's ridiculous, there's just nothing more than a few electrical impulses and chemicals to make sure the population would grow..."

The only love he knew that existed to a degree was the love between a parent and it's offspring. But it wasn't always like that, the rest was just nature trying to multiply the number of individuals and the selfish gene theory to facilitate it and the continued survival of a species.

"She seems happy with you being around. And so does my former Rook." Riser finished his cigarette and chugged down the remaining beer in his can. "I haven't seen them like that since a long time ago."

The Pawn only gave a witty remark- "Still feels like some shitty joke. How come they haven't been infected by my depressive skill set i don't know. Anyways..." he pushed a small case towards Riser.

Without much thought, the older male took it with some disdain and opened to scrutinize it's contents - 20 million dollars in stacks were shoved into his eyes. They were a sort of payment for the Phoenix Tears he had utilized in their skirmish against the Genocide Bishop. He didn't know if it would be enough other than it took a great deal of his finances, his savings were damaged by the amount he was going to give him as payment. He was a man who payed for his consumables up to the last penny. "For the Phoenix Tears. I don't know if it would cover one of them but take it. It's fair right? Oh,and see further - there's something else in it."

He had worked his ass for the amount of money he gave up, a whole year he had taken to amass. He still had some left to survive so it wasn't a problem.

The third Phenex son went through the bundle of green paper and found a picture of Rias. Something he wanted to see with all of his burning passion. It was a picture of Rias and her bare breasts, he had projected it from his memories of that afternoon at Mar del Plata in details. Atleast he would see her, her breasts that is.

"It was a mistake i made. You can have that... I don't want to remember any of it either way. "

The blonde haired man took the case and closed it,placed it on the other side and said with a blunt, heavy tone. "We are grateful for your cooperation. The information you provided us has been implemented to use in saving our family... But I'll tell you something as a brother to the man who defeated me - my sister looks up to you and i don't want her to mistake what you do as you being affectionate with her."

Things went a bit south. All color from Riser's face faded away, leaving only a dead serious glare of the highest level of a promise."If you hurt her feelings...I'll kill you no matter what it takes me to. So don't you dare lead her by the nose, don't you ever think of using her as a tool. Got that?"

The way he said it was the exact same tone of a predatory hunger in threatening it's prey. From above everyone else,Riser Phenex loved his mother and sister the most out of everyone in the whole world. He was a bit of a mama's boy and a creepy guy who added his own sister to his peerage like a collectible. That resolve of his made Issei slightly smirk, he was sure the burning chicken really loved his sister so he didn't want to make any empty promises to him. Worthy of respect he was,atleast he cared for his own kin and it felt real.

"Loud and clear. And don't worry, there's no way such a gallant girl like her would ever fall in love with such a piece of shit like me." it was an obvious answer. A trained response.

 _"And even if there was a miniscule chance of happening, I'd be in some grave or evaporated by the time it could happen. Things won't go that way,i don't need any distractions."_

They both nodded.

Something came up to mind after the silence took place for a while. Riser looked around to see if they were being watched or eavesdropped. Lips curled into a cocky grin,perversion streaked over his face. What he whispered to the other boy was a deep secret he would only share with a fellow pervert. "Xuelan's weak spots are her neck and ears. She moans like a cat when you tease her there. Since she's with you, might as well share that bit of info in return."

Issei was unnerved. The fantasies of such a sight seeped into his mind with all of the lustful desire exploded in his head. That took a moment to snap him out of it.

"Back to business. Soon I'm going to be traveling and i just wanted you to know."

"I understand. If anything i could join you,my sister told me of your unit and for her sake I'm willing to join to protect her." Riser knew of the Bloodstained Cross unit they had made up to deal with this problem. He would never take orders from a lowly reincarnated Devil but that did not mean he wouldn't join to help out his sister. It could even give him a new perspective on his life, a new purpose.

Issei didn't say anything at first. He wanted to but couldn't find the right words. Riser's plead was something that could help them,and with the added bonus of another combatant to cover for them with the politics around. Issei just nodded, it was worth a shot and he always had a kill switch to grant just in case.

The black Xperia E1 rang from his pockets. Riser just made a face, telling him to pick it up and speak freely. And so he did.

 **[Hello,it's been a while Issei. I was going to ask you to take up a task of sorts.]**

From the other side on the phone was Hilda. She was sober for once,level headed and serious.

 **[So what can i do for you? My schedule is busy,you know.]**

 **[Bodyguard. I want you to be my bodyguard for a show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Caesar's Palace to be exact.]**

Issei smirked. It was another reason to use as a cover. **[Fine by me. So when do i get my pay? What day is it going to be?]**

 **[On the 12th of September. On spot. Thanks and you'll get premium tickets. How many do you want?]**

 **[One for myself and 4 for a few accomplices. See you there.]** and he ended the call.

"So...",he began with a slow nod," do you know how to use a gun?"

And that moment from the house the girls went out with a riffle, a sniper riffle and two Desert Eagles.

"Ok,now I'm scared." were Riser's words when he spotted the guns in their hands. He had yet to recover from the trauma of firearms.

XXX

1st September, Kuoh City, 18:58 pm

"How do you feel, Dio? You've been looking down a lot these days. So what's up with you?", near the benches of a playground stood Bikou in a red dress shirt with his hair neatly styled, he was leaning against a tree while next to him on the bench was Diodora.

He looked like he was thinking about something, he was pensive and had a immersed in thought look on his face. He still wore the black shades over his eyes and sighed heavily in annoyance.

"Nothing really... I'm feeling a bit down, that all." a short reply escaped his lips. Still it didn't feel like there was no particular reason about it, Bikou was no idiot so he tried to act as friendly as he could with the Astaroth boy in trying to lighten up the stiff atmosphere.

Bikou smirked," You know... There's no need to hide how you feel about it. So...why don't we talk about it. Might help brighten up your mood, you know." he cocked a brow and then a courteous smile to predispose him. Bikou was the glue to their small squad, he kept things lighthearted and brought a much needed light to the otherwise dead serious and moody Team Vali. Except Le Fay,she was cheerful as fuck.

Diodora swerved his head towards him to take a quick glance, then he averted his gaze from him and continued to look towards the little kids that played on the playground. "It's my mother, actually... Recently i went back to see her and it didn't go so well as planned."

 _Malina von Astaroth looked at him intently with a sickened gaze, she was angry underneath and still was somewhat worried about her second son._

 _"Just what in Satan's name have you been doing?!" her voice echoed through the chamber like a rattling noise,"People are dying. Influential families are being slaughtered one by one and you're walking around doing nothing but stealing girls!"*,her face flushed with anger over his actions.  
"*How many girls do i have to look after every time you bring a new one?! They are more competent and reliable than you are. Even your brother would be ashamed of such a thing_ _."_

"Tell me Bikou, do you feel like you're not good enough for anyone despite giving everything you've got?" something in his voice snapped. He traced the inner lining of his suit in snatching on a pack of Marlboro Whites. He felt the need to smoke so he took one and with a flick flamed the ending of the roll and taking a deep breath.

The question came out of nowhere to Bikou. He visibly was surprised by such a question coming out of the prideful Astaroth heir. They weren't exactly friends but the man liked Diodora for his reliability and cunning. He looked up to the skies, letting out a breath and focused on answering his question to the best of his ability.

"Sometimes i feel like that. Being the descendant of Sun Wukong is a heavy burden on my shoulders." he cocked a brow and continued on," I'm always compared to him, I'm nothing more than a dumb kid in their eyes. But still... It's not always easy to choose in what you want to be. I for example feel like there's no need to try to be something you are not. And you're you,you don't have to please others just to be on their good side."

"I see. You're actually a nice guy, you know that. Everyone else just looks at me as some disgusting creep who steals nuns and is known as an ass." he puffed out smoke in the form of circles,his voice went a bit hoarse but he continued on. He didn't really mind Bikou,in fact he felt like he was something of a friend, someone who actually had a deal of respect for him and didn't treat him like trash. "But even i have feelings. I was just a black sheep,a simple kid with no promise or talent in him. I'm probably worthless and disgusting i know but still... I'm just like everyone else. I hate this way the world is,i hate it how it doesn't give us a chance and always compares us to someone else who had talent."

"I don't like how things are either. It's not fair for us. But you and i", he spoke with a slightly menacing tone in a growl," we must fight for it. For what we want. And i want to be the strongest there is,the very best. For i am a king and it's not blood or talent that makes you one. It's the people who stand besides you."

The sun was preparing to set down,sunset was the time they basked in the warm rays of the fleeting yellow star that gave life. Under the shade of reddish sun Diodora scoffed, he hated the way things were. He puffed out another circle of smoke with his lips and stretched backwards.

"Sometimes i just can't help but hate myself for what i endured silently. I didn't have a choice or any say in it... Just because i wasn't like someone else, just because i wasn't as strong or charismatic as the rest. Because i am different and they hate the different, they fear them."

Bikou went further ahead. "There's nothing wrong in being different or weaker than someone. Because you can be strong, strong enough for yourself to carry on and fulfill your desires. This world is so ugly yet beautiful in it's own twisted way.", he turned towards the east,he was watching over the distance for something only he knew was beyond it. His disposition wasn't jolly anymore, he coughed a bit before starting something like a conversation once again. "You don't have to hide yourself from me. There's no need to hide something that distinguishes you from the rest, be proud of it and despite what you are... There is always something for each of us under the sun,we just have to reach out for it."

Diodora began to laugh. He felt the need to do so,amusement and yet pain were entwined in his chuckle. He stopped for a second, muffling down the noise and didn't turn around. Bikou inferred about his habit of wearing shades to hide his eyes from being seen. There were others like that,with a characteristic trait that set them apart from other Devils and humans.  
"Sometimes you really say some nice things. But sadly I'm not like you, i am the villain in my story. I'm not the kind hero who saves his princess or goes around with kindness. Kindness is redundant in this world for it only brings us more pain than we are in already. It's just a mask, an ugly decorated with pretty words mask that they wear to make you feel special while they talk behind your back."

 _"Why do i even care to bother? Our house is one of the Ultimate Class but it seems i can't let you have control of it. Why couldn't be like your brother?"_

 _A small child was sitting on the large field of grass with his father, they were staring at the sunset together under the large willow in the garden undisturbed. It was only them, no one was there to disturb their time. The man was of a palid complexion with light blonde hair and cold blue eyes that were exuding only warmth and compassion, his suit was layed down on the blanket on which they lied down in watching over the skies under the shade of the pine._

 _"It doesn't matter if you're different from the others or if you're seen as a failure. Because there's no one who can tell you who you are and what you could be.", the man patted the little boy's head in a careful manner while he pushed him closer to his side. "I know you'll turn out to be someone great despite what they say. I used to be the same when i was younger but look at me now. I already have what i wanted, so...you can do it too."_

"Anyways...", Astaroth threw away the burnt out cigarette in a nearby trash bin and tapped on the bench with his fingers in a familiar melody," there's going to be a summit of the leaders of the Three Faction in two days. We need to prepare for it and i have a plan. It's going to be a really fun party."

"I don't really care for politics and the like. I just want to fight strong opponents and trample over them." Bikou simply clicked with his teeth.

"Ambition. You lack ambition, Bikou. Why not aim higher, for something more than just fighting?" Diodora scowled at his lack of ambition. It was too simple for him to process, where was the satisfaction in it. "After beating them what would you do when there is no one to fight with? You're a funny guy,you know that?"

Bikou was utterly confused. He hadn't thought about it, what he would do after becoming the strongest. It had opened a new perspective for him to ponder on, he took a step back and stopped for a moment to think. Was just fighting all he wanted in his life? Was that the only thing that drove him further - mindlessly fighting against the world for the sake of a naive wish?

"Yeah,I'm the type that mindlessly pursues one goal,be it simple or complex. I'm not a man of brains,i use my fists to talk." that was true. He was the type to shoot first, ask later for there might not be a next time. One wrong move and they would be dead, skewered on some cross in some country."And this place is crawling with guards. And we're walking around like idiots with a death wish!"

"Maybe. But once in a while checking out the perimeter isn't so bad,is it? This barrier only keeps Strays,Angels and lesser Fallen from they had to code each demonic signature it would take a lot of time for it and you don't know who's no one would be able to enter if it rejected all signatures.Plus a little havoc here or there won't be so bad."

Bikou simply waved off this stupid idea. He was itching for a fight, not a scouting mission if that was to say. It didn't look like one to his eyes. It was much more of a stroll around the block for the Monkey King than a full blown operation.

A group of kids were playing around with each other but one. What appeared to be a game was in reality much more cruel than it appeared to be. A little boy who was standing there in the dirt, around 12 years of age was kicked down while the rest were watching and taking photos of him getting hurt and humiliated by another boy who relentlessly kicked him in the stomach.

Bikou stared down calmly. He didn't feel so much as consideration or trying to stop their childish squabble. The weak perished under the feet of the strong, they were made to serve the strong of the day with all of their being. That was the natural order of the animal kingdom, even more in a society of bystanders with no compassion for another. That was the cruel world of children.

Before he was about to say something, he noticed to his shock that the Astaroth heir had drifted away from his current position and in the next second he was there, making his way through the small bystanders with a casual flair to his movement. What he did next was so surprising to him he thought the world was ending prematurely, not that they weren't breaking the seals of the harbinger of the Apocalypse. Still it was something rare to behold.

Just as the kid was about to kick once again the lying on the ground and crying boy, Diodora swerved his hand in a quick punch and threw him off the ground but not without saying something about it. "Listen here, you little shit. I hate kids like you so I'm gonna count to three before i beat your ass flat."

The bystanders began to hiss at the dirty blonde haired man with shades in pointless curses and threats of having their siblings beat him up to a bloody pulp, have his legs broken so he wouldn't walk again for hitting one of their own. It was so sweet to him, they thought they could threaten him with words because they were many and he was one.

He then crouched down behind the little boy and with a dead serious glare gave them a fright,"Oh,how sweet. But you know", he ran his fingers across the rims of his glasses and lowered them to reveal his yellowish eyes of a snake, the Sorcery Trait of the House of Astaroth with a murderous grin,"you're only tough when you're in a group. So how about you pick someone your own size or should i pack you into boxes with your guts trailing?" his polite tone was leaking out anger and disgust for them. So much it made his eyes shine with a sinister light.

Like the little kids they were they screamed and ran away in a frenzy. Diodora placed back his glasses on and turned around towards the boy with holding the sketching pad it dropped when it was kicked. It was ruffled and dirtied,torn at it's edges but he still gave it to him and reached out his hand in a friendly manner. Confused and scared the boy tightly clutched his hand and soon he was up.

"You know, don't let trash like that keep messing around with you." Diodora dusted off his pants and ran his finger in pushing up the frames of his black shades. This time they were not the aviator shades he liked,they were of a more squarish shape with no bottom frame to hold the lens."You like drawing? How old are you kid?"

"U-um 12 sir... I'm 12 years old..." through rubbing off his tears, the frail looking child spoke in a muffled from the pain voice that struck a chord in the cruel nun snatcher's heart.

"Why did those fuckers attack you?"

"They...they insulted me for doing something i like and called it girly. When i-i tried to fight back they shoved me and beat me. If i hit them,their brothers would find me and beat up my mama and me for that." he tried to swallow his tears while he muttered each word with pain. The sight wasn't pretty; it was something that reminded him so much of himself. Of his own weakness and inferiority, of how he was treated by the rest.

 _"Look at this loser! Are you going to go home and cry to your mum? I'm sure your brother is ashamed of having such a sissy as you."_

Diodora looked away in pain. It was the same thing all over again - the humiliation, the abuse and ridicule. So much as it made him regret not even trying to kill his abusers when he had the chance. They were higher standing than him and he couldn't get the upper hand over his mother for she was strong just like his older brother. He could have done so with some assistance but he wanted to make it much more savory for him when it all comes crashing down on them for every single thing he had endured. Those filthy, smiling hypocrites. How much he would enjoy watching them suffer but one thing at a time was his modus operandi.

"Don't let anyone else tell you what to do or what you like. Fuck them,those shitty kids who don't know a thing! Just follow your desires, gritt your teeth and make 'em suffer. Because they don't have what you do." stern and cold was his tone but sympathy could be felt in each word he said. Encouraging words from one to another were exchanged, he even gave the kid a pat on the shoulder and his business card as a memento. He followed him with his eyes as the child went far into the distance away from the playground.

Diodora went back to his spot and had another cigarette in his mouth as he used a lighter to ignite and inhale the vapors of smoke to his lungs.

"I didn't know you liked children. It came to me as a shocker. I always thought you were the kind to hate everything that walked in this world." Bikou knowingly said. It was probably the first time he had seen him go out of his way and do something like that. He had a thing or two on him, he had a sliver of good qualities to him he knew. So this was not on his list of perceived ideas on what the snake eyed man had in tow under all of that lust.

"Well, what can i say... I hate pricks like those." jolly as a whole, Diodora raised his hands in a i don't care way and giggled with a perverse thin smile as if he meant more than that." I don't necessarily hate children...just the ones who think they're so great when they gang up on someone different and weaker. It's what they always do." the very last part he stressed on,judging from Bikou's conflicted expression he was probably referring to his own story. Something he didn't know exactly.

"You can be nice actually. I didn't expect that from you."

"Nobody does really. I have my qualities as well." from jolly he switched to a sad,melancholy smile which his teammate did not see. Something in him felt different, much more vulnerable and sincere than what he usually portrayed. It was one of those rare moments when he showed some semblance of a sensitive being. It was counted on the fingers of one hand when he was in that mood, Bikou never having seen it till now."Honestly, i see myself in that kid. I just couldn't bare to look at him like that... I'm sure he loves his mother..." he paused once."What about you Bikou? Do you feel glad you were born?"

"I do but what does it have to do anything with this? I'm grateful to my mother for giving me life." he still loved his parents even if he escaped and left everything for the sake of adventure and thrill seeking escapades with the added benefit of fighting strong opponents. He clearly did not understand the point he was making.

"Never in my life have I ever felt grateful for being born. It seems like despite everything i am but a mere stepping stone,a shadow of someone i could never be. And i don't want to be like that." he was going on with his words."Do you like literature or philosophy?"

That was sudden and out of nowhere. Bikou wasn't known to be a voracious reader or a philosopher at heart,he didn't dabble into literature as he found it quite boring to be exact. He hated it, especially Sun Wukong's tale as it made others compare his being to his great ancestor, he hated being compared and nothing but a monkey in their eyes. He struggled and struggled,it was his rebellion against the boring fate he was to follow, it was his only way to escape and live his life the way he wanted to. By joining the Khaos Brigade.

"Not really. I find books boring and a waste of time." was his sarcastic remark to that question.

"Such a pity. I guess there's no point in asking you about it." Diodora raised his shoulders in resignation and once again took a long stare at the horizon.

"I want to leave, to go somewhere where I should be really in my place, where I would fit in and feel like i should. But there's no such thing as a place for a sore loser like me...my place is nowhere; I am unwanted. Sometimes i really wonder why do i live..." his voice faltered slightly. It got strained with a faint trace of emotion brimming at it's tonality with a heavy pressure over it." I know what I'm doing. I'm just me but no one understood that fact, even kidnapping nuns is just a way to hide how i really feel by exposing their filthy,hypocritical nature. But honestly..." things were unsettling to the monkey youkai to bear witness,"I wonder if my father is watching over me right now..."

" There's nothing special about being born. Not a thing. Most of the universe is just death, nothing more. In this universe of ours, the birth of a new life on some corner of our planet is nothing but a tiny, insignificant why do we bother to live?"

Bikou's eyes widened. He trailed a bit back in thought over their conversation. He was thinking about something else, something to distract himself from this scene of emotions. He was good at acting all cheerful but wasn't good with negative emotions. Life was an adventure to him, he was quite lighthearted at his core despite the occasional outbursts of anger he experienced. He kept his cool and remained silent.

"I'm wondering what he would think of me if he were here now... If it weren't for his words that i live by..." the Astaroth heir touched the edge of his shades with his right hand while with the left one he held on his still burning tobacco roll."It's painful. Living each day knowing you're a worthless slob of meat. If it weren't for those words to keep me going..." his face twisted in despair, his frown was replaced by a miserable expression like it had never existed. It was too much...too much to bear for him...

"I would have stopped breathing a long time ago..." and he removed his glasses with single tear falling down to the ground.

"Hey Bikou... Mind doing me a favor?"

"Fine. What do you want me to do?" a little bit emotionally affected by his speech,the Monkey King offered his assistance in whatever nefarious plan was brimming in the head of the collector. Whatever he proposed was always fun and exciting, it involved fighting so he was up for it without giving it any second thoughts.

 _"I accept your offer. I just want to see my sister again if she's alive. Only then would i work with you, but not for you. I want the best for the people so ridding away this world from external influences is something i must do." Cardinal Giovanni agreed with disgust._

 _"So what is your sister's name,old man?" Diodora casually asked as if he were interested._

"I want you to help me kidnap Anastasia Giovanni. The Queen of Glaysia-Labolas." pure conviction streamed across his face. He placed up his glasses back and threw away the cigarette into a nearby trash bin.

"You're really crazy,aren't you?"

"What can i say? A bit of madness is necessary to live in this goddamn world. And i think i know who to ask for some help." a nefarious smirk plastered all over his delicate features.

 _"Aren't you scared you might be next?" Malina von Astaroth sighed heavily, she was weary and worried about her family's wellbeing."Haven't you heard what happened with that Sitri girl's peerage? They are all dead,aside from her. Someone or something is killing off influential families and our family is in the list as well. So be careful, you're the only one left to lead the house of Astaroth. Your brother issued a veto over large meetings and leaving the Underworld."_

"Lady Leviathan would be most pleased with this development. What's better than to have her visit that Sitri girl." he sarcastically laughed with a disgusting tone of conceit."I never liked that girl anyway, she's too cold to even care about her sister.Serafall is really nice and doesn't discriminate,she treats everyone with care.I wish I was born in a family with someone like like that girl,being rude to her and a shitty sister. Just like the shitty bitch my dear brother is."

'Oh,and Bikou",he paused for a second."Go read a fuckin book."

And soon they went on their way. To some place unknown.

XXX

1st September, MonBlanc's Laboratory, 18:35 pm

For ten days time the trio was hunting down Strays to use in the experiment of removal of the Evil Pieces. It was rather annoying to search for Strays but so far they had managed to gather 6 mindless beasts who were crazed to various degrees, it was all in the name of science. No human ethics were left in this line of the job, those were beyond saving and stopping a few deaths in the act was good in it's self. A win win situation was folded before their eyes.

On the wall in the secret compartment of the laboratory was a barely humanoid Stray Devil,it was chained with anti-demonic bindings in the legs and arms with a mask to cover it's mouth. The way it was treated was rather humane - the doctor and Azazel did not inflict excruciating pain to it. They treated it with respect and were working on it for a week with the use of the passive ability of Tiferet to Balance it back to a more sane condition and to cleanse it from the excessive energy of the mutated piece.

Around it were seals and connection pentagrams leading to the placed in a construct Durandal. It was glowing with a medium intensity with the Miracle of Separation being charged into the seals with a few large interfaces popping up to be operated with. Chesare placed both hands on them and began the calibration process.

Chains and light were going through the skin of the Stray but it didn't scream as the magnitude was lowered to keep it alive. It was squirming and rattling the chains but it wasn't able to shake them off and continued to struggle. A pop up hologram with Latin appeared and the doctor made a bewildered face. It was working. That's what he thought of when the piece began to materialize before the chained beast.

"Mama mia, i think we can do it this time!" a happy scream ruptured through the laboratory walls in sheer joy. There was a slightly twisted anticipation in his sparkling eyes, full of excitement and amusement mixed with a sense of humor here and there."Just bear with it a bit longer, soon I'm going to pop that thing out of your shell and you'll be back to normal."

Azazel was operating on the soul lock and the rampant energy wisps that emerged from the cat like Stray. It was not easy for them to do. They managed to crack the source code of this particular Bishop piece but not fully remove the coding. Modification was possible with Arthur's assistance but they wanted the permanent removal, not shutting it down as that's not what their friend would have wanted.

"Damn these things are hard to pry open. I never thought they were made from the dead." what Azazel said was something worrying and amoral but they were doing the same so it wasn't of real importance.

The Evil Pieces were actually crafted from the fallen corpses and energy of those who had perished in the Second Faction War against the Heavenly Dragons. There was no way their creator could produce so much of them and actually turn people into their kind without a spark as to say. It was possible the power of the Morning Star was divided among some of the King Pieces that were given to pureblood Devils to activate the whole set and establish a link to them.There weren't a lot of people who knew true origins of the Evil Piece were hunted down because they mutated into the Fairy Chess Pieces ,classified under specific shared traits for each mutation was not present in another Mutation Piece was this actually,a Fairy Chess Piece under the control of a King in keeping the mutation from expressing it's true capabilities.

They had made sure to cut off the link for safety, rather dismantle what was left of it and destroy the homing beacon implanted in each piece of the Strays they had in store.

"Just a little bit. Come on,come on you damn leash!" rage swept over his face,he was wearing glasses at this moment for he always used eye contacts when on business. He channeled more of Tiferet into the link with the piece poking further from the chest of the beast. Growls and snarls ripped through the mask with pain,but they continued. It was so close...but something happened. The piece went back and the Stray slumped down with slightly burnt limbs and chest.

"God damn it!" displeasure marked his words with a disappointed and wretched tinge of despair. He banged on the solid holograms with his fists and began to swear like mad."Not again! Seriously, these things are repulsive. They won't just let this thing free!"

"As much as i want to believe we could crack it. We need more time to do it." through a weary voice Azazel reasoned.

 _"If we can't get these out...how am i going to get back my friend's daughter? And i promised Barakiel to free his girl from the Devils, i can't let a True Nephilim like her to waste her powers,to have them restricted by a false device of a fake Devil."_

"You know, let's call it a day. I'm kinda tired from this." the doctor went back to the Stray and healed it's wounds. He treated it with respect and made a promise to himself to save that soul with everything he had. It used to be a human being but it was a degraded monstrosity from having followed it's own desires."I'm still trying to understand how a damn fairy sword like Excalibur and Caliburn are swords of God. They're fuckin fairy swords from the lady of the lake! And just how are they stronger than this piece right here,it can cut through almost anything that falls under the laws of physics, of this world."

That misinformation and honest lie irked the Italian man to no ends. Excalibur was crafted by the Fae to serve as a sword for King Arthur, and much later it's fragments were venerated as relics of God to be used by their people. Such a blatant lie left a sour taste mouth, he disliked fabrications of the truth such as this one. To him Durandal was superior due to it's Miracle of Separation, it could possibly shred Excalibur with enough force for one was a nearly indestructible weapon made with the remains saints while the latter was a ability granting blade of a fairy which was significantly weaker by the hierarchy of power.

"Tell me about it." Azazel bitched about it as well."That's like saying the True Longinus is stronger than Zenith Tempest, Dimension Lost and Annihilation Maker. Those could zap,devour and stomp you before you could swing that counterfeit spear!"

 _19 years ago when he was freed from Duduael, his existence was being ejected from reality and he happened to pass through Heaven's Vault and took a peek at the treasury where he saw the Longinus class Sacred Gears and from then on his interest was renewed. He was anchored back by the German directly to his body,spent a few months that way before they took out the fake Azazel and brought Barakiel and Shemhazai from the other side._

"Ugh, i think we'll need to call Roman if we are to hunt down the Khaos Brigade. And as much as i don't want to, we'll need Jared and The Undead King as well."

"From what I know from my kid, there's this Hero faction that seems annoying. They hate Fallen and every being that preys on humans. So maybe you could recruit them?"

"Why not. But they probably don't know that they are pawns in a bigger game. I believe the enemy has control even over them. Actually everywhere. " Chesare removed his white coat and threw it on the nearby chair.

"True. The Kyubi Yasaka was found dead a few days ago. And the vampires from the Tepes and Carmila factions were slaughtered mercilessly." he blurted out a rumor, no. It was the truth that only a select few knew about. That was quite worrisome for the Watcher, it wasn't just murder. It was a culling of the competition. Who knows what faction would be next. They required humans so if mass panic ensued who knows what would happen. Humans would hunt down every supernatural being aside a few, the Heavens were not really interested in the fate of humanity so that would actually benefit them a great deal of support.

"So...wanna go have a drink? Bring that sweet girl of your's, Vali and I'll bring mine." he removed his glasses to wipe them off from the dirt,"It would surely be funny if she enrolled in Issei's class. He still hasn't gotten over that time where i slightly messed around with him. Never bring a trap for a dinner - he almost burned the damn building by accident!"

"It sounds interesting. Vali won't agree to that sadly." he fell in a slump. He wanted her to go to school and wear a uniform like the rest but she was way too stubborn to even think about it."Plus i wouldn't want her to be annoyed by those boys at school. The girls would probably throw a riot if they heard i had a daughter." he seriously didn't want to annoy Vali. She would run away somewhere and wouldn't spend time with her old man.

"Vali Mayer. It kinda suits her though. And how did you decide on your name,professor Mayer?" he liked to refer to the Governor with his human name, Adolf K. Mayer for convenience and to maintain the system from recognizing him fully. He had taken his rightful place but it could overload with a few Originals revealing their power and nature. That's why Azazel fought with Kokabiel in a metaphysical plane to avoid that.

"Well... That's a different story."

"It's dyed,right?"he pointed towards the Governor's blonde fringe.

Öf course,it's cool! "

A phone rang. Chesare picked up and after hearing who it was panicked.

His sweet cousin, Eleonora Florence called. The man sweated profusely, she was going to visit him soon.

"What's wrong?"

"Everything. We need to make a run for it. My cousin is coming to town. She's the Calamity Queen for a reason..."

The Calamity Queen of Milan was coming to Kuoh. She was going to settle the score with Issei...

XXX

21st August, Sitri Family House, Kuoh City, 21:33 pm

Serafall Leviathan entered the room without much fanfare and delicacy. She was in a sense neutral but Issei's words had made an impression on her to what she was about to see. The older girl froze in her steps; before her the miserable scene of Sona crying broke her heart in pieces. She was expecting something far more normal, perhaps a angry Sona but nothing like this crossed her mind.

Sona was visibly upset and frightened when she saw her older sister with that expression. It spoke of murder and carnage, ready to be unleashed and freeze everything living in her sight. Serafall's smile that she had tried to keep up fell apart into a apathetic, murderous grin with bared teeth like a cornered lioness by a pack of hyenas.

It did not escape her eyes - even through the white hoodie, Serafall spotted the differences that had taken place in her sister's physique. She was buried under the large amount of paperwork for a few days in which she couldn't visit her beloved sister to her chagrin. And that was the reason why she couldn't believe it or how it happened so spontaneously. Perhaps this was what he meant by don't freak out. Only that it didn't work out in the end. She was totally freaked out.

The blood on the carpet only made what she thought for the worse.

"So-tan...what's happening with you?" a crestfallen, broken voice rumbled through her throat. It had the sense of disbelief and shock in it by a large margin, her blood froze by the sheer amount of feedback she received these seconds after entering her room. She could not believe what she was seeing. Then a new face of murder swept away her disbelief with her turning to the door to catch up to Hyoudou and kill him on spot. She had assumed the worst.

"Just give me a minute. I'll be back with a body or two." she muttered with a deadpan look. She raced for the doorknob only to falter under the strained and muffled voice of Sona.

"…Wait... Please just stay and listen, big sister." Sona responded sullenly through trying to suppress her raging emotions. She wiped away her teary eyes and tried to stand up but there was no strength left in her legs. She placed her glasses back with her eyes giving off a pleading look. She was practically pleading for her to spare him. "Please... J-just stay..." she cried out once again in pain.

Serafall broke away from the door and threw herself in a warm, sisterly embrace over the crying girl in reassuring her everything was ok. Her gentle arms wrapped around her back and she let her cry out what she held inside while hugging her tightly in a the best way she knew. Something was odd with her body temperature - it was a few degrees below the natural body temperature which was mostly the same for Devils and Humans. Aside from the Phenex House - they had a slightly higher threshold due to their respective Sorcery Trait of flames and regeneration.

She did not ask anything of her,she continued to do what she was best at. To comfort someone as there was no one to comfort her, the term of a happy childhood was something alien to her. Serafall had no friends in reality. The only thing she had was her sole sister.

After some time passed she let her out of her reach and took a seat on the bed. She wore her emotions on her sleeve, spontaneous and sensitive in comparison to her colder and logical sister. She had the impression the two had a fight over something petty but it turned out something else. She demanded an answer for the bloodstains on the carpet to place her judgement or abstain from any punishment serving.

Sona caught up her intentions and slowly gave her response to that."It's not...m-mine... It's his..." was the answer to this question. She averted her gaze in shame, she was still under the emotional duress of his words. Specifically the words that hurt her so much - he never spared the truth. She was taking him as a lifeline, placing a heavy dependence over his shoulders. Like he didn't have enough of it.

"I understand. Please. So-tan, tell me what happened. I want to know the truth." her timbre had an incredible softness to it,it was so soothing and so unlike of her cheerful mask of a magical girl. No interest was shown in what they fought over, but in regards to what had happened to her and the actual story and reason why she was in pain.

Sona stared at her frantically. At first it was unbearably hard to talk about it but with time she gathered her courage and disregarded the secret of her condition that she was to keep. "I'm just so tired of this. My friends are all dead and i think i just lost everything i had because of my actions. It's my fault... "

"I can't hide it anymore. You have the right to know…" she said with a grim tone. She turned her back to Serafall, unzipping the white hoodie with pink strings attached. And she took the cloth and threw it on the bed,revealing her now long shoulder length hair with her bangs framing her twisted in pain face.

Serafall scrutinized her from head to toe; the changes in her figure were evident. She looked like a totally different person. The seals on her own undershirt top popped up with a blue light emanating, unreadable scripture and some Latin formulas caught her attention to try to fully understand it's specifics. She had her fair share in magic but such a combination she had never seen before. The other language was one she could not read or pronounce but it felt powerful, archaic and threatening. Sona clutched the sides of the black fabric and removed it from her upper body,leaving only her bare skin on display.

"This is the reason for everything." her arms were crossed in hiding her now large chest, turning around with hesitation but she steeled her heart and prepared for everything that was about to happen. She could only hope to react fast enough to stop whatever course of action the Leviathan would take.

"W-what is that?" her eyes locked on the three scaled configuration between her breasts, it was in the exact same place where Freed Sellzen's silver bullet had pierced her heart. They shone with a black luster underneath the bright light of the lamp above their heads. Scales appeared on the sides of her face with her eyes changing to ice blue draconian eyes with slits, further shocking the Maou.

There was a rare sign of fatigue on the indefatigable Sona Sitri. "This is the Brand of the Y Goch Ddraig, the Welsh Dragon. This is what brought me back to the living, and this is the price for it in exchange." through a disturbed and solemn tone she told her the truth. Partially to be exact. She couldn't tell her everything, for nothing in the world would she tell her about the whole truth.

She told her everything that had happened with her. From the church massacre that took her life,the way to save her from death, her subsequent transformation into a Dragonette and the real reason why they became so close. The attack from the robed flame user and finally the reason for their fallout - he had betrayed her trust. She had trusted him with her life,they were supposed to be a team and to rely on each other. But it seems it was both their fault, she was hurt because he thought she was a hassle to deal with. Drugging her was what destroyed it,even if it was done with good intentions. But his intentions weren't always expressed in the best way,it was a failure of communication at both sides with everything irritating them beyond reason. He pushed her away, she did the same thing.

Sona finished with her speech and placed over the sealing mechanism over her torso once again and dressed up with returning her eyes and face to their previous state. She calmed down a bit but it still hurt.

"I understand your reason. What he did was truly horrible but what about you?" Serafall's words weren't devoid of chiding, she remained neutral in this dispute and tried to find a middle ground between each reason of theirs. "That man has the right intentions but the worst way to execute them. I just feel ashamed of myself... I failed to protect you. And because of it you died and you're turning into that thing...forgive me." the magical girl lost all her strength in admitting her fault. Maybe she would have done something about her peerage, something about her pain to prevent this catastrophic series of events. No matter how much she wracked her brain in thinking about what it could have been, it wouldn't have changed a thing...

"It's not your fault, big sister. It's all mine. If we hadn't met back then it would have been different... Or worse. Still they're gone... I should have responded to Saji's feelings when i had the chance... But he's not here anymore..."

Saji had feelings for her since a long time ago but she never tried to respond to them. To keep the status quo for the sake of her peerage, namely Momo and Ruruko's feelings for Genshirou. She ignored it for her own sake, wondering if she really felt something for the Pawn. Or maybe she had something special for someone despite them being just strangers with a common goal,she was logical and efficient but still had the heart of a maiden. A maiden's heart was tricky but a man's heart was something really fragile and complex.

"That regret would stick to you forever but did you really feel nothing about Genshirou,So-tan?" Serafall leaned back on the bed and chose to question her motivation."Saji was kinda cute but to be honest his feelings for you were shallow and 're the cutest girl i know, of course any man would feel something for you. But did you feel anything for him?"

Sona gave her a look that said she understood the deeper meaning behind those words. Conflicted and confused emotions ran across her face in trying to respond to that. Serafall had asked the most fundamental question there was. Did she really think that she felt something for the Pawn. Something in her told her she meant something else in her two fold question. "I don't know... I think i do. Yes...", it felt awkward to say it right now. She tried to make it sound like it but Serafall knew her so well that she gave her a quizzical look.

"Do you really you think that way? My Sona would never lie to herself like this. You're confused, you have a lot on your mind. So don't force yourself to lie." her response was snarky. Leviathan gasped in disbelief, Sona was the definition of professionalism and logic incarnate. She was brutally honest and straight to the point type where she didn't spare any criticism neither resorting to lie.

Sona was crumbling apart. There was no mistaking it. What was once a proud and dignified girl was nothing more than a emotional wreck. She looked so pale and cold, it was painful watching her and lying to herself.

"Sona…" Serafall hugged her once more."You're hurting so much. I lost friends as well. What you need to do is move on otherwise you'll be forever in pain. It appears that i will have to do what must be done. You need to socialize with your peers, you need someone to distract you."

Sona's eyes glistened with something. Was it regret or realization? Something else or an all new sensation. It was obvious on what she meant by socialization. It was something necessary for her, the moment passed and after some thought, Sona switched again to her pokerface expression or tried to. It wasn't successful as she hoped it would be. "You don't mean to say..."

"You have friends, So-tan. With permission and my authority i hereby assign you to the peerage of Rias Gremory." Serafall said it with no remorse. Rias was her friend, she was worried but couldn't come as she was in the infirmary to recuperate. It was her suggestions after all.  
"Sona, Rias was bothered by all of this. She's scared for your wellbeing and wants to help you. So please let her do it. I can't be always around to protect you so please..."

"Did he call you just for this?" her lips pressed together. "That's just the way he is. If you're trying to patch things up, then don't bother..." with a sharp stare she placed her in her spot.

Serafall sighed. "I know what he did was wrong. It is wrong but it's not something that you can't forgive. You need him just as much as he does."

"Yeah, to be dependant on drinking blood to stabilize these changes. I'm turning into a monster,I'm turning into something i can't control. I'm turning into something just like him. I'm scared!" Sona raised her voice in aggravation.

The Maou slapped her reflexively out of anger."Don't you ever say that! You're not a monster, no matter what changes happen with you. You're still you!" rage flashed through her troubled face. That sole emotion scared the Sitri Heiress.

That slap hurt. The spot was red and scorching. "I don't think i want to forgive him..." her eyes were fierce."We were just strangers with a shared goal. There was nothing else tying us together so now we are free from each other's company. I want to forgive him but i can't... I just can't do it..."

"…You don't mean it,do you?" was Serafall's only response. She remained static and barely able to withhold her emotions from spilling out.

"He doesn't need me. So why should i try to pretend we're friends?" Sona dismissed the comment and pressed forward."In case you haven't noticed, he's reckless and does not concern with the feelings of others. I was so stupid to even think about it..." she averted her gaze. She looked as if she was hit by a truck. Her tone stung like the stinger of wasp, dejected and powerless were her words. She was done with it,she would forgive him one day but not right now. She needed time. That was all.

"By chance..." with a renewed vigor,"do you love him? You've been through thick and thin together, you've had each other to keep company so do you not feel something for him."

"That's the problem! I don't know about it,i think i did." Sona continued with her voice softening slowly."He's nothing remarkable or praiseworthy. He'd slap you hard with the truth in the worst way and he hates conversations. He doesn't trust anyone, he would hurt people just to keep them away. He's awful but atleast he's truthful to himself. As long as it's to his benefit, everything is permitted. And the worst thing is i actually believed we could be friends, to have something meaningful in between. I tried and tried to help him but he shoved me away... And i honestly felt like I could depend on him, like i was someone he could feel comfortable with. He doesn't love anyone. But i thought i did feel something for him...and I don't know what it was..."

 _"Wait... He said something about a semi-constantly activated Juggernaut Drive..."_ her brows scrunched up while she touched her cheeks in thought. The mention of him going non existent and fading away had her thinking. It was in that moment that she realized what he meant by that. She had once read about the term Juggernaut Drive and it's effects on the lifespan and sanity of it's user _."He mentioned that it was constantly active in a passive form...he's dying... His life force and mind are eroding..."_

Her chest tightened. The confusion and disarray spiraled down in a emotionless, ice cold face. He had pushed her away to spare her from feeling something about his condition. He didn't want her to care or worry, that he never believed in but needed to be sure. He was always seeking dangerous situations, hoping to find what he searched for so long and have closure. To die with no regrets, even if he wanted to live he could not as he was dying and didn't have a lot of time. He had hurt her to stay away, he just wanted everything to end and did what he wanted.

 _"If that is so...our promise still stands. I'll try to kill you and you will try to kill me. That's what i thought. But i don't want to see him anymore... I can't let myself fall down in despair any further. That's not who Sona Sitri is,I'll make good use of this second chance and get back on track. I'm not dying or risking my life for something unnecessary to find them,they'll come to us."_

"So it would be temporary until you recover. I hope you won't hate me for this." Serafall stood up from the bed and chose to speak up her mind with one final question." I'll ask directly - do you have any feelings for the Red Dragon Emperor?"

Sona said nothing else. She continued to stare in silence. After a minute or two she gave her the answer she wanted. "I don't know but i don't care anymore. It's over between us. I will take your advice and stay with Rias but that does not mean i am going to lose to her. It's my duty to save our House and the rest." she was slowly returning back to her previous self out of spite. Hurting inside but suppressing it,she braced herself and had no choice but to walk forward. To move on but never forget.

"I see. Well, let's get ready for dinner. And after that to sleep. I have some work tomorrow morning." Serafall's smile returned in her full brightness, she was still emotional and clingy but the girl didn't mind it at all. She was fine with her sister's antics,she was happy to have a family.

Serafall turned around and slowly approached the door to call to help her get ready. She said her goodbye and went down to help around in the kitchen.

Sona was once again alone with her thoughts. It was quiet outside so she slouched back on her bed and removed her glasses to wipe them off. She didn't need them anymore as her eyesight was improved, curing her myopia and granting her perfect sight and a few other bonuses as well. Yet she chose to wear them, it was a part of her look and who she was than to part away with them. Contacts irritated her eyes anyways.  
She noticed the purple hairclips that he had left her with and the blood canister - she popped the cap and with some disdain or rather disgust drank the necessary ingredients to stabilize her condition. She still had some time to ingest blood before it was complete. She tried to embrace what she was now,she had to. For the sake of living and having justice for her friends.

 _"No more running away or relying on someone else. I'm better than that, I'm not going to be some burden to anyone. I might just thank you... Hyoudou, no...Issei."_

She fiddled with her hair before the mirror on the nightstand, throwing away the yellow hairclips she usually wore into the waste bin next to her table. She had found herself holding the purple hairclips he had left and neatly placed them over her fringe -one on the middle and the other on her right side bangs. She took a look in the mirror; she found out it wasn't so bad with long hair,in fact she found it a bit pretty and smiled.

Roses of water formed on the nightstand, which in turn froze into shape with a slightly burning sensation to their thorns. They shone with a illustrious luster of transparency, a singular small flare of red glowed into their core. A freezing flame it was.

"That's fine," Sona returned to her professional persona with no problem at all. Still her smile wasn't a happy one. It was a slightly painful,forced and melancholic one that actually quite suited her cold stare. Even if it was sad it was beautiful in it's own way,there was a hidden meaning behind it. A meaning only she understood. And she moved away from her room to have dinner.

Still... The roses turned from bluish red to black.

XXX

1th September, Vatican, Italy, 19;32 pm

Irina was sleeping soundly on a spacious bed with various seals and an IV attached to her hand. A white gown adorned her damaged body while she was tucked in with a white blanket in a medical room. She had been staying in the Vatican's secret medical facility for twelve days straight. The Angel healer somehow managed to fix her drained lifespan from the mess Ezekiel made with her. Still, despite their efforts to remove the Blood Excalibur on her wrist it remained bound to her. It rejected any outside interferences as it had chosen her as it's wielder by Valper's will. His lifetime work of creating a savior to protect humanity had born fruit. And it wasn't just one.

A tall priest with auburn hair entered the room. He was wrapped in a black Executor uniform but what was most striking was the lack of his left forearm,bellow his biceps. His missing arm was replaced by a specially designed prosthetic with the goal to utilize his Miracle of Almagalm uninhibited. He drifted close to the bed and took a chair to sit on while he ran his hand across Irina's face in a gentle tap.

"Irina. It's time to wake up, sleeping princess." with a slight tease in his voice he spoke of her in likeness to the tale of Sleeping Beauty waiting for her prince to wake her up. Which proved quite effective.

Irina woke up from the sudden touch of her face. Frantically she summoned Blood Excalibur in a small tanto with a steel black edge against his throat. The red bangle straightened and with blood formed the attribute of Mimic over her hand. Her eyes were full of fear and the foreboding emotion of danger and confusion sunk in when she looked around for a second and recognized Saint Lucca. She waited a bit longer and removed her blade from his throat after she had regained full clarity.

"Irina. We need to talk about something. You have been assigned to my squad by my recommendation in order to keep you away from the rest." he skipped the formalities and shot straight at the essential part of his work. Though some legal standpoints and some extra persuasion from cardinal Hannes, Irina would be assigned to the Last Battalion through some loophole in the rules. Lucca had pulled some strings to do it,he couldn't let them erase her memories just like the first time they had done with her after she was rescued from the first Project.

"They lied to me...everything i had done was worthless in the name of someone who has long been dead." Irina's eyes were beginning to redden and by a small margin she didn't outright cry from it. She was used,her memories manipulated and the worst was the fact that all she did in God's name was in vain. All of those heretics she had suppressed in believing it was for the greater good... It was unbearable to have the one thing that was your pillar of support to be dismantled with no delicacy. "Everything was a lie! I need to run away from here... They'll erase my memories again... I can't let that happen!"

Luciano offered her a sad look. He ran his right hand through under his cloak and took out a small bible with black covers. "God is not dead. That's what they want you to think of. I made sure there were no suspicious procedures done to you while you were recuperating. Your grace is left undamaged." he offered a sincere smile and left the bible on her lap.

"But which one is the question?" she asked in worry. She was a natural born high level Summoner due to her grace while her Holy Sword grace was artificial and derived from others. Each human had grace in them,the so called Holy element to various degrees, it was different from the soul but had a link to it. The Evil Pieces consumed grace to transform humans and they would not work on someone who had abundant grace in them. Unless...they willingly revoked it and rejected it, which in turn would be consumed by the devilish tool and would seal their soul. Some were resistant to it's effects so they had to be broken to be accepted as hosts for the Piece.

"Both actually. Before you ask whether i knew of this or not, Xenovia is in the other room and waiting. She's also assigned to the same squad as you." he knew what she was going to ask anyway. He knew her so well like the back of his hand,she was like a little sister to him so he called her with the affectionate little Lucca sometimes. Both were trained under the same master as a family.

Xenovia was returned to the Vatican as an act of good will and the notion of Devils helping one of their people was a good argument for the soon to be peace conference. She was immediately checked in the infirmary - the machinations of Valper Gallilei had drained her grace almost entirely, leaving her with no ability to wield a holy sword ever again. The rest of her parameters were fine,no wounds or any problems with her lifespan. She was just a normal human now,and she was in big trouble for letting Durandal be stolen but they didn't punish her severely for she had acquired the six pieces of Excalibur with Irina.

"I see. They wouldn't let me go so easily. I am a prized possession after all. And how do you know God isn't dead?" her distrustful tone was leaking out as she tried to regain her composure. "What happened with your arm?" she gave the metalic prosthetic a chilling look.

The man blinked. He followed the bangle with his eyes in a non surprised manner as if he meant something by that stare. It made sense to him, Blood Excalibur was the weapon Kokabiel spoke of. His blood and some of his skin was used in it's craft. "Kokabiel. That's what happened... And it's that sword you have on your arm."

"…No way...It can't be true..." Irina froze in fear.

"It doesn't matter but just so you know" he skidded closer to her and leaned over to make it look like a hug."My flight was sabotaged. There's an enemy within these walls,we are being watched." he backed away from her to give her space,making a gesture to say nothing and trust no one.

"I don't know what to do..." the girl groaned. "I used to rely on God for support but now i don't know what to believe in. And i don't remember things... And he turned into something terrifying while i was gone... " her eyes lost their brightness. God had long perished, she was nothing but a test subject and she was in pain from seeing Issei the way he was now. The boy she loved was replaced with something inhuman, something blasphemous and she couldn't help him.

Luciano ran his hand over her head in fiddling with her hair. He spoke with sincerity to comfort her."There are times where we have to become something we do not like. Sometimes we don't have a choice and sometimes we do it out of compassion. So don't give up, kid. I'm sure there is a reason for it."

She grabbed the blanket in her grip and averted her gaze with distraught. She was thinking of her role in his change, how did she influence him to turn so cold. She didn't remember how she got home that night, neither why they visited the Hyoudou Residence and how she survived. Her memories were a jumbled mess, she didn't know which ones were fake and which the real deal.

"Just have faith,Irina. Sometimes we just have to have faith in something. His teachings are not dead nor forgotten, we carry them with it us...because God cannot die."

"But it seems different than what you say so..."

"God is not just some material being who passed away. God is something more,an idea. A goal to pursue. Humans can become gods so why wouldn't God try to become human?" Luciano responded, while Irina still looked confused by his words. She was thrown in one heck of a conspiracy. "And I'll have to go now. The higher ups are annoying again so I'll have to shut them up."

He had begun to walk away with a careful step, as if he was sneaking away from something. He had a heavy,imbalanced walk as he was still in a lot of pain. He had still to recover completely from it,he had yet to regain movement in his left hand. He was hell bent on receiving one and returning to his duties that he disregarded his own health for it. He reached for the door and gave her some parting words.

 **[Psalm 23:4 -Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil,for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.]**

And he left the room with the door clicking shut.

 _"He's right! I'm going to keep my spirits high and not give up. It just as he said..."_ her breath escaped from her mouth, she scanned the room for something strange and after it. She was going for the water bottle near her stand and the black bible that was still at her legs fell down.

"So silly of me. I always drop things,it seems." she waved it off and bended her upper body downwards to the right side to grab her book. She traced her fingers on it's edge and firmly grasped it. Lifting it slowly, she slid her fingers in between the pages and felt something cold,metalic with a trigger mechanism.

Her eyes had widened slightly, nothing more than a twitch but still noticeable. There was no one around so she lifted it and quickly picked it up,opening it with both arms.

There was nothing suspicious about it. Just a mundane cover and pages. But something in her mind urged her to switch to the page of Psalm 23:4, her intuition was screaming at her to take a peek. She began to unfurl each page until she found it. There was a hidden text in between it; she rubbed off the covering and a message was unraveled before her eyes.

 _"Do not believe what they say. The enemies lurk in these walls undetected, be cautious and don't accept anything from anyone. Angels and humans alike... The Brave Saints. Don't use it,don't let anyone bind you to them. This place is a den of vipers. Escape while you still can, Irina Shidou. Before they try to erase your memories..."_

 _Signed by: Jorge Bennedetto Antoneli._

She went over to the next page - it was cut out in the shape of a Makarov PB pistol. With the gun in place of the pages,it was hidden and loaded. As well as a small red scale of a Dragon which acted as a ward and a strong anti-personnel barrier to protect her. It was from a very special person, someone she knew well. Pope Theodorus III somehow knew Issei and had managed to retrieve a scale from him to act as a shield. How he did,it did not matter.

 _"I understand your intentions brother Lucca, i know what you're trying to pull off. It's time to break free from this cage. I'm going to find out... Everything about my father and what happened to us that night. Just you wait...Ise..."_

And she closed the book and hid it under the blanket before the doctor could enter the room. She had a plan,she was going to make it happen or atleast die trying...

XXX

1st September, Kuoh City, 21:27 pm

Chesare MonBlanc was calmly sitting on the terrace of a nearby restaurant, enjoying a bottle of red wine while he was fiddling on his laptop,arranging plans and the like under the dark skies of the night. It was a peaceful night before things would start - the peace conference was still to be attended yet the other leaders of the Three Factions had yet to respond.

On the other table was a young girl in her teens, sitting and eating a green salad with a bottle of juice at her leisure. She wasn't dressed fancy; she wore a black leather jacket over a white v neck shirt that accentuated her chest. She wore a simple pair of black jeans with white sneakers with blue accents, she looked like any normal girl would look like with her long silverish blonde hair tied in a single braid while her bangs framed her cheeks in a cute way. She wasn't the fancy type to dress in a dress, she had never once wore a skirt to be precise.

The doctor set his eyes to the other table; it was just him and that girl. No one else was on the terrace so he waved a hand at the girl who was on the other table. It was Vali, no one could ever mistake those ocean blue eyes of hers. At first she didn't respond at all, she found it more important to eat her dinner than to respond. It seemed like some guy was trying to hit on her,so she just ignored it. On a second glance she immediately recognized who it was and with some creepy predatory glare and a innocent, battle hungry smile took her salad and juice and slapped them on his table with her taking the opposite seat to observe him. Vali wanted to fight them for they had proven quite interesting and unreadable to her. Especially how the doctor messed up her clawed gauntlet with a quick swing. She wanted to know his secret.

"Good evening, miss Vali. I did not expect you to be around here." the doctor gave her a silly smile.

He kept his distance from her,analyzing every twitch she made and despite appearing lax,his body was in the state of preparation to run away from her. He wasn't in the mood to fight her,he didn't like fighting much but contributed his fair share of it when necessary. They were watching each other's very movement,he was searching for a hole in her defense to swiftly neutralize her in a non lethal way. She was watching him with curiosity and a slight sense of fear. She remembered the things she saw that day in the skies above Chikuzen. And he was perhaps just as scary as Issei. Or even more.

"Good evening to you too..." she had difficulty in remembering his name. It showed across her face like paint,she got a bit meek in trying to hide it from plain sight. She was clueless in this case - she didn't know Issei's name despite her attempts to reach him and talk for two whole years. And even now she tensed when she tried to remember. To her chagrin it didn't go unnoticed how she was flustered and embarrassed.

Chesare was a bit dumbfounded by her inability to remember names so he made a cheesy grin to further tease her. "By any chance...you don't remember my name,right? Well, i guess you're not one to remember names." and he raised a brow while taking a sip from his glass.

"That is by no chance true. I remember the names of everyone that interests me." her natural reaction was to act arrogant and smug. She puffed her cheecks in a dignified manner, her tone was sharp as a razor. She was just like that - she hid her embarrassment underneath the arrogant mask of superiority.

"Please! You don't remember Issei's name nor any of our names so don't be so stingy."he waved off a hand in a way to express his reaction. He knew she faked it,she was good but not as good as he was. Her twitch and body language spelled it out clear as day. "You're kinda cute when you try to act tough. You know that?"

"Hmm." her voice lingered for a few more seconds until she finally gave in and slumped on the table in annoyance. "When are we going to have our showdown? I want to beat you, then beat the Red Dragon Emperor and fulfill my duty as a rival. I am the strongest there is."

More doubt crossed his face. He remained silent for a moment to make it dramatic and dropped it on her like rain."Yes,you are strong but despite what you say - you're a normal girl with issues like each of us. And do you have to hide behind that mask of indifference and superiority? Because i can see it..." he shot her a blunt gaze, akin to that of a certain Dragon Emperor. That scene reminded him of his cousin, she was terrifying and a bit of a conceited bitch."You may be strong but underneath hides a scared girl who has lost someone precious. A desperate need to prove how strong you are because you were weak."

"You've got a big mouth, you know that? What do you know about it? What do you know of struggle and pain to talk like you know me?", the young girl was clearly pissed off. She directed her spite towards him with such venom in her voice one might have believed she was a snake.

"People like me know enough of that to sympathize with you. I know pain and struggle just as good as you do." he pulled over his sleeves and unbuttoned his dress shirt to reveal a series of tattoos that span across his chest and arms. A tattoo of a dragon swirled around his left arm while a cross with broken chains and a wing of black and white marred his chest. They were black tattoos as he clearly didn't like the colorful American style, they were symbolic with the name of Lucia inked across the broken black wing. Some of these tattoos were done by Blake to cover up his scars."Underneath those are scars. I am just as a dreamer like you are. You have a scar on your back as well, right?" he sassed back at her with neutrality.

The young girl was further peeved by that last remark. It was surely Azazel's word that he knew about it. "I'm not weak... I have power and ability. I struggled just to stay alive and prove them wrong! Honestly, i envy you people. You have power and power, enough to do what you wish to while i don't... " a grim shadow marked her gaze. She was getting emotional,he had hit a spot." I hate you people..."

"It's not about power,kid. It's about having a means to do it. Just power alone does not give you anything but pain. Knowledge, intelligence and understanding give you power as well. But even then we can't topple over some things in this world." Chesare leaned back into his seat and stared at the night sky. It felt unsettling.

"You have strength. Beating you would prove that i am stronger. But maybe you are right." Vali didn't want to admit it but deep down she knew he was right to a degree. She couldn't deny it."I'm just a lone girl who's trying to find a place in a man's world. Just because i was born a woman...just because i am a mixed breed... It seems I wasn't good enough to them for being born differently."

The doctor raised his glass and drank from it. He didn't look disturbed or sympathetic at all. He just stared at her and continued to drink. Vali wanted to leave or beat his ass flat for making her spout all of that emotional crap to him.

"There's nothing wrong in being born be regarded as inferior class just because you were born a woman means they're just trash." a slightly wicked smile splashed over his lips,"It does not matter if you are a man or a woman... That's has nothing to do with it. So what if you are a mixed breed? That doesn't mean anything! Plus hybrids tend to be stronger and more adaptable."

"I don't have a place among Devils neither humans... What i want isn't something i could get as how i am." she looked a bit pensive while eating her salad. Ruffling her long braid over her shoulder, she left her fork down and began to stare into him. Like under a trance until she gathered enough to ask something that she was most intrigued by."So...what was his life like. What's his story?" through curiosity her voice softened. She demanded an immediate answer or lest she would blow the place up. She was annoying to deal with at times.

"…He used to have a normal life." the man begun to speak about it with some bitterness behind his words. "Issei was just a normal kid,nothing special or connected to the supernatural. Just a perfectly normal kid with a family and a mundane life. I think he was much better back then than he is now..."

"So he used to be some boring normal kid,huh? I didn't exactly expect that from something so abnormal as that." at first she was arrogant and sarcastic in believing it."There's no way he's normal... That thing i saw... I'll kill him if he makes me feel that way..." and just then did she shiver with terror and excitement. She hated being called a monster the most,especially from people like him who were a walking abomination.

The way he looked at her and then his eyes remained static was a bit frightening. Dead serious was the only suitable word to describe this brooding feeling of uncanny. "We all used to be normal people before. Each with their own lives..." a melancholy feeling flushed over his face in recounting something from the past."...and suffering. So don't feel ashamed of what you are. Because to me you're just a normal human girl with a sad life..." atleast he was serious."You don't have to deal with the law atleast. The court almost always takes the side of the mother...even if she's an abusive, money laundering bitch who took your child and issued a restraining order."

"You were married? I thought you were a weird lonesome guy who liked to drink." Vali was a bit surprised. Still she wasn't interested.

"I still am." he went snarky on her, a bit of sarcasm to brighten up the mood. Just the way he said it was dumb and a bit funny, sadly it was the truth." I was talking about Castor... I've known the man well,his kid too and i can tell you that he would never abuse a girl or anyone like that. He's just a gentle giant at heart. But his former wife is a real bitch - he endured and endured, even when she got drunk and started throwing bottles at him." the man's eyes shone with utter disgust. He had always disliked that girl and still couldn't get it around how the court gave Castor's son to her. He was a man who did not raise a hand against a defenseless female or man.

"That's not quite related to what i was saying." she raised a brow in a nonchalant boredom. Things seemed distant in her gaze,drifting away in thoughts over something forgotten. Vali brought up her left arm up to her chin in a relaxed way,sometimes even she had to make a change in her usual activities and stop for a moment to think about life." I actually wish i was a normal girl and not some descendant of the Morning Star. A happy childhood, a place where i feel home and where there is understanding and acceptance... But it's not going to happen sadly. I'm a monster for having been born with a Longinus, for being more special than that shitty loser of a father. I really miss my mother..."

"He does too." a heavy sigh followed. "No matter what some of us do for him to fill up that void... It's just not possible. He only has the goal of finding out the truth and why did it happen,to recover his memories and yet i can't help him with his condition... It's one of the prices that we pay for having these."

Vali was slightly interested in asking."What do you mean by that? Is he alone as well?" atleast she looked innocent when asking that. "And what is that thing... The black silhouette?" when she remembered it's voice and face, she shuddered in terror and almost barely suppressed her emotions from leaking out.

"Not just that,my lady. We cannot find what we seek, for him it's a way to escape that horrid emptiness he constantly feels. It stems from the loss of something precious and being in sync with a specific power. He is what he embodies. While me..." he paused for a moment to light up a cigar and relax,"...i can't seem to find satisfaction. I have money,prestige,a dream job and everything i could ever want. But i want something different... I'm tired of parties and gold diggers, of this boring routine i got used to. I want something exciting, something that will give me any long lasting satisfaction. For a life with no pleasure of the small things that matter...isn't a life."

"You don't want to know what that is. It only brings pain and fear in a vicious cycle of never ending agony. Plus you have power, the Vanishing Dragon is a Dragon that hates the world and himself." he puffed out smoke in circles like a boss."The ability to steal power and add it to yours is something that stems from self-loathing, each host has had it in their persona. While the hosts of the Welsh Dragon have,in fact, a inferiority complex. Still, Issei would have clicked well with Albion...until he will devour him just like Ddraig."

"So you figured it out, huh? Now i really hate you for doing that."

" Pain causes fear, fear causes conflict, conflict causes hatred, hatred causes vengeance, and it cycles all the way back to pain. Without knowledge of this circle first hand, one can never learn how to break it. One must know pain to cure pain."

"Death is a cure for pain. You won't feel any of it once you're dead."

"I clash with Death every day; it's around me whenever i go. And despite being a surgeon, i still never got accustomed to it."

There was silence between them...

Chase gave a sigh as he massaged his temple. "Do you have anyone you fancy? Such a beauty is hard to miss so is there someone you like,miss Vali?" he was back with a vengeance. The shipping spree had returned with it's full madness. There was something of a gamble between him, Castor, Arthur and Azazel - the winner who guessed with which girl Issei would fall in love with would win 10 million and some other stuff. The doctor's bet was placed on Vali and Hilda, Arthur rooted for Sona,Castor was on the Cecilia route while Azazel was for Vali. Hilda surprisingly came over in the middle of their debate and unknowing of what they spoke muttered Blake on the bet.

"I do not know actually. I don't have time for that but i still am interested in it. Everyone has their biological needs,correct?" the young girl popped the cap of her bottle and devoured half of the contents of her orange juice. "Maybe after everything is over and I'm alive I'll try to search for it." no matter how stoic and battle crazed she was,Vali Lucifer was a girl no doubt. Everyone had their needs and she was no exception. She wasn't exactly the most romantic person there is, Kuroka was sad she was a girl and not a guy. But it was how things were, maybe she did want something like that as well."The Red Dragon Emperor…he's kinda cool. And they need to have a good ass. No square or flat ass,a good man will always have a good rump!"

He could only clap.

"Okay… how old are you by the way?"

"I'm 17 and three months old. Why is that of any concern to you? Do you ship me with Issei?" everything she said was in concern with her suspicions. She wasn't stupid, she picked on his intentions very well." Albion would terrorize me and usher the past possessors against me as retribution. But it won't be easy - they are suppressed." and finished with a evil smirk that stretched out on her face.Still she didn't really mind that,finding a lover.

"I was just curious about it. So it's possible, sorry Albion but this lady has someone who you wouldn't really like." the young man gave an even wider smile of delight and excitement as he tried to imagine Issei's reaction when he saw the girl's pictures in his phone.  
"I envy you. I want to find a decent wife who doesn't know me for my fame or money. I want to have a real,meaningful relationship with someone who would prove interesting." he was almost desperate in his search for one. He wouldn't mind it being a human or something else as long as he could have true love. He was a romanticist at his core,with the soul of a poet who cherished beauty in it's various expressions.

"Believe me,dealing with a crazy bitch is something i don't want to go through." ah,the recollection of having gone through that always irked him to no ends."After i got back here, the first thing that happened after passing through the Gate was this really hot bitch who called herself Fate coming up to me. And the girl told me I was some sick fuck on the level of a abomination." he began to laugh with some evil present in his tone. He really hated the incarnation of Fate,or known by her other name Karma.

"I am a nasty dude who loves to mess around with people for the lols, we all are something that Fate dislikes for having a limited control over us and not playing by her flute. But an abomination is a bit of an exaggeration - And I'm like hey, hey, hey! Shut the fuck up you crazy broad!" and he finished that with mentioning something like literaly bitch-slapping Fate in the face.

The young man went on, "She kinda hates us for that. She's a really mean bitch, i tell you. Something like an Yandere and salty as the end of Haganai. Fuck, even the Sakurasou ending wasn't nice at all!"

"What's this about Fate and this so called Gate. I've never heard of it before." confusion in trying to understand what he was saying, it was evident that Azazel had never told her anything of it. Neither Albion if she didn't really know.

"I'll tell you something about it but first …" the doctor gave a mischievous smirk. Then this mischief gave away to something sinister,judging by the change in his mood she felt. "You don't really know what you hold inside ,do you? You can't suppress the Juggernaut Drive completely, it's something that you can only stave off but not fully control it whenever you want. And that is the answer to your earlier question." honestly what he inferred was scary. She held disbelief in what he pertained to Albion.

"That's just bullshit! " the girl groaned and shook her head in aggravation, returning to finish her salad."I have control over the Juggernaut Drive by using my magic instead of my lifespan. Albion isn't some monster if that's what you mean,he's a Heavenly Dragon and that's that. But still, entertain me more with your story as i have grown interested in this ramble." the smugness returned like spring after a cold winter. She had so much gal to cross her arms,lean back and still act stingy. Yet she wanted to know. She really wanted to know what the English Dragon was hiding from her.

Chesare MonBlanc brought out another cigar from his suit. Everything looked like he was joking but instead he directly addressed the issue at hand. "Albion, would you care to join us in revealing the truth to miss Vali? I believe it is the right time for her to know."

 **[You may be right about that, human. My rival Ddraig isn't there anymore so atleast she must know the truth of this world. You may begin.]** the Vanishing Dragon spoke from within Vali. They didn't care about being spotted for there was a barrier protecting them, being set outside of reality.

"Because the Dragon you're bonded with it is a being before the creation of this world. Older than the any of the faction leaders around. And to be exact..." he paused to take a puff from the Cuban cigar and exhale the vapors."He was not born in this world, He is what we call an Original Being. A True Dragon that comes from the other side. Just like the Ouroboros and the Welsh."

 **[That is true. All of these Devils, dragons and supernatural beings you have fought with are a creation of the Demiurge, an Aspect of Wisdom that made the material world. A part of the True Creator. We used to live here but after the Reset,The Flood the system was changed and we Originals were ejected from our home.]**

"In their place, The Demiurge created his own Angels and Devils in a subconscious imitation of the higher being he descended from, which in turn humanity further shaped and begun to create more and more from the faint memories they had of the true residents.Some Gods merged with those thoughts to function better and deceive humans into believing in are real gods that exploit humans,they come here and manipulate the knowledge of people,fabricate some creation bullshit and tada- a fuckin pantheon. And a Human's soul is not one of his creations, it comes from the other side."

 **[Something or someone brought us here before the Second Faction War. They had killed what imitation and derivatives there were of us and we were called** **back** **home. And the** **rest** **is as you know** **to a degree** **. If i had to tell you the whole story with how it happened in** **the True Heavens** **you'll see so many errors in here.]**

"And that is just a part of the true origin of life. And you may be a Devil but you're much more human with your soul. You are a human being. You have both the best qualities of each."

"Oh and how i know what Albion is..." small wisps of purple crawled across his neck like coils, behind his back formed something shapeless like mist and smoke. But it was far more beyond comprehension, it gathered around his shoulders and the world was as if paused. Shining black wings of smoke and vapor constantly changed patterns in releasing a toxic aura of deathly phantasms.

No sound,motion,life or any other concept existed were imbalanced,distorted and twisted beyond were standing on the sky with the ground being above their heads.

His sclera turned blood red with his irises losing color and becoming pure white eyes with black pupils.

From within those pseudo-wings were crawling eldritch abominations in all shapes and sizes, he unbuttoned his colar slightly and stood up with pushing the chair away and with something inhuman said,"After all, I'm one of the few who have went to the other side and returned." he was channeling Tiferet in a miniscule sliver of a closed space,not activating it but giving her proof oh his words.

" Allow me to introduce myself once again.My name is Chesare MonBlanc or as they call me..." four more wings materialized in the empty space," **The Angel of Death… "**


	17. Act16

Act.16 Tullamore Dew & Jack Daniels Pt:2

2nd September,7-13-7 Roppongi, minato-ku, Tokyo City,Monday 20:15 pm

Issei arrived went out of the taxi with a a casual flair while he held the door with his right hand. For once more he was late by a few minutes, it was the only sort of justice that he held on - tardiness was justice! He did get a bit late for he had to wait for a really special client of his.

Through shame and worry he shoved his other hand to the door in giving an assistance to the charming lady that accompanied him. She grabbed it and was pulled out of the car in stepping on the sidewalk. And she closed the door after which the taxi drifted away in the distance.

"I guess we're here." she was excited, a casual smile not far away from her iconic smirk plastered over her face. She fixed her ruffled dress and despite her best attempts to keep his hand in place,Issei turned away and placed some distance in between them.

"So...karaoke or a fancy dinner is to your liking, Senpai? Or you would rather have us go to a hotel and do kinky shit tonight?" the tease was ever present. She really loved his reactions and messing around with him with no hard feelings in between.

It was night time. The large city of Tokyo was bustling with people of all kinds in having fun, walking around the streets under the streetlights. Tokyo was known as one of the best party spots, they were really close to one of the most popular clubs - Feria. Issei didn't really want to go to somewhere so full of people. The crowd was something he hated with a passion like no other - large clubs and the like were on his list to avoid as he didn't have anything to do there. But it was a sacrifice he was willing to make for his only female client, she really wanted to go there and she dragged him to use his magic thingy to grant them free passage.

"I really hate myself for agreeing to this." was the simple one liner Issei delivered with much distress behind his tone.

"Don't be so depressive! We came here to party! To ease our minds of the accumulated stress." all knowingly she said with such a chipper tone, probably making Issei wish to rip his heart out and save himself from the agony.

"Fine,fine. It's not going to be fun for me but that is my duty as an escort to my client." Issei nodded and had his phone out to check the time. He was acting professional and quite aloof on the go,like a true bodyguard would. From a mercenary to a qualified courier, it wasn't his first time in acting as a guard or a diplomat so the two looked like a normal girl and a snarky had enough time to have fun if possible while he had the intention of speaking to someone. Just standing before Club Feria looking around gave him this feeling that he did not belong in there or being near it's premises.

 _"Damn bitch. She even made me dress up like this. Oh,how i wish i stayed at home and read that hentai on my phone. Guess it won't be like that... I mean..."_

"Is there something wrong with how i look? Or you don't like the dress?",he was snapped back to reality by Sayaka's tap on the shoulder to which he immediately flinched like stung. She was definitely not amused by this." I tried my best to look good and that's how you react? Damn..." she was thinking on whether it was worth the hassle to dress nicely and "nicely" give him some assistance.Ok, it was done forcefully alright to pick up something nice.

"Not really..." cold and aloof as a robot he responded with nothing to a bare sliver of emotion to refute her questions. He didn't show his annoyance but he did wait for her to go through her bag in search for her ID. "Don't get the wrong idea but you kinda look great in a dress. Makes me wonder why did i even need to wear these. Takeyama…" with nothing but bluntness to adress her,"You look good enough to compensate for the both of us."

"I'll take that as a compliment. I did my best in trying to make you look decent enough. It's not appearances that matter so much as it's personality." she nodded sagely while she inspected his attire for the tiniest speck that might ruin the image. He didn't care really.  
"Both personality and appearance matter but to varying degrees. So let's forget about our worries tonight and have fun,shall we?"

He took a long glance from head to toe. He was not disappointed in the least.

Her delicate body was arrayed by a short black dress that tightly wrapped around her curves in the most alluring way - the dress was rather clean out of any unnecessary accessories and it had a subtle effect of enhancing her already existent charm that made him feel drawn to her. Elegant and classy were the exact words to describe her and the way she carried herself. It reached down to her her thighs, right above her knees in a 8cm distance. It had a portion of her back bare,a V-neck running down the front bared her skin in a way that was not scandalous, it was just the right amount of skin to bare.

She looked mature and had an tinge of exquisite sex appeal around her but as well as a natural elegance that was in contrast with her crude remarks which made Issei double check if he had taken the wrong person from her house instead.

She had barely used any make up to cover her face as clearly did not need any, her hair was styled exceptionally well in a high ponytail while the rest remained hanging loosely in long tresses. And to finish the look she had chosen a pair of short heels that were suitable for dancing.

"It's not like i have a choice, do i?" he dryly responded. It was exactly what she wanted to hear.

Issei was clad in black as usual. Black jeans with a circular belt buckle, a nicely tailored dress shirt in black that gave him a sense of being some sort of a funeral agent,morose and pensive. And a black leather jacket with multiple zippers across the chest area. He had that caretaker look or something like that, that point had been made many times on why he dressed in black so much. The explanation he always gave was because it gathered more sun rays and  
helped him stay warm as due to his lower body temperature.

Not wasting anymore time, they took the initiative and went straight to the entrance.

XXX

Club Feria, Vip Section, 20:55 pm

Issei was sitting on the large sofa at the table,drinking some Johnny Walker alone in as much as peace he could get around in this place. It wasn't as crowded with people as it was just a Monday, but just enough to make him feel uncomfortable. Drinking was his sole companion for he did not dance - he stayed in the sidelines in thought but never losing sight of his client.

 _"I kinda feel bad for the girls. Phenex would have surely liked this place with all of the girls you could spot here. Honestly... Why did i even come here?"_ , Issei mentally asked himself while destroying his cup of whiskey in a gulp. He had bought atleast 5 bottles to even feel a bit of inebriation, something in such quantities would have killed a normal person and a Devil probably _."Atleast the booze is good."_

The young and dashing ladies who came here to party were a pleasant view in his otherwise bleak everyday. Foreigners, local girls and from other regions were gathered around on the dancefloor while Issei was one of the very few who stood aside and did not submerge in the party spirit like almost everyone under the neon projectors and flashing lights. If anything it reminded him of that time he went with Matsuda and Motohama to a strip club and a had a small after party. That time was really good, aside from a few nasty experiences at the worst moment.

But now he was alone with the only normal girl in his life. Normal was a bit far fetched for this one,atleast she was in comparison to the rest.

Another shot was poured in his glass and leaned back to enjoy the view _."This is kind of relaxing at times.I should enjoy it for it maybe the last time...",_ he threw a quick glance and spotted the brunette going right towards his table. Sayaka had asked him to dance and have fun but he vehemently refused such invitation with some excuse, preferring to stay in the sidelines and just watch. Truthfully he felt depressed and not so much into partying - he did it out of respect of her wish to have someone accompany her and he did.

"Don't you want to dance a bit? It's not so scary, come on." with a gentle tug on the sleeve of his shirt, she said with a concerned look. It was the gaze of someone begging you to have fun or if you want to leave already. She took his flinching as a sign and sat down next to him.

"You don't seem to have fun,aren't you? I'm sorry for making you do this." from a happy face she switched to a more serious one,"If you don't like it...we should leave and just go have a dinner or something?" she was unsure of what he would respond at this moment. It was all written on her face - she didn't want to leave him be and would he try to resist, he would get more offers to mess him up mentally.

"Don't concern yourself with me. This is your night so have fun. I'll be right here so just do what you want." through pauses between drinking he tried to push her away with words. Yet she decided to stay and keep him company, to his chagrin.

"You're thinking about something gloomy again, aren't you?" she lifted the second glass and placed it before his own. An immediate response followed - he turned the bottle upside down and let it's contents seep into the transparent cup with whiskey seeping down like rain on a Sunday evening.

"Of course i am. What makes you think I'd sit here if it weren't for my stupid face? Just drink up and leave me be." ,he said with a frustrated, nervous voice that struck her as odd. "I just don't think i fit in,Takeyama. I'm neither good looking or pleasant, i don't know how to communicate properly with others and i don't feel like i want to. I just can't..."

She left the glass down on the table and skidded closer to him. Her hand found it's way on his shoulder with her looking straight into his brown eyes. Green and brown locked in a gaze of understanding and misery,"So what if you don't fit it? I'm the same as you...i don't really have friends or anything that i could say of caring about me. There's nothing wrong in being like that." she pulled herself closer. That very smile she gave him would have messed up anyone in thinking there was something between them, but not him. He knew she was just trying to be nice.

 _"Don't give me that genuine smile when most of the time you say things that creep me out!"_

She was so close to him, her hand on his shoulder did nothing more than startle him and she was one of the few he was somewhat comfortable in letting them touch him. Thoughts raced through his head like a tsunami in sweeping everything in it's path. She was close,way too close as he could trace the lines of her dress going down, namely the area that gave him a good view of her cleavage for she had leaned down but still continued to look at him with some pain in her eyes.

 _"It's not hard to get the wrong idea with a beautiful girl like her. In fact it's what everyone else would have done. And as a matter of...fuck! fuck!_ _fuck!_ _",_ he felt a creeping sensation take over him by the minute _."Down boy!. Stay down,stay down! Damn it,this is something I'm going to get slack for."_

"And it seems you really do you like my dress,don't you?",she knew. She knew about it and to save his grace moved away with her arm dropping on the fabric of her dress but not before she ran a finger from her neck down to her chest. It hit a spot."You're probably thinking that I'm too young or something to even try. But just so you know", raising the glass up in a toast,"isn't being young nice?"

"It doesn't matter being young. It's my policy of dealing with clients respectfully." nodding down he stretched his arm in a toast as well, imitating the Great Gatsby in that gesture and with some dull noise their cups clashed against each other. In a quick succesion they both had left them in half empty state.

The music had stopped for a moment while the DJ was preparing his next track to play. His station was located above the dancefloor, a bit far away from the VIP lounge. There was this one last chance for a dance - like the secluded guy he was,Issei had reserved a spot on Feria's roof where there was an amazing view of the night sky and Tokyo. Mostly because there weren't a lot of people there and it was obviously far more costly on the money to use.

The DJ placed the record in and like the tradition of partying grabbed the mic to deliver a sort of a party cry to get people to dance. He had money to earn, this club payed really well so there wasn't a time where the DJs went home without a fortune.

"Here's a pretty special one for all the ladies in the club! Are you ready to partyyy!" through the booming speakers the voice of the Dj echoed through the place like thunder,nearly busting Issei's ears from the high pitch.

The whole first floor exploded in euphoric screams and shouts. The feedback was immense, people left their spots and slowly crept under the lights of neon colors in heaps. Intoxicated, euphoric and probably totally wasted faces of every kind of expression had marched forward as the music began to play along. It was at first just a check and such until the real thing would begin.

Issei was staring at them with a neutral expression. Not condemning them nor praising, a rather earnest glance at the carefree life they had in ignorance of what was brewing behind the scenes. If only they knew what was happening really there would be no such leisure. He had taken up this job at believing that he would find something around. So far so good nothing came out to play.

 _"Such liveliness...such frivolous actions. You people had the lucky straw in the bet of life,so have fun while it's possible. Things are brewing and we don't know when it will strike. Damn, i really want to go home already."_

He rested his head on his knuckles, staring at one point like an idiot who had nothing but regrets for coming here. If he had called out M&M - they'd feel bad about it, plus they would ask questions about his client. And he wouldn't want that.

"I know it's a bit too much...",her voice snapped him out of it and she gained his attention. Slightly hesitant, a bit nervous in knowing it's useless to even ask she inquired. Just once,just once to have fun and forget about his worries for a second."But i just wanted to-

He cut her off, knowing what she was going to say."Just one and then I'll show you something cool. The things i do..." grumpy and hesitant, he turned over the whiskey down and finished it in a gulp. He was embarrassed, scared and feeling uncomfortable when he stood up with his mind screaming like mad on the inside in various swears and obscenity. But he stood up."Happy now?!",with a annoyed face with some red flushed over it,he gave her a 'are you satisfied' gawk with his brows scrunching in a slightly dispassionate manner.

Instead of words to speak,she chose a different approach in responding. By grabbing him by the hand and pulling him forward.

Meanwhile...

The two of them were close to each other, not to get lost in the mass of people. Since he had drank a bit, Issei lowered his inhibition a little bit and decided to try to have a bit of fun. Or atleast make it look like that.

He was dancing by himself, shaking arms and legs in tune with the beat. As strange as it was he had some rhythm in him,he clearly didn't give a damn about anything now. He was just having his fun, the speakers were booming loudly with the beat exploding in every direction. Unlike everyone, he kept his distance from other people and didn't dance with anyone else. The chorus came up with everyone going out with hands in the air and singing whatever jumbled lyrics theu could produce while being drunk.

After a few minutes, the song was about to change.  
Doing his moves he secretly drifted closer and closer till he could see his lounge of peace to take refuge in. It was his chance to slip away from so many people. But the song changed to something more of a nostalgic inducing tune with a slightly upbeat tempo, he stopped to listen and closed his eyes to feel the music in his bones. He had heard this song before but forgot about it - it kind of was his type despite listening to a totally different genre.

"Here is something sensual for ya'll party animals! What I'ma gonna play is something special for a lovely lady named Sayaka Takeyama. So let's start the party!" the DJ screamed out Sayaka's name on the mic for everyone to hear. He rolled up the track and began to play the music.

 _ **[**_ _~Route 64 ft Jess Glynne- My Love~_ _ **]**_

 _~My love and my touch...Up above, made with the warmth of my... My love and my touch...~_

Issei had been standing there static. He had payed the DJ to play something special for her but he did not expect the man to spin it around and choose this song. He was never going to trust a DJ in picking up the right track ever again

He opened his eyes and turned around. In the middle was the lovely brunette standing still. Despite the music playing she didn't dance at all like the rest,she looked lonely. Everyone was dancing under the lights as well as they could. But not the two of them- they stared at each other with something unsettling, something weird and unexplained.

 _"I don't know anymore...should i try. What is going to happen i don't know but i have a guess. Why did this song had to mess me up and get me all emotional? Even so..."_

But there was an inkling, a feeling that he understood well enough to take a step forward even if it was a hesitant move. Even if it was the wrong move. She smiled back at him and did the same - both closing the distance between them with each step taken.

 _~My love and my touch...Up above, made with the warmth of my... My love and my touch...~_

They were close to each other until they stood next to each other. No words were exchanged, they continued to look at each other with eyes of brown and green locking together like in a trance. She made a step closer, he didn't move away and braced for the impact.  
She reached out to him with her arms wrapping around his back but he didn't resist it. He let her press close to his chest and by the eldritch temptresses of whispers she gently told him,"I don't bite. Hold me,will you." and slid her arm to his waist.

He tried to do it,hesitated and yet she strengthened her grip in telling him it was fine. What he was doing was a mistake. He relented and wrapped his arms around her back and waist,slowly dancing back and forth while averting his gaze from hers. She released her right hand and placed it around his neck to which he immediately looked confused, he rather faked it until he saw her eyes. Gleaming with an emotion he could not describe well nor dare to try. The neon lights glowed in the dark with a peculiar shine above them,flashing between black and white streaks in seconds.

 _~Love, stay close to me Love, stay close, stay close...~_

They couldn't hear each other but knew they were there, it felt awkward for both but they kept dancing together until he let her go. She turned around and raised her arms, he slided his over her sides while she tugged hers around his neck and stayed like that for a moment shaking left and right before breaking away from one another. Next she skimmed to his side and began to twirl her fingers around his chest seductively. Like the perv he was, he accidentally touched her behind and squeezed, awaiting a instinctive slap but instead she swiftly touched his chest and placed her head against his shoulder.

He didn't think. He knew it was weird and impossible, it was some sort of her usual harassment to mess him up but left her. He knew not to expect anything until she slightly raised on her toes and leaned to his face. It was during that moment...

 _~My love and my touch...Up above, made with the warmth of my... My love and my touch...~_

...He moved away from it.

 _"I can't do it. I just can't do it to her, she doesn't deserve this...she needs something else than this..."_ and he instead moved his arms up and pulled her closer in a emotional embrace, denying anything that felt fake and superficial to happen just because she thought she had to pay him. He had maybe found someone like him, someone who didn't act nice and anything, she was the one he felt comfortable.

Sayaka didn't protest, she just accepted it and closed her eyes. She was close to his face, he was constantly betrayed by expectations so he didn't know exactly what to do. Everything screamed in him to let her go and kiss her, she continued to stay that way which further flustered him but maybe he should have done it.

Issei closed his eyes for a moment. He blinked twice and saw Raynare in his arms looking directly at him with slightly squinted eyes and a thin, seductive smile.

XXX

Club Feria, Fifth Floor-Rooftop Bar, 21:30 pm

After having had enough, Issei went to his reserved spot on the fifth storey, away from the music and other people. Here there weren't many people, only a few were conversing rather quietly among themselves about business, life,women and fame. He had chosen this place because of the dazzling view of night time Tokyo. A luxurious place for people who wanted to stay away from the noise of the lower levels.

And the two were sitting at the bar,just before the three statues that represented the club. Issei had a red Martini while Sayaka had a Margarita cocktail.

"Sorry for earlier...i don't know what came over me." she stared down to her feet. "I know how you are and i still tried something weird... I don't blame you if you think I'm some slut."

"Don't get some worked up over something small. And i know you're not one", Issei remained static while escaping any moment where their eyes could meet. He had to run away and hide in the lavatory for it to pass and here they were now." You're scared actually, right?", monotone and a bit bland was the way he presented his question. He was like that most of the time.

"I'm curious, yes as any normal person would I'm also scared at the same time," she rested her chin on her palms while staring at the wide variety of alcoholic beverages lined on the bar."I'm not rich at all,i don't have anything valuable to give you as a payment for your services. So the only thing i could give you is myself... I don't want to do it really, not with some random schmuck who doesn't even know me. I'm saying it as a tease because it offputs you and prolongs our time together, thus postponing my payment for which I'm really sorry...", a distressed tone of conflicting emotions came out of her throat. Issei knew actually, he had guessed it based on her reactions and intuition so he rejected her offer every single time for that was her wish deep down. To have time together, in each other's company as long as possible.

"I don't need any payment from you, and don't ever do it with someone you know who doesn't share your sentiments. You'll regret it for failing to recognize the truth, don't let your anxiety rule you into doing that mistake." there was a slight tinge of regret in his voice. He was thinking of what he did with Rias. On how he made a stupid mistake,he didn't want her to repeat it and suffer from the backslash."And especially not with some ugly, scumbag trash like me."

"I don't really care about appearances so much. I just want someone with whom i can connect." her face was overrun with confusion, misery and yet a genuine look of sincerity. She felt like she had to say something to him, she knew he had no pride or confidence in him for he was the same as her. Both weird and disgusting to others,outcasts for various reasons with no one giving them the time to get to know them and what was under the exterior.

"Despite what you think about yourself...despite everything, to me you're not trash or something disgusting. Yes you do have sickeningly creepy eyes but that's a point of your charm. If i had to choose between you and the Prince of Kuoh at this moment... I'd choose you for who you are immediately. You're better than you think you are, there may be better looking, stronger and cooler guys than you but they're not you!

You have a lot of good qualities that others could only dream of having so please...", she looked his way with a defeated look running down her face,a face that made him feel uncomfortable with no superficiality in her any mask to wear." Don't you ever think you're not good enough because to me you're the nicest person I are not trash. You're someone i care about so don't you look down on yourself."

"Nicely said but I'm not like that. I don't have the grace everyone is born with. I'm just some ugly schmuck but i don't care about them,it's true that I'm disgusting but I'm me atleast." his last sentence made him squirm for that was a question he always asked himself. On whether it was really him or someone else from these souls that thinks they're him. He placed his fingers on the glass and lifted it up to take a sip of his coctail,his throat felt dry so he wanted to freshen up a little.

"I just can't believe nor is it possible for that to be true. I've done things no man deserves to go through."

"So tell me what happened recently for you to feel so depressed? Was it a girl or someone else?" she asked curiously. Judging by the slightest reaction to the subject she had the impression that it was true.

After some consideration and some goading into telling her,he didn't resist any further and began his story about it.

"There's this girl recently who had some problems with her father. I sort of patched her relationship with her father and now she sort of relies on me. And i got violated at a corner because of her." he did not forget to mention on how he felt molested and would probably sue her for sexual harassment, he told her the basics of it like a sage."I'm not stupid or dense. The way she looks at me- she's got her feelings confused about what she really feels. It's not love or anything like that,it's some misguided sense of reliance based on the act of having fixed her relationship with her estranged father. I think she's under some sort of belief of having feelings for me when it's not real."

"It does feel that way. Everyone has their insecurities - body image,self-esteem and many other factors. You don't want to hurt her,do you?" she said with a sympathetic nod. "She seems like a really hurt person to me. She needs time to think over everything and set her priorities straight. And i may tease you but i wouldn't go so far as push you to a corner, hell i don't want a restraining order just because of that." a stupid smile appeared, she sort of tried to suppress her laugh at imagining Issei's face while he was struggling to break free."So what's her name if i may ask?"

"Akeno Himejima. That's her." dryly and with some disdain behind his words he mentioned her name. Only to watch her reaction unravel after it.

"That Akeno Himejima? Ok,it's hard to believe it since she's so pretty and all. Girls like her tend to go for the super hot,rich bad boys and don't have the time to look at us." she knew about her and had seen her multiple times. She was one of the Devils for making a contract with aside from Kiba,she had chosen him at first out of concerns for being scared of becoming some sort of toy for her.

The way she looked around, submerged in thought and fiddling with her hair in circles to think was kind of cute. She had that cute aura around her when she didn't talk about business, something which Issei approved for this moment with a nod.

"She's really beautiful and people like us can't compete in regards to appearance with her. She's definitely not going to be truthful with you, maybe it's some sort of trick to make fun of you." she made a toast with her Margarita, slightly tapping Issei's glass and drinking a bit of it."Girls like her don't go for guys like you."

"Damn straight. I don't really like them but her father", he looked away for a moment," is a really cool guy. We've helped out each other and he doesn't talk much which is easier to deal with." he had respect for the older man and preferred his company to the Occult Research Club's atmosphere. He didn't ask anything, just quietly drank his wine and occasionally talked when necessary.

"But she does have a big rack,over which guys swoon and drool. A great body and a pretty face for everyone to like and desire. Probably hurts to have boobs big as those." then she looked down with a distasteful glare at her own dress, touching her breasts and scrutinizing her figure in making comparisons between herself and the Queen of Kuoh Academy. Issei watched that with some sort of embarrassment, trying to suppress it and managed not to get excited over something so stupid. She raised her gaze at him with a interwoven question of no words at him, inquiring on his opinion on the matter of relevance of breasts.

"Size and shape do not matter at all. There are far more important things than a pair of mounds; personality, maturity, life views and of course prosperity. And let us not forget the shapely ass has importance as well, equal to boobs."

"I honestly thought you'd go for any chick with a big rack. I did not expect you to go for personality and having a great ass as well." Sayaka smirked while slightly squinting in a serious yet seductive gaze,as if she was approving of his choices."Atleast you know what you want, unlike others who want something but don't know what it is and can't get enough. And just so you know",she leaned forward against the bar plate with her chest softly squishing against the matte surface,  
"you have one damn,hell'a fine ass on you. I'm envious at times!"

"Could you stop blue balling me every time we meet? Feels like sexual harassment and it makes me want to jump off a bridge." non changing in his expression, Issei sensed something familiar coming their way. Something of a supernatural origin was slowly approaching their position with the scars on his back glowing underneath the jacket. He didn't have time to chide or bitch about it as he tightened his muscles in recognition of danger,preparing to fight back and strike down whatever entity it was in their annoying interruption of his free time.

"Do you mind me if i sit here?" were the polite words of a man he could recognize very well. The timbre,the nauseating sense of superficiality and faked pleasantry rung like a chime bell in his ears.

From all of the people there could be. It was none other than Yuuto Kiba, the Knight of Rias Gremory...

XXX

"I guess things are different now. And still i feel like nothing has ever changed for the likes of me. It's a feeling i cannot get rid off, it's something i can't get solace from."  
Kiba slouched on the bar plate in a pensive mood like never before. What was once a smiling face was left a cold,empty husk of the man he was before. Rather the man he pretended to be in front of Rias.

He wore a elegant business suit of the black shade variety over a short sleeved button-down shirt with a tie of red streaking down from his neck. He looked better than he was about a week and a few days ago. At the very least handsome was a term fit for the blonde Devil, nobody could deny it but how he had no girl by his side was a question that was quite frequently asked by rest.

He looked up in search of something in the skies above their heads, seeking, calling for something that was there to give him reason to go on. "She told me everything from the bottom to the top. I can't say I'm not surprised",the bartender brought him a bloody merry coctail just in time,"you didn't seem like the person to care and go out of their way for someone." he chuckled dryly with a sarcastic streak in it,slowly taking a sip from his drink.

 _Kiba had arrived earlier together with a client of his to this club after he found a leeway to get out of his bed, disregarding the ban for his own work as a Devil. He avoided the noisy first floor and spent most of the time on the roof to drink down his severe depression after having accomplished his sole reason to live - killing Valper Gallilei and having his revenge._

"What can i say? If it's worth the profit and if i can get someone's last wish fulfilled then why not?" both shoulders raised in a laid back gesture of total nervousness, Issei bluntly answered with some sarcasm,"Yeah,right. I didn't do it for you actually. It was something i wanted to do for myself as it conceded with my goal so i had to capitalize on this occasion to get something i needed."

"And what would that be?" the blonde man clapped his hands in curiosity. Crossed them a moment later and took an elated stance on his chair with a demanding gawk towards the sitting next to him brown haired Devil.

"What's more precious than knowledge? Nothing really, i wanted information on every conceivable possibility", bored with it and wanting to end this conversation as soon as possible, right on the moment he called for the bartender to fix him another drink - a Pina Co Lada and a Triple Sec for his client who stood next to him patiently. "Plus information on each of you. Better to be prepared if you try to gang up on me and have me trialed by your stupid councils or something."

"I see. I'm glad you got what you needed out of it." Kiba smiled. Not a regular fake smile,not the one he gave to everyone in pretending he was okay with everything. There was a change in his mentality, a change Issei could spot and surely have his doubts about as a skeptic,he seemed different. A sense of liberation, freedom and life emanated from that smile of his - it was a painfully made, melancholy infused smile that was something real and from the depths of his soul sprang forward to the surface. It was not a fake smile but the real one.

"And...thank you for having tried to help me. I appreciate it for every effort and hassle you went through for that." he spoke with a bit harsher,hoarse voice that did not hide anything like before. A stronger and stripped of it's counterfeit pleasantry voice of seriousness had been it's replacement. Even going as far as thanking him was the worst thing he could have done.

"Don't thank me. Thank yourself for having done what you needed too." still it felt off by a small margin," despite it,you didn't have it in you to die. You had a choice and you made it but now you feel like you're going around with no purpose or direction. I've been there too but i don't have a choice."

"I do. I did what i had to do,everything i have lived for is now gone into pieces. And why are you always so pessimistic about everything? No choice?", he was getting a bit emotional over this debate."There's no more chasing and struggling and i don't know what to do to fill this emptiness in my heart." he began to drink fast,soon having chugged down the whole coctail and having ordered another immediately.

"Just because you have finished one purpose in your life doesn't mean anything. Because you're still on the road of life, one door is closed but another one is opening for you. So there is a new purpose, a new goal to chase and aim for. Nothing ends with the completion of one goal for there is another."

Sayaka mingled in their conversation. She threw away all subtlety and tact,diving straight into the flow and saying what was on her mind. She leaned a bit to take a look at his face and only saw pain; something she easily recognized in her contractor as well. Sympathy. She chose that to give him courage, a reason to live. Even if it felt like a motivational lie,it had an effect on the blonde haired Devil who was supposed to be her contractor before the responsibility was shoved over to Issei.

"Maybe there is. But it's so hard to find it once you're stuck in a endless darkness of an abyss... I need to think over everything and what to do." The swordsman fell into thoughts,his sour expression mellowed down a bit in the act in realization over her words. She could perhaps be right about it,nothing was over yet. It was the end of one thing but the beginning of something grand new to seek. Contact. With someone he knew was alive and out there,ready and waiting to be found.

That was the girl he loved. Tosca was out there. But there was another who was waiting for him, he had to make her realize it for he had held something meaningful for her...but she may not have the same feelings he held.

"So...",like there wasn't a better time for it to speak up,"Can we end the sobb fest and put a halt to this conversation? Plus don't act so chummy with me. I still dislike you people." a dynamic entry was what Issei gave. And he did it in the nastiest way he knew, he was quite the jerk at times and defined didn't like the atmosphere around him. Like why the hell did he show up?

"You're still lively as ever. I prefer that than trying to act all nice and warm with you, Hyoudou." he said suddenly. "Ever since you entered our lives things have gotten quite chaotic in more than one way. Things have gone messed up, it was pretty peaceful before you showed up...", of course it was true. It wasn't by his choice, Kiba decided to drop all attempts at making him try to understand them and at trying to make him fit in their family. He was never a part of it nor did he ever wanted to become one."But...things changed. It became a lot livelier than before and we finally realized how much we meant for each other. Thanks to you, that is..."

"Not really, it's just that society needs scum like me for it to band together against and work efficiently by ostracizing that very individual for the greater good." he nodded.

Kiba continued to drink from his glass while thinking of what to respond with. Instead of following his predetermined course of action he went the opposite way. "I sort of ruined your date. You have my apologies for that."

"See! I told you people would mistake us as a couple. Not as a bouncer and her contractor." Sayaka interjected.

"It's not a date by all means necessary. It's a business meeting on the desires of the client per the agreed conditions of our contract." swiftly dispelling any misunderstandings that might arise in the future, Issei turned cold professional and took the logical explanation to save himself from getting his balls crushed by the Priestess of Lighting if she ever found out. She would find out, that was a certainty beyond doubt."I'd rather be blue balled than having to say goodbye to my jimmies by that bitch. And why do you want to have my jimmies rustled so much?" no shame or restraint were shown in his delivery of words. Like a machine gun they spewed back and forth in making them believe his cause was a product of his business.

"You mentioned something about being here with a client. So where are they now?" the girl asked a logical question. He didn't pop up from nowhere like a ghost in a abandoned castle. She was quite perceptive to a fault."And why would Issei get his balls chopped off? Is that girl a Yandere or something? A stalker?"

"On your question - she is a hardcore S. And i think she's under the impression that she sort of likes this guy right there just because he helped her with her father." Kiba pointed towards Issei with a slightly dismissive and unapproving tone. He didn't want her to get hurt because that was what the dragon did ever since he came into their lives. He still wanted her to be happy so he was willing to let it slide, even if she had to learn from her mistake.

"That's what I've been saying all this time. Atleast this pretty boy gets the gist of it." he answered without hesitation. " Appearance wise she is totally my type but when other factors play along, then I'd say I'd rather have her stay away from someone like me. You've seen what i am and why you should stay away from me so don't get any wrong ideas. I don't like you people and you don't like me either. So let's keep it that way and not interfere with our lives."

"I see. Such a girl like her would definitely never go for a guy like him. She's way above us to even consider it." the brunette shot a knowing stare and responded with a slightly different tone."So what about my first question?"

Kiba turned around and made a gesture with his arm to one of the tables in the opposite direction. From there a lady, no older than 22 waved back at them with a thin smile on her face.

She wore a white revealing dress that was surely expensive, longer than standard and greatly accentuating her mature and alluring figure in the best way possible. Her flaxen blonde hair was of a straw shade, styled with two small braids that went from her forehead to the back of her head in forming something like a ribbon while the rest of her hair fell down freely in reaching down to her back. Her eyes glistened with the color of light blue like the skies above the North,having a ice blue shimmer to their the Lords of Eros she was stunning! She was like a succubus but human for he did not sense anything odd about her,totally human. Or she was an Aspect he thought. Another reason to be wary of the Occult Research Club.

 _"Ok. Now I'm a bit scared. From what i remember on that night, he swung a silverish sword with red. I haven't seen that so we must be careful around him."_

"And before i forget about it" he slid his fingers in the inner layer of his leather jacket, rustled through the fabric and pulled out a small case. It had the shape of a square, reminiscent of a wedding ring case in it's simplicity. He ran his right hand over the matte surface of the plate towards the surprised girl in handing her the small box."Don't open this case in here for it's not the time for it. I'm just making sure nothing bad happens to you so hold onto it tight and never leave it on your nightstand. Once you get home open it and keep it at all times on you."

"Are you perhaps proposing to me? No,i don't think I'm ready for something like that so soon. First we have to see how compatible we are and that." she instantly tried to protest but took it with delight. Issei got annoyed, snatched it back in one go and opened it.

In his hand he held a single red scale with a well placed scripture of runes on a thin silver chain dangling down his fingers. Kiba was interested in it but kept his cool, so Issei went out of his way and with utmost difficulty placed it around her neck, letting it fall down freely.

"Quite the gentleman you turned out to be." sarcastic was the real Yuuto Kiba. Much more bearable and level headed than the image he always kept as a all polite,smiling monster of acceptance as Issei would call him. He wasn't so disgusting to him now,he had a bit more tolerance for him than before but not much.

"Just shut the fuck up and drink." he answered in a tone that suggested slight annoyance with giving more food for future teasing. And to use as a bribe - the young dragon whipped out one of the 3 remaining bottles he had purchased and placed it straight before his face in the most lethargic way possible. It had finally got to him, he had finally gotten slightly drunk but in a condition where he knew everything that was happening around him. It was another side effect of having an draconian nature; he had to ingest medication, alcohol and other substances that could harm him in a large, concentrated dosage. Just like the way he drank his pills and used highly concentrated magic boosters and adrenaline. It was sometimes a bad thing when you would wish to get wasted,the natural heavy tolerance of a Dragon was a bitch.

"Either way", Sayaka began after having taken a good look at the present he gave in proposing an idea of her own. An idea that Issei was totally revolted by in any way of his own questionable methods."...could you take a picture of us?" shyly she handed her Sony Xperia Z2 to Kiba,in trying to maintain her composure and not stop to stare at him like the rest of the female populace.

"Sure. No problem with me." He had been expecting something else and had no idea she would like to commemorate this moment with a took the phone and bent slightly to have a better hated taking pictures, or when forced used his visual distortion ability to dissappear from pictures. He was totally prepared to do it again but relented finally.

"Wait,wait,wait!" panic opened momentarily. She made a sign to stop as she moved away from her seat and placed herself between them, pulled both of them closer to her and just then she told him to take the picture. The camera button clicked and after a few seconds the picture was done.

"So if we're done with this can i go home now?," he said, moving away to a safe distance. The color from his face washed away, he wasn't in the best mood for anything more of this. He had to hide in the bathroom for 20 min to appear rather normal and for the pills to kick in slowly, strangely he drank after taking them. Which meant if the doctor found out his life would get a lot darker than it was. He prepared himself to go home,bottles in a paper bag and ready."I'm tired of this stuff, i don't even have any reason to stay here when i feel uncomfortable. This isn't a place for me", it cut through like a knife, his tone that is."...rather is there a place in this world for someone like me?"

"There is no need for a place if you have it in your heart. A wandering soul has no place to call their own." calmly and serene, she spoke up with a warm and welcoming voice with no pity or sympathy. Just words and nothing else. "And you're not the only one who feels that way..." her voice died out, almost like an echo it turned to a whisper which he could hear. There was a hint of sadness on her face,like she was trying to restrain her emotions from leaking out.

Kiba acted as a gentleman and tried to comfort her. His next words were directed at the brown haired Devil who had moved away in front of them.

"Tomorrow morning. President Rias will return and every member of the Occult Research Club must be present. There will be a special announcement and the visit to get better familiars to protect ourselves. So, knowing you,I'd take that as a no. But you've made me realize something." the very aura around him sharpened. Eyes were hardened, his voice was like the sharp edge of a blade and his heart was as a steel cage. Issei didn't turn around for there was no need; he could feel his gaze like daggers piercing his flesh with absolute brutality.  
"I need to be as ruthless and tenacious as you are to succeed. So I'm asking as a man to man for this particular request- help us get stronger and better as a team. Rather, as a family."

"Hmm, i will take your request but it's not going to be for free. There's no free lunch in this world, everything has a price." if he was getting more information and privilege he'd take this opportunity on the go. He wanted one thing for a specific occasion; a good distraction, an opening to get past through and straight to the airport but he didn't say it yet.

Kiba smirked." Of course there is a price and we will pay. I don't like you but I'm willing to put up with it for their sake, and i don't intend to lose to you in anything." the gravity of his words had reached a new height. Ambition. It was pure ambition and frustration that drove him to this point of willingly asking this monster for help. But the look in his eyes was different; he felt they had something in common, despite his dislike for the outcast, there was an understanding. A feeling of pain he knew he held deep within, a fellow victim of God's play in the playground, called the World.

"I don't like you as well. But don't trust her fully...i doubt the fact of a lone girl in a forest at winter would be something to ignore." he had read a small portion of the database he was allowed to access. The rest he would ask Blake to crack for him for a favor or two in delivering him something of value. The rest of the information would be available to him once Rias was back in Kuoh but he didn't want to wait any longer."I don't trust either one of you but don't be blind to the obvious."

"I know. I've asked myself that way too many times to get a adequate answer but there is another thing i didn't quite get - why you of all people?"

Issei didn't say anything. His lips pressed into a thin line as he thought it over. The same question he had been asked by Phenex was once again directed at him. There was doubt on the correct answer to a question asked regularly, no definite answer and there was no point in asking for something obviously wrong and selfish. Morally at least."I don't know, neither do i care about it any longer. And i would like to offer moral support but i happen to have questionable morals." he still waited for his client to get ready. He had enough time to wait for her to finish the drink and payed in advance for he did not plan to stay here long.

While he was fixing his apparel and preparing his bag, Kiba stepped down from the comfortable chair and assisted the green eyed girl in carefully stepping on the tiles, high heels were quite dangerous to wear due to the high possibility of falling down and breaking a leg.

She whispered something in his ear and just gave him a glance, gave him her bag and went forward to her contractor. Kiba by some weird sense of telepathy and because of his intoxication getting slowly stronger understood it by his own means. He didn't have the highest alcohol tolerance, Akeno beat them all in a drinking game four times already each year they held this competition of sorts. What he was doing was an act he was going to enjoy partaking in for the lols. Screw subtlety! Nobody had time for that.

All in all, the music transmitted from the speakers all over the place made everything sound with a different meaning. Therefore, it wasn't his fault that he mistook her words as a signal to act fast. Likewise, it wasn't his fault that he chose to go around this in his own twisted way by walking up to the occupied in their bickering duo to notice his approach in getting behind them. And consequently, it wasn't his fault when he stretched his leg forward in a precise kick he landed on the back of a embarrassed dragon's behind.

The kick connected with his rump,propelling him forward with a wordless curse of getting caught off guard, unbalancing his steps for a moment. His delayed reaction made him unable to react fast enough to prevent the fall,tripping over his leg and slamming straight into the unsuspecting girl. Right on the lips.

Sayaka panicked for a second with eyes widened then wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her. Her eyes closed but not before giving Kiba a thumbs up, as Issei's tongue inadvertently slipped in her mouth from the shock and she answered with the same. There was a passion, a feeling of it being so damn right and so good. She opened one eye as well as making a smug expression when Issei didn't know how to react, going back and forth in twitching and coiling in one steamy kiss,with pure ecstasy and passion like it was the last time. This was a chance they were denied by his fault earlier so she wouldn't let it go to letting him squeeze her breasts to which a soft moan of pleasure escaped from her,adding more fuel to the fire.

His hands incidentally grabbed her ass, feeling the nice fabric of her dress to which tightened her clutch and their kiss deepened.

It went a bit longer than expected, Issei flinching afterwards and removing himself from her with a slight trail of saliva running down their lips. It was quite awkward; both looked at each other with shock and surprise, not being able to say anything as of now.  
People did stop for a moment to see, only for a moment. They did not stop and stare like the innocent bystanders they were. Not of course...

Kiba casually walked with her bag in hand,said bag being stretched forward to the stunned girl to which she meekly grabbed it and moved away slightly.

By then Issei turned around with a washed away complexion in swearing with a single glance at the blonde Devil who smiled in a slightly approving thin chesire grin.

"I didn't choose the Devil life, the Devil life chose me." were the only words he offered with keeping that pleased smile on his face.

"…Now,i really hate you for doing that...", he shot a glare of unspeakable evil down his eyes in a promise to get back at him one day. But he was embarrassed and confused to do everything he wanted to that pretty face of his. The way he reacted was like a school girl,a creeped out man and a seriously confused kid.

"Don't worry about it,i hate you too." Kiba made a not so pleasant face,a cross between sympathy and dislike in a somewhat bipolar manner being both the truth and a lie at the same time. He did avert his eyes from him, he didn't want to see the crippling fear he brought into their hearts. He chose to pretend it was totally fine."And one more thing..."

"What is it?"

"It's Adam now. I'd rather you called me with my real name,not the fake identity i have lived with for five years. Adam Bernhardt."

"I gotta admit. It wasn't bad at all, it was really nice of you to finally do what you didn't earlier." Sayaka made a pleased face, calm and collected but with a really nice smile that could warm almost any heart of ice. Of course it was awkward but they could always blame it on the booze and continue like normally.

"I guess we are quite compatible and comfortable with each other, so let's give it time to see if we feel something.I really liked it so let's try that again some time." She skidded closer to him and slammed her palm on his posterior while making a teasing face."And you were said to be a Breast Lover! Now we're even with this." and calmly backed away again. She did what he did to her,retribution was delivered equally.

He made a sour face. His eyes narrowed, the act of someone hitting him twice like that didn't really made him feel comfortable in going on. Why did they always had to make him suffer so much from their antics? "Both of you... I really don't know what to say. But either way thank you and fuck you, pretty boy." he turned back and took the time to regain his composure and walked away from the blonde.

The brunette chased after him and soon caught up.

"Quite the wingman you are,Yuuto. He seems like a nice fellow, don't you think?" his client had moved past her table and went behind Kiba, letting him know she was right to his side. An apologetic glint shone in her blue eyes in recognition but there was something more to it." He might turn into a problem or an ally in depending on how things go. If he gets in the way, incapacitate him for he is too valuable to be lost."

"I don't wish to cross blades with him. He doesn't deserve anything of this so our deal extends to him as well." Yuuto spoke with a hoarse tone and gave her a pressing look of animosity. He didn't want to involve the Red Dragon Emperor into his own field of work,he wanted to keep everyone safe so he was going to keep his word. "Just don't touch anyone of them. I need them to be safe by all means necessary."

"I intend to keep my word. And good job on decimating those Vampires, they were planning on using the Holy Grail to gain supremacy throughout Europe and tilt the balance. It's too early for people to know the truth so it's our duty to protect them from the shadows." she tapped him on the back gently and with her other arm wrapped it around his. "I'll call you when there's a need for you. Until then,you're free to do as you please, Adam. We've got some work to do soon but let's get around for a walk now,shall we? My beloved Betrayer."

"As you wish, milady. But there is something i need to do first."

XXX

3rd September, Kuoh Academy, Occult Research Club room, Tuesday, 10:35 am

Things settled down a bit but there was still tension in the higher ups of each faction. Today was the last day where the leaders of each faction were to agree to hold an official meeting for a peace conference but no word was heard.

Rias Gremory and her peerage had returned after a lot of pleading to go back to Kuoh. They were assigned with a group of highly trained guards who masqueraded as students in the school grounds,some were on standby and plastered all around the city. And today was the return of Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri back to school, something they had missed a lot ever since things happened left and right.

Everyone was present at the club room like the good kids they were, well not everyone of course. There was always someone who was fashionably late as per his modus operandi dictated him to be. And that was Issei.

On the big sofa, Rias patiently waited while drinking her lemon tea from a cup Akeno meticulously prepared for such an occasion. The said girl sat on the sofa on it's left side while the right was occupied by the forever munching food Koneko, sitting idly in mentally preparing herself for the arrival of the beast and his entourage. And today was going to be a special day as Serafall Leviathan was going to show up with the remaining Bishop of Rias,who was sent away to train and get a good grasp on his abilities.

On the other side were Kiba and Asia who each took a seat on the opposite sofa,waiting and drinking tea as well. One was anxious, the other worried but the one who had it worse was none other than Sona who was cramped between the blonde Bishop and the pleasant Knight.

The atmosphere was rather bland, stale and unpleasant in it's base core. There was a tint of annoyance, frustration and outright fear that lurked through the corners of the otherwise spacious facility. No one had tried to keep up their happy face,neutral or plain unwelcoming masks had become the faces of everyone in this room. Indifference, dislike and plain boredom mixed with fright. Everyone was traumatized by what happened 13 days ago, they were like different people at times when the memories of almost dying swept them under the rug.

 _"This feeling of being like an extra... Never have i ever felt so out of place like here. And to think i agreed to my sister's idea... How miserable must i be?"_

Sona adjusted her glasses once then took the initiative to do one last check of her appearance - she had to look pristine and professional and the slightest mistake was not to be tolerated. She was quite critical of herself and always strived to be in acceptable terms with her performance, studies, appearance and persona. She had it rough- she was the first one to arrive when she spotted Rias in the room. The natural reaction was for the crimson haired heiress to freak out. Sona had resized her uniform to fit her new measurements perfectly and found out how tight the blouse felt, and the back pains she never had experienced before. She wondered how Rias dealt this hassle all the time. Rias couldn't recognize her at first glance, a few good minutes had to pass for her to realize it was her childhood friend indeed. People didn't change like that,especially in that way for over less than two weeks.

After Akeno went in she didn't tease her at all- the same reaction as Rias followed. She wasn't used to a longer haired Sona, it felt like a totally different person to her and especially when she asked her about her bust size to which the bespectacled girl had to answer to leave her alone. The Queen proposed to go with her shopping in choosing a fine brassiere to hold the bust size of B:90, something Issei would have liked. She did accidentally mentioned Issei's name which spiked her mood considerably.

A large transportation circle with the insignia of Leviathan began to manifest and compose it's sigils and coordinates in the middle of the room with bluish motes of light and sparkles of demonic energy materializing a complete circle. With much fanfare and festivity, from the circle began to form legs,then the torso and finally the head materialized fully. As every self respecting magical girl,Serafall Leviathan's entrance was garnered with sparkles,hearts and every other cute shit Masou Shoujo loved to hammer down over people's heads.

Business suit,comfortable shoes,decent amount of sparkling eyes and a kaleidostick Ruby/Sapphire, Serafall stepped out of the circle with a fast step. Behind her was a little boy with a paigeboy haircut and a female Kuoh Academy uniform with pointy ears which were masked by an illusion spell from the mass populace as well as his eye color. Well only they knew he was a boy, Asia clearly did not and would soon find out.

"Have no fear for Magical Levia-tan is here!" that was her entrance. Flashy and flashy? It wasn't as usual at least - she didn't wear the damn costume for once. Sona was spared from the embarrassment this time.

"Welcome, Lady Leviathan. How has your day been?" Rias asked politely as she made the mandatory signs of respect and welcomed the Maou with open arms."It's been a while, hasn't it Gasper? You look well, did you eat properly?"

"I-it's good to see you too,President. I have,just as you told me to." Gasper answered with embarrassment. He was still hiding behind the Maou. That anxiety over communicating with people had yet to be fixed but atleast his confidence had grown ever since he had gained a decent amount of skill with his Sacred Gear. He slightly peeked at the rest behind Serafall's back and noticed Asia's presence. He was scared but she made a gentle smile at him to put him at ease and show she didn't bite.

"We seem to be missing someone. Where is that feisty Red Dragon Emperor? I don't see him around here." she looked up with nothing but a charming smile. She gave a quick look at the room to find him nowhere in her field of view. He wasn't here despite knowing she would come visit them which saddened her. She really thought she had found a kindred spirit who shared her love for magical girls and idols. And she wanted something in return for her services, she was empowered by hope for they had a deal and she was ready to finish it, only if he showed up.

"One feisty Red Dragon Emperor coming right up!" a recognizable voice struck their ears alongside the noise the aged door produced. From it emerged Ravel and behind her was Xuelan who didn't look like she cared about it. The school uniforms looked great on both girls, that was a given. The door was left hanging for one more guest to grace them with their presence.

Serafall Leviathan created a giant stake of frost, rather a spear from thin air by freezing the space around her left hand and took a throwing stance at aiming for the door. Everyone panicked over her sudden hostility as the spear flew straight for the door in a flash,colliding with a barrier of sorts and melting down on the go. She was not amused at all, it was probably the tenth time she missed already. Only if she remembered the whole ordeal.

Nonchalant from the start, Issei entered the room without much flair to his movement. He spared a single glance at the girl and went in further. They had this game for ten days straight; she would try to skewer him each time and he would escape every single time with the former Sitri Heiress forgetting about their meeting each day. The natural ability of an Apostle to make someone forget about them was remarkable yet annoying when dealing with persistent nuisances like Serafall. He always knew she was going to do that so he came in prepared."Levi-tan! Catch!"

And brought a big case to throw at Sona's sister as a result.It went flying straight for the Maou.

 _"This is getting out of hand. How much does she want to kill me? I can't blame her though. Especially with what happened to Sitri, that i can't deny my claim to."_

"You don't mean...", the twin tailed Maou exclaimed in sheer exuberance, squealing like a child over having obtained a new possession of her desire. Having caught it like a professional she layed the case on the ground and asked Gasper to stand back in the same time she got her hands on it's locks and behold. From the case she opened, her hands that were on the locks now held a pink,customized chainsaw with the name Mistilteinn engraved on the flat blade of the like never before, Serafall lifted up the Mistilteinn and pulled the cord thus igniting the engine for the magical chainsaw to roar in delight over it's new owner.

It was magnificent by a default since Issei found the scenery dazzling.

"It's bea-beautiful! It's perfect! I'll treasure it forever!" was the single thing she said.

"I customized it a bit. Special delivery and now we're even." dull and boring like paint drying he spoke of how he had to make a purchase and then the customizations he made to it. All courtesy of the German,it did cost a good sum of his depleting fortune but the satisfaction wasn't so bad.

"Please excuse me for the rudeness but swinging a chainsaw on school grounds is totally unacceptable. And i believe there are far more pressing matters to be handled as of now." Sona calmly took a hold of the situation like a professional. Her blunt and cold as ice tone snapped back to reality the chipper Leviathan from her chainsaw frenzy. She took the time to stop and heeded to the bespectacled StuCo President's words. From everything there was, Sona's demeanour didn't change but internally she cringed hard from the excitement of Levi-tan going through her act again. She did smile but it was hardly noticeable.

"Yes. I almost forgot", with the mask of Leviathan swapping place with the Levia-tan mask in a near flawless transition, the gravity of her presence shifted to a much more deadlier one,befitting that of a leader. She hid the chainsaw behind her back and cleared her throat."Today marks the day of the Occult Research Club's full assembly. And from this day on by the authority of the Maou Sirzechs Lucifer and with permission from Rias-chan i present you Sona Sitri and Gasper Vladi. A Mutation Piece and a Knight/Sub-King to bolster the defense of this city from pests."

Issei's brow twitched. He wasn't told of this detail at all; he learned about Gasper from the files but he did not expect to see such a bold move from Serafall. He didn't expect anything so it came natural to him to guess the possibility but clearly did not enjoy it.  
Luckily Ravel went to his side and grabbed his arm to give her moral support.

"This is rather sudden. Was there another reason for our presence to be mandatory for this meeting. We are not members of Gremory's peerage so i believe there is no room for us to be here in such a private moment." Xuelan choose to speak up her mind. She didn't fancy dilly dallying around for her father had taught her to always speak up her mind and ask the right questions. Considerate she was and respectful. She was blunt and straight to the point like a certain someone, that's why they had this sort of telepathic communication and eye language between them. She moved to Issei's right side to complete the package, to take her spot as one of the core members of the Bloodstained Cross."I do not wish to pry on such a private moment as this one."

"To get ourselves new familiars and to protect ourselves. Because Asia and that guy over there don't have a familiar to assist them in their tasks."  
Akeno left the tray and casually spoke up with some venom behind her words. Something in her gaze was frightening, the mirthful smile of the Priestess of Lighting was there to disturb the peace with how much peace it exuded. Of course that was a lie,that smile meant nothing but trouble. It was directed straight towards Issei.

I am not going to make a being that is to be free my familiar.I don't need one."

"I think it would be a good idea for us to stick together. It is true we are lacking familiars so perhaps it would be of help to us." Asia tried to calm down both girls from starting a fight. She tried to be the peacekeeper while Sona and the rest remained quiet. "We are all friends so let us not fight with one another, shall we? I know everyone is extremely stressed out but let's try to keep our decency intact."

 _"Way to go, Argento. I don't want to hear any more of this Chen certainly doesn't like Himejima and vice versa. It's better to leave now before anything bad happens, no it will happen! It's a given..."_

"We're not friends. He said it before and I'll say it again... Disgusting." Koneko left whatever she was eating to deliver a line or two in the crossfire.

"Since that is that,I'll be going now. Remember to be nice and have fun." Serafall made the bitch move and teleported away with her newest armament, all in all leaving them to decide on the day for familiars and to interact. No way was she going to miss out the drama between hormonal teenagers - it was pretty entertaining and fun in comparison to her boring job. She would have stayed but a message from Sirzechs made her leave earlier than she wanted to. She did send a metaphorical death glare at Issei to be careful and that they would keep in touch.

"So...let's just calm down and talk through this in the process. I believe there is no need for bitterness in this case. Must we fight for petty reasons?" grossed Rias. She seemed much more bearable and considerate of others feelings than before, her approach was slightly different and not so prideful as she learned her lesson in a brutal way and needed to act as the one who kept the group together, their counsel and support.

"Rather... Why don't we just skip the talk and be on our way. We can't stand each other so it's better for me to leave.I don't want to spike the mood. Either way there is something i need to do a few days from now." shooting out words like a gun,the young Devil basically meant to tell them 'to hell with it', not without noticing the change of demeanour in Rias. That was the most striking point in this entire meeting. Kiba felt different, Akeno was still the same mostly other than being more reserved, Koneko continued to hate his existence to which he did not care and that was that.

"Are you running away again? Is it something you can't tell us or you'd rather not have any nuisance like us on it?" the buxom Queen picked that last bit to use as a question in asking him what he was planning. She wouldn't mind tagging along if it meant causing mischief here and there. No matter how much she masked it,the venom she could not hide from his trained mind. She was basically screaming at him to stay like a nice guy and help them recover.

Only to receive an eloquent and subtle answer."No. It's a request of mine that demands my immediate presence. I need to earn money to live. I need to support myself and three others to live. Money is important and my job pays well."

"He's saying that he needs your consent." Ravel stepped in the conversation."It's a private matter so we would like to inform you of our departure in a week to avoid any misunderstandings." like a true manager she defended her client in providing them with the basis of their work."It won't be for long. Rest assured, we will be back quite soon to assist you. I'd like us to be on good terms so please let us know if you require any documentation for the following activities."

"Fair enough. But please be careful. We are all in danger and i don't wish to lose anyone of you..." her tone was grin and melancholic. Rias was trying her best not to pressure them more than enough. She took his advice to heart and was making an effort in correcting her previous mistakes. It made her realize where she stood, it made her reconsider who she wanted to be to her family and friends.There was no possibility of controling him so she let it go.The thought of losing another made her stomach turn upside down - yet she took a leap of faith and wanted to trust him as he went out of his way to indirectly help them. The act of trying to save Yuuto meant so much to her,his last minute effort saved their lives and brought back her Knight as well as the added benefit of helping her relationship with the rest of her peerage."You have my permission. Don't do anything dangerous and call me every day. So please have a seat."

The girls sat down on the chairs by the table while there was no place for the loner to sit. Instead he remained by the wall,calm and collected, detaching himself from the conversation. It didn't help that Akeno made a vicious grin as well as an invitation to have him sit next to her; he avoided her like the plague out of fear for his mentality. He was going to suffer from this if he did nor did the fact of her resembling his killer made him feel comfortable. That was the other reason he avoided her, aside from the sexual harassment he endured. A promise was a promise - he was her antagonist, her villain to help her survive and keep her away from reaching to his heart. Not that she would find anything in it.Other than ice…

The memory of being pinned to a wall made it worse. He would have liked to have a conversation with Barakiel on what he told her.

"So are you going to pick up girls on your trip? My,my what a player!" that was her pure sarcasm taking over.It wasn't even a day and she had to start again with her shenanigans.

"I wouldn't have minded it but no. Business comes first."

Gasper kept his distance from Issei for obvious reasons. He was scared of this unknown to him jerk, he was to be on his guard but he had a good heart so he tried not to judge him and be friendly."U-um hi. Nice to meet you."

 _"Huh? Is it a girl? A cute underclassmen? I must check to make sure i don't get the wrong idea_ _._ _"_

Moving with the grace of a predator the draconian Devil scooted to unsuspecting kid and did what most wouldn't dare - slightly kick him between the legs. Oh,the horror...

 _"Mission abort!_ _Abandon ship!_ _It's a trap!"_ he jumped back, scaring the others. In his mind he said it with admiral Ackbar's voice,the famous meme of traps.

"Why? Why did you have to be so cruel to me?" the sight of a Gasper on the verge of tears was an omen. Were he to lose control the whole place would be frozen in time for God knows when.

"No,no,no. I had a prank pulled on me before so i had to check. Don't cry, i didn't mean anything bad to you." the sight of a dogeza pleading Issei was a sight to behold.

"Ara,ara! He's into little kids!" Akeno raised a finger. She came onto him when he was back on his feet and Gasper calmed down by Rias's side. Since the sadistic lad was behind him, the course of action was to lean over to his ear and whisper something only he could hear."I didn't expect you to have such a fetish. But we can work with it,can't we Ise-kun... And don't you leave me out of the party if you're going to the club. I need to catch up in teasing you, I've missed that stupid face of yours" and like a _true_ friend squeezed his buttocks with glee.

An alarm was triggered. Barely containing the need to scream like a girl the young man ran away through the door and wasn't sure to return.

"And wear tight leather pants!" she giggled. Sadistically of course.

"Disgusting." another one liner was the response of Koneko.

Sona, Xuelan and Ravel nearly cringed, did a facepalm and cried over this unnecessary intrusion of his private space. Each knew how sensitive he really was to things like that. It was uncomfortable to bear witness but the black haired girl didn't mind. She took enjoyment in doing it, how she knew where he was last night... She had her ways of knowing.

"And that is for today's meeting. Dismissed!" Rias spoke up while the rest prepared themselves for class. The bell rang and soon one by one they went to class. Excluding Rias and Sona.

"Was this necessary? I might regret giving my approval if i knew this would happen. I don't think it's worth it to burden yourself with me,Rias." finally Sona gave in. Having taken another cup of tea she sat on the sofa pensive and thinking about various things that would arise in the future.

"Listen. I don't care what they think about it. You're precious to me and i don't want to lose you, if only i was a little faster you wouldn't have had to go through this hell." Rias nearly knocked her cup in her hurry to comfort her. The best way was to hug the miserable Sona and squeeze with the strength of a bear,"...you're not alone anymore. We're here for you - me,Akeno and even Koneko. You just need time to get back on track. It takes time to heal,i know it well and it may not fully heal but honoring their memory by living and never forgetting them is enough. You have Ise as well, you're much closer to him tha-

"Stop. Just stop it,please. I don't want to hear that name..." Sona's grip on her lessened as if she lost strength. " I don't want to be reminded of how i am a nuisance. Don't say his name,i don't want to see him anymore. It's too painful to bear for me..."

"W-what happened between you two?" Rias stuttered. For the first time in her life she stuttered.

"He threw it all away, he betrayed my trust for him. And i just lost it and said so many things to him... There is no possibility of me forgiving him... Yet. And neither he would forgive me for what i said."

"If it will make you feel better why don't we talk about it. I can skip an hour or two." Rias didn't hide her confusion from her. She told herself she had to help her friend, even if it meant sacrificing her dignity and admitting defeat to her rival. She was going to show them she had a heart. By any means in the book, necessary or unnecessary.

"As you wish." fixing her new glasses, Sona snatched a new cup of tea,crossed her legs in a comfortable position and began.

"It happened twelve days ago that night..."

XXX

7th September, Hyoudou Residence, 14:00 pm

"I'm going to test something that could possibly give us camouflage if they can use anti-magic or nullification magic." Issei was sitting on his bed with crossed legs in the lotus position, wearing a short sleeved t-shirt and some pants he chose on random.

On the opposite side of him was the sitting Ravel with pink slippers, an oversized shirt and capri jeans in white. Patiently analyzing and absorbing every single word out of his mouth, together with the understanding of what they're getting into stood still and braced herself for an experiment.

"Do you think it's safe? Are there any side effects that might prove unfavorable or endanger her health?" on the spinning chair at the computer desk was Xuelan, who for some reason didn't have her ox horns hairstyle and was dressed in a black tank top and shorts, drinking some orange juice undisturbed. She was called to act as a observer and type down the changes that were going to happen in this test. Luckily there was a notepad and a pen near the monitor so she left the paper cup to grab ahold of the office utensils and prepared herself to witness something intriguing or horribly wrong in each way thinkable.

"It is mostly safe for regenerators like me and her. I've had it tested it once on myself and i didn't suffer any side effects." Issei reassured her it was theoretically fine for them. He didn't omit anything that might arise as a question or a possibility, the Chinese Rook's hand scribbled into layering sheet after sheet of writing,explanation, formulas and finally some spells he had drafted for her."But i haven't tested it on a normal person so i can't quite tell what would happen or if it would be temporary but i believe it would be."

Ravel was getting nervous from all of the chit chat about technicalities, irritation creeping into her mind slowly until it began to visibly show on her face in the most dignified manner possible. Neither unsightly nor too restrained. "Could we begin with this experiment please? I am becoming quite nervous and the longer we wait the less i feel wiling to be the guinea pig." the way she winced was cute. Even when slightly peeved she looked adorable and so huggable that not a lot of people could resist it.

It was the same way for her; her habit of sleeping into someone else's room together with them was a influence left from the times when she was smaller and slept with her mother and afterwards with Riser until she grew old enough. Occasionally she slipped back into that habit, enough to make the owner of the house lock his door with multiple seals to stop her from entering. She had a bad sense of sleepwalking.

"Let's begin." he went on. Manifesting the Boosted Gear on his left arm he concentrated on creating multiple connector seals over her space, ridding her with small chains and morphing the seals into a big cage.

Xuelan began to scribble down the process, nailing down the number of seals on the pad, writing down step by step. Issei's concentration was at it's peak- the conversion did not produce any ripples or outwardly signs of magic leaking out side of his body.

 **[BOOST! BOOST! BOOST!]**

He boosted his natural parameters three times in providing enough energy for the conversion of matter. Moving his hand inside the cage,"Place your hand over mine and don't panic." he let her press her fingers on his palm to which he closed it in a strong clutch. The path was opened, forming another set of small chains to wrap their arms together. A single mark outstretched over her arm in fusing their mana paths and he closed his eyes to use Transfer on her.

 **[Transfer!]**

Magic swirled into heaps,spreading across her whole mana pathway in green circuitry forming on her skin with pulsating energy flowing like a tidal wave. Xuelan continued to write, coming closer to observe the process on Issei's side. A green aura enveloped the blonde girl in thick miasma like layers of spiraling energy,blocking out any view in what was happening inside the cage. Then a burst of light threw them off the bed,chains breaking apart and vapor steamed from the bed.

"…Did it work?", the Chinese Rook wasn't quite sure whether it had any result,not knowing to expect an eldritch abomination or a successful try at camouflage.

From the light emerged a taller figure with long flowing hair to her waist, clothes were ripped and were in the condition of rags to barely cover her body from being naked. On the bed was sitting a girl who looked like she was in her late teens to early twenties, her hair was longer and her features were mature and her alluring figure was like that of an Angel's. It had worked perfectly; Ravel looked like a younger version of her mother, the resemblance being a near flawless with Lady Phenex.Before she would react Issei had saved that sexy image of her in his head for future references. She did look confused until the moment she had a sheet thrown over her to cover herself and Issei presented her a mirror to see for herself.

"I think we might need to go shopping." as a matter of fact he said it."We need to measure her bust size to buy an appropriate set of sexy more panda prints or birds- it needs to be perfect!',seriously,he was saving that one for the bunk too.

"Most certainly we will need to.And for some reason I want to try that too." Xuelan threw the notepad,took a step back and jumped at Issei and Ravel while they sat on the bed.

XXX

11th September, Las Vegas, Nevada, 19:40 pm

It was a pleasant time of the day in the evening before all of the city would change into what it was - the mecca of money and partying all 24/7. Tourists were coming from every corner of the world to submerge into the dazzling freedom of the city; namely to spend money and have fun, their bachelor's party away from any girlfriends or nagging mothers. An escape from the boring and stagnant life of everyday activities was open for the bold to take advantage of.

Things were rather peaceful in front of Caesar's Palace at this time of day as much as Las Vegas could be peaceful. People were walking around, the streets were bustling with people of all ethnicities and races, each with their own reason for being here. There were hundreds of thousands of reasons to be here. And from the end of the street a taxi was getting closer to the Palace, stopping right before the pavement.

 **[** _Flo Rida ft Will. - In the Ayer_ **]**

The door was opened and from it came out a blonde in a black business suit with a skirt and black stockings, stepping forward with grace. She had a butterfly hairpin and wore black aviator shades on her face. From the car then another girl showed up in a matching suit,black flowing hair with no accessories and frameless shades with giving a hand to the other passengers inside. Asia patiently waited for Xuelan to assist Issei in getting out of the car,said man having clad himself in a uniform black suit with a white button-down shirt and a matching tie to finish the look. Issei stepped out of the car with Xuelan giving him a hand and then placed his own glasses with no lower frame to support them on his face.

He in turn gave a hand to Ravel; she completed the suit in wearing matching attire with a black tie to differentiate her. The only difference was her using Transfer to obtain a 24 hour boost in her growth. Becoming a copy of her mother in almost every aspect. She slapped the black aviator shades like Asia's, they had matching pairs overall.

And lastly but not least Riser went out last of the taxi. Wearing a luxurious business that followed the theme of the group and like a badass did not wear any tie,his shirt was unbuttoned and wore rings and a chain around his neck. Slicked back hair,fancy suit and glasses like Horatio he closed the door and lined up to the others. The taxi drove away, leaving the group on their own.

It was beginning to get dark and the city was transforming into a different being. The city lights were glistening with an illustrious glimer,bathing the streets under the lights in a plethora of colors and life was about to begin. Things were about to get crowded really soon, clubs to be visited, casinos to be played in and cash to be blown away on strippers. The night sky was basked in glamour; things were changing into a wondrous den of vice and virtue for the hearts of the lustful for life to spread their wings and start the party.

"So this is Vegas? It's just like in the movies; all sparkling and reeking of lust and greed." Ravel was astonished by the sight. As someone who rarely visited the human world it was a chance to experience so many new to her things."And despite what my mother told me..." eyes full of shimmering lights and enthusiasm lit up,"the best part is - I love it!"

"Why are we wearing glasses? It's already darkening so i don't see any point in it." Xuelan had to ask. It felt strange to her about wearing shades at this of hour. She skidded closer to Asia and fixed her colar.

"We're in Vegas! What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas! No need for silly questions." excited like a kid, Riser chided her for asking something logical at a place like this. He of course stayed by Ravel's side and in a safe distance from Issei who stood in front of them.

"Let's see if Caesar really lived there." and Asia made the joke from the Hangover series. It was quite fitting, given where they were heading towards to. "If there's trouble – make it double!" and moved forward.

Issei wiped his shades with a handkerchief from his pocket and turned around slightly to give them a glance. Everyone was ready, tip top and unitary in going together.Discipline was on the level of a small squadron; they were lined up like in the movies.

"This is where the fun begins. We're in Vegas ladies and gentlemen, we're in Vegas." bringing up his shades to his face.

"Things are about to get interesting here." smirked despicably and placed his sunglasses over his face like a boss.


	18. act17

Act.17 Beefeater & Johnny Walker

11th September, Las Vegas, Nevada, 23:58 pm

It was already close to midnight after the group had finished with checking in the hotel. They chose the rooms that were closer to the roof for convenience with Issei sharing a room with Asia while the other one was for Riser, Ravel and Xuelan to take. With nothing but a door distance between them. It was sort of a vacation and work in one go for the rest while for Issei it was something he had to check in secret. The Valley of Death in the desert of Nevada was the real reason he wanted to go,acting as a bodyguard to Hilda was a great excuse to earn some cash and throw off Rias and the rest from any attention to his real goal. He was way too tired to do it today so he had the idea of going before there before the sun comes up on the horizon as a liminality opened in that very moment. A liminality between this world and the detached reality of the Valley where things beyond normality lurked in the shadows in search of prey.

After having taken a bath he decided to have a bit of relaxation on the terrace with some books of his choice to read under the moonlight with a bottle of wine to accompany his escapade. He was already sitting there undisturbed because Asia was showering in the bath after him. Enough time to go through everything and think over things.

Sitting on a comfy chair and having left his book on his lap,Issei grabbed his glass of wine and looked up towards the beautiful night sky. It was relaxing and frightening at the same moment, beautiful and vast in comparison to each individual life that burned with such vigor in some corner of this wretched world.

 _"Priorities first- visit the desert, contact X,do my job and lastly but not least have a bit of fun. Damn, how could i lose that girl when she's vital to this mystery! Kidnapping Shidou isn't going to be easy on my own but i don't want to ask for any help from them,it's still too early. Asia... I need to confirm it for myself...she's probably crazy just as i am_ _._ _"_

He sighed heavily after having left his glass on the table nearby. Not being able to secure Irina that night still weighted over his head a lot - who knows what might have happened to her or what they did to her was of concern. Just getting to the bottom of this,no feelings or attachment were in play for saving her. Not because it was the morally correct choice to do but for the sake of something far greater than morality - the closure he seeked so much. The emptiness that could never be filled...

 _"But wait... What if the killer is connected to the fate of this world? There has to be something to do with it,but what if it doesn't? What if they are two totally different things than what could be the truth? That i hardly know to be impossible. It's a good thing i made some constructs of everyone to trick the higher ups from noticing. Plus we've altered our appearances and signatures to make it harder to track us. But they're everywhere...watching, waiting in the darkness to make us feel paranoid and strike us down. Sitri should be fine,I've got some insurance for that."_

"Issei, why are you sitting here alone? Don't you wish to come with us to the pool downstairs?" from the door rang the sweet voice of Asia who had went out of the bathroom a few minutes ago. Dressed in nothing but a bathrobe she opened the door and took a seat across the table, precisely on the other side of Issei's spot.

"I don't think it's possible. Sorry to disappoint but i don't think i could join you guys in that." Issei boringly said. He wasn't in the mood to dabble into small talk such as this. He didn't mind going to the pool but wanted to wait for it to clear out of people before he could get in.

"You've been quite distant since recently. More than before", Asia glanced at the visibly bored man with a concerned look for his wellbeing. She had heard about Sona's fallout with him and once heard him behind the door of his room, cursing his luck for having failed to rescue Irina. She herself was quite nervous at this point for obvious reasons."Are you thinking about Rias and the rest? Or someone else entirely?"

"Someone else. You should join Phenex and the rest,it's better that way. And for all of this time", Issei's voice faltered slightly but he didn't hide it, he wasn't going to lie to her about what he felt. On how he sent her to damnation by doing the same thing Rias did to him. She had value,she was important in the span of everything. There was a reason why Azazel told him to protect her. "I just can't help but hate myself for having made you a Devil. I didn't ask you, i never gave you a choice in this. I just did what she did for me because you were far too precious to die. And i could never forgive myself for that so I'll bear this burden till the day i die. You have all the right to kill me."

She turned back towards Issei with a bitter gaze. It wasn't because of his choice but because of his regret of having done that. If it weren't for him that night she would have died either way,his choice gave her much more than she could ever dreamed of. "Stop! Please just stop saying that!" she bellowed in anger. It was a totally foreign emotion for the former nun as what the rest thought. Even the most righteous were humans with sin and desires. That was undoubtedly true for this particular girl as much as it was for the rest. "You didn't do wrong. I've always wanted to thank you for having tried to save me back then. Because you gave me life,you gave me what i really needed to see. It was clarity that i never had before, a real look at the nature of this reality.",she tapped the neck of the bottle in a rhythm, a tune she liked to humm to herself when she was alone. "It is not a curse you branded onto me... It was a blessing. It was freedom."

"It's not like that at all. I did it because I needed you alive." not sparing the truth he told her why he saved her. "You have something really important about you. Even if you didn't I'd still have busted the place to try to do it. But I'm a liar so I'll say that having you around Isn't bad but i know that you saw something that time. There's no way anyone could get out of that with no trauma or scarring."

She didn't panic at all. Asia remained serene and calm as water, there was no need to worry about him. He wasn't going to do anything even if he did. "How could anyone remain pure in this wretched hell hole of a world where innocent children die because of conflicts and differences between people. Because this is reality; it's harsh, cruel and unforgiving to the naive and the gullible. Just like i used to be... And the snowflakes fell into the mud,staining them with dirt and their innocence was washed away by the reality of our own creation." finishing with a quote from one of the books she read,Asia brought up the bottle of wine to her mouth in one large gulp before she returned it to her rightful place.

"It's the bitter truth. I used to be the same way before - a naive and good natured fool with no understanding of how things worked until it happened. I lost everything. I've seen things any normal man would have killed himself to forget... And the worst is that i thought i actually could be like the rest, to have a relationship with someone. Well, fuck love anyway! It's just some bullshit to have sex whenever you want."

Her reaction was to laugh. It made her smile and she tapped him on the shoulder to which he backed off.

"They say that God is all about love", beginning in a new direction her voice felt somewhat miserable and devoid of warmth."...but you and me never really felt it. I was nothing more than a tool for those deluded old fools to use for their needs. I was lied to,used as some object and i was never a person... I was never someone to them." the blonde Devil girl smiled bitterly in resignation over her fate," i prayed to God for salvation. I prayed on those lonely nights when my sister was away for something that mattered. If there was love, then where was God when i screamed for help. When i was violated by that priest" disgust seeped from her words when she remembered what Freed Sellzen did to her,"where was he when i was mutilated by that Angel? He's nothing more than a cruel child with each life being nothing but a toy for him. After all God isn't here anymore... God is –

"Is dead. The one you call God is dead." Issei finished her sentence before she could say the last word. He didn't need to know the Demiurge was deceased to believe God was dead. There was this one truth he knew - there was never a day where he did feel there was something higher that cared about the people. "He is dead without a doubt. How could there be a benevolent force when people die meaningless deaths every day. Cruelty is handed upon them, the misery of living is forced upon us by everything. So the creator may be dead but there are some good teachings that i like. Aside from the marriage one - having a harem is better. Humans aren't a monogamous species really."

"How many people have died in these crusades? When it speaks of peace and equality among people, understanding of the rest... Where is that now? It's all wrong, those ideals aren't wrong but the way people execute them is what's making it so despicable." Asia gently took a sip of the red wine, Issei flexed his index finger in a claw to chip out a piece of his glass. Running down the surface of the glass,he took out a piece of glass and used his **Generate:Glass** to make a cup for the blonde girl.

She waited for him to pour her a glass. The girl seemed to enjoy the wine he poured into her cup,she had tasted alcohol before but abstained from drinking. Not anymore, she was free and honestly it was quite good.

" People love to twist what appears to be a set truth to their benefit. Preaching false morals to gain power over the naive, always judging you on your difference. I'm sure they think of you as some dumb,slow and easily manipulated nun who'd be easy to take advantage of but you're not like that." Issei stared at the city lights with a tired gaze,peering into the darkness between the luster of illuminated light bodies,"...you're harder to read. And let's be honest" he sassed with a sarcastic nod,"you're probably just as crazy and fucked up as i am."

She ruffled her hair and removed her blue butterfly hairpin to fix her hair and sighed." Of course i am,how can we go through so much and not break down. How can we not spiral in insanity over our unbearable pain..." there was a indescribable pain on her face. Her smile had faded away to be replaced with a pensive look of conflicting emotions, her arms were shaking from anxiety and her own memories.

" It hurts so much. I was rejected by my own sister, rejected by the people who i thought were good at heart. It's just not worth it", she slipped out her artificial skin gloves from her jet black arms,revealing the skin and the blue gems with her own magic circles and reached out to the moon,"You are probably thinking that these limbs are disgusting. Of how impure and disgusting i am. I don't blame you if you think that way."

Issei didn't say anything. He decided to show her by manifesting red scales all over his hands. The red scales glistened with a shiny luster when he moved it close to one of Asia's arms," It's not disgusting at all. You don't know what disgusting truly means; if you were to see what was under the skin you'd get repulsed by it. So don't talk like you're disgusting." he felt like he wanted to slap her for the first time,still he abstained from doing so.

"Because you and i are both freaks in our own ways. Nothing wrong with being like that,perfection and normality are subjective. Plus you're not some dumb nun as you are someone that others tend to look down upon. Same as me but we're still different." and the scales receded back to mundane, human skin.

In turn the girl placed back her gloves,"If God won't help people i will. I'll save them, as many as i can. There are good people among every faction", gulping down with pain from what she was going to say it hurt for she could never forgive that act and those people. "Those Fallen Angels who did this to me...I'll hate them forever for doing something like this. What did i do to ever deserve to receive this punishment? I am a human being, i still can feel hate and pain like everyone else. There are things i can't forgive - like God ever forgave me for being so loyal and stupid. So that's why i want to change everything to make it a better place."

" You said something about your father before. What's his name if i may ask." Issei wanted to know his name for reasons. If he was someone who knew where Touji Shidou was or if he was even alive." I need to check something."

After a minute of contemplation did she find the strength to say it. Having taken a deep breath and another gulp of wine, Asia leaned back on the chair and leisurely muttered her father's name. "Jorge Benedetto Antoneli. My real name is Asia Antoneli, the daughter of Pope Theodorus III." she said it with hesitation whatsoever. It was pride in being the daughter of a good man that made her smile. She began in a new direction, she was thinking on whether he was going to ask about Irina so she decided to try with that."And you're going to ask about Irina,correct? You two have history together - i have heard before on how she talked about you. Such warm words and feelings i have not seen before." the way she said it felt like she was a bit envious of Irina. She wanted to be loved like that. Her cheeks did flush with red when she thought of having someone only for a moment later to turn stone cold.

 _"Why did you have to bring that up of all the times possible. You're quite a cruel girl in doing that. I think we could be partners and continue to live together as we are. You're not alone...there are people that care about you."_

The way he responded was a trained answer of indifference mostly, only a small part of it was of having sentiment over the mention of that girl's name. It did show on his face when he thought about her. "That's just some random bullshit she probably tells to avoid facing the truth. Honestly", a shred of sincerity was woven in his words,"she never said anything. Not even her name or if she was going to leave. She might have had something but would it have hurt to say it?", cold as a rock he didn't reprimand her for her choice. He knew it was the same thing always so it didn't surprise him that much. But then it hurt him so much, whatever he had then was gone to the darkest parts of his eroding soul. The boy closed his eyes and felt the cold air pass through his pores in relaxation."It's not her fault,there must have been something so I can't blame her for I think it's not my fault either, our relationship was ruined with no one being at fault. The worst thing is that i actually felt something about her. I loved that girl and she didn't even give me a chance to say it... I really did..."

"There is nothing wrong in having been in love. We all fall under the effects of love." Asia almost blurted the words out of her mouth. She knew well what it meant to love,she wasn't naive nor stupid for she had known the life of a normal person with all of it's ups and downs. It was before she and Xenovia were inducted to be members of the strike force and exorcist rites. Only that the wielder of Durandal had long black hair back then and Asia kept her hair shorter." I want to change everything, i want to save my sister and father and get them out of the vipers den. I'm tired of having to be used as a dog to those hypocrites."

"Then that makes us two." Issei interjected. "I have to get Shidou out of there by all means necessary. But it's not going to be easy. If you're asking why", the need to state it was mandatory for the sake of avoiding any misunderstandings,"because she is valuable now. She has use to me and she's needs to remember. There might be something in her memories that would help me greatly. And just so you know - i still don't think i would get along with her. There's no possibility of that."

Asia giggled. "Why are you so sure about that? You both actually love each other, underneath all that sweet cynicism there's a soul that longs for love. And it seems Akeno has that in store for you as well." the girl wasn't blind. Always observing them,she had grown capable of peering through their defenses and go straight for the core. The wind sizzled through her to which she squirmed. She was wrapped in a bathrobe so of course she would get cold.

"You should get dressed. And it's not like that actually." he averted his gaze from her by looking down to his feet. It sort of seemed like he was about to admit defeat." She doesn't love me, it's just her being under the suspense effect of having done something for her. We just have a common goal to tie us together, otherwise do you really think that Phenex and Huang Chen would stay and pretend like they are friends with me? It's just them being considerate or acting up because i won them over by a bet and they can't say anything about it?" it was just his opinion on that matter. "So I'd rather you didn't make any false assumptions about me. Not that it would matter." he still continued to look down.

The former nun couldn't help but sigh wearily in disappointment. She had almost finished her drink by this moment. "It's probably true. No one cares for us... And if there was someone who did, they're probably dead. Just like in that fire at the orphanage when we were little kids with Xenovia. Everyone else died." in a moment she turned quite miserable and depressed. Her expression became locked in a single emotion that took place in a dejected frown, her whole mood plummeting down like a boulder from the highest peak of a mountain.

 _"I didn't quite know that. It's the time to strike now. Even if were to place a gun at her temple she wouldn't reveal if she's the Harlot or maybe she doesn't know it yet. It's awfully strange on how only those two survived. Wait, Castor was born in Cape Town so he's probably one of the two survivors 20 years ago. Those events aren't separate, it's logical to assume a connection."_

"Tell me about it if you can. It's important." it was not an inquiry. Neither a request but a hard pressed demand for an asnwer. He used this moment to gain advantage and ask her while she was emotional. He didn't do it out of any ill intent. Or out of simple curiosity - it was out of necessity for every single bit of information to uncover the truth. The girl was far too mysterious and connected to be nothing but a coincidence. "What do you remember of that day?"

"The thing i remember is flames. Black flames engulfed the whole orphanage, i could never forget the screams of children pleading for help. I don't remember how we got out but we were held by Irina's father and my papa until we passed out." she didn't outright lie. Touji Shidou and Jorge did save them from the burning grounds of the orphanage. Only that she didn't tell the whole truth or the cause of it. She didn't tell him she had battled a mysterious assailant or her first awakening as the Witch of the Void.

The truth was really simple. They didn't trust each other for obvious reasons, they suspected each other of being something entirely else as they played the game of cat and mouse in a wild chase of hiding their tracks and maintain an air of mystery around them while appearing the most suspicious for those were never the culprits and the least suspicious were. So they kept it that way to protect the other from suffering in knowing what they were doing as well as knowing it would bring more pain and destruction.

"You're looking for someone, correct?" giving him nothing but a sweet smile, Issei couldn't help but feel confused how she could still smile after everything that happened to her. In fact he felt at odds with it,disgusted and still approving of that abnormality of hers for she was different.

A eloquent and almost akin to a whisper answer was given to her question. "Yes, i am. And I'll find them no matter what it takes me to do. If someone has information I'd hop on their side for it so I'm just staying with Gremory because I'm bound by these chains and i don't want to turn into a Stray." he did make a creepy grimace with his brows scrunching down a bit.  
"Once i find a way to remove them I'll be on my way. And don't worry, I'll remove that Bishop piece out of you as well. Do you believe you're still a human being despite having been transformed into a Devil?" he had always wanted to hear her answer on that question. Arthur's words had struck deep into his mind,he was still a human but a Dragon as well.

Asia shook her head in agreement. "Even though i am a Devil in the flesh, i still hold my faith in being a human. Because the Evil Piece could not seal my soul and Sacred Gear." with confidence she told him what Aisa had taught her in the throne room in the Void. She knew they weren't real Devils, it was the way to cheat the World in believing they were a whole new being while they were totally the same with a few differences,a tag on them and a bit of demonic spark. "I wondered on why i could wield my Twilight Healing as the Evil Pieces seal the soul and consume grace to turn you into one. But it seems if you internalize/incorporate your Sacred Gear and prevent the sealing of your soul as only something with a soul can wield them,you could use your Gear to it's full potential."

"You confirmed one of my theories for which you have my gratitude. It seems I'm not the only one who has tested the pieces", the way he looked at her was suspicious. Like he knew what she had done, pressuring her to spit the truth out.

"I asked the creator of these and the rest i theorized by myself with knowledge from my time at the Vatican. Seemed like a nice fellow but he had the same eyes as the Devil who i healed and received excommunication for having done that."

"Ajuka Astaroth. You mean it was a member of his house?"

"Yes. It was the infamous Nun Collector known as Diodora Astaroth himself. I've read a file about him but i didn't know how he looked like back then. Still, his interference was like a blessing from above, a ticket to freedom."

"I see. Stay away from them. They're dangerous so avoid contact with anyone of their people." he gave her a grim warning with utmost seriousness in his tone to watch out. People were after her just as they were after him. They were to be a part of something bigger, their roles still undetermined but he expected an ambush at any time soon. He had hidden a knife in his right sleeve the whole time and made sure to make himself unreadable to the girl for she was perceptive and cunning. He never ruled her out as dumb, he expected everything possible in the world from her because he had no expectations to hold.

"Anyway", she stood up from her chair,"Let's go to the pool. It would be fun so don't be ashamed or go with some stupid excuse." intently the blonde stressed on wanting to go to the pool downstairs and have a swim. "I assure you nothing bad would happen to anyone of us if you went there. If you don't want to swim you can just take a seat and relax." sweetly she told him to join them. She was a good girl and wanted to make him happy in any way. He did treat her as a person with respect, even if he was quite cold but it was there. That's how they were and it wouldn't change. "Plus I'm sure you want to ogle at girls in swimsuits." it sounded innocent coming from her. She was right indeed.

Issei groaned to clean out his throat,looked up at her with a slightly smug mix of creepy and approving and said the obvious. "Of course i do. What man would i be if i didn't?"

Asia paused in her tracks to wait for him to stand up. Then her expression softened before turning to one that held a mix of excitement and carefree joy. "Then I'm sure you'll love the one piece i bought the other day. It might be a bit sexy so i won't hold it against you if you watch at me with lustful eyes. A man is a man so there's nothing wrong in it." she fixed her bathrobe colar and went to the door."Plus i know you want to see Xuelan in a swimsuit. I can't blame you for that. She is quite beautiful." the girls went to shop for swimsuits and lingerie while Issei had to wait outside the shop. He was denied that privilege so he had to keep Riser company over some coffee.

He graciously nodded. The thoughts of how they looked like swam in his mind in delusional fantasies of every man there was. If they added cat ears it would have been the greatest day of his life.

 _"One piece? No,it has to be a halter neck type. Wait, black. It has to be a black two piece!",_ only to look down in disgust over having felt excited for something so normal.

They were so different and from a royal family while he was a mundane scrub. It didn't go that way, girls like those were way above his league to ever dream of having. It was just the circumstances which brought them together and nothing else _._

 _"Fuck it,why did i think of that again? Yeah,right! Marrying a girl like Ravel... I can't subject her to that. Realistically speaking they don't like me either. We just bear with each other to accomplish something for ourselves and it's set in stone_ _._ _"_

"Fine. Let's go then. It's not my responsibility if i take pictures for future reference!" and he stood up.

"I don't mind. Just don't overdo it,ok?" and Asia giggled while she went through the door.

XXX

11th September, Las Vegas, Nevada, Pool, 00:07 am

It was impossibly peaceful at this time of the night. Usually people were present at the pool if not for being out to have fun yet today there were none. Absolutely no one else was in the facility, thanks to the work of Phenex who placed a ward to keep people out for a few hours and have fun undisturbed by the gazes of the populace. Much more to keep unwanted attention away from them and to have a moment of relaxation from all of the stress lately.

It was a large spacious room with a gigantic pool, large tiles of an elegant design plastered the space in a fancy way,befitting the guests of the hotel in it's glamour. The illumination was just the right amount of it,the feeling this room had was a cozy yet welcoming presence despite it's size. There was a big jacuzzi on the other side and a large row of chairs and tables to lay down and leisurely bask into the atmosphere of excitement and peace.

It felt great to visit and much more to throw a party at the pool with all of the festivities that went along with it.

First from the door came in Asia. The petite blonde was wrapped in a white bathrobe and wore white slippers with flowers on their surface,their luggage was teleported right away in their rooms after having checked in. The young girl looked happy to be here for she hadn't been to a pool since a long time ago. Her cheeks were a bit red but nonetheless it was a desire to calm down and enjoy the water.

After her the Phenex siblings followed suit in having worn their own expensive robes of the red shade, Riser carrying a bag with unknown contents which he placed neatly over the nearest table in his field of sight. He moved with an air of dignity that did not match his barely suppressed grin that was a face of a man who loved girls so much. Ravel moved in behind him with carrying another bag in her hands but it was smaller in comparison to the first. The blonde girl picked her spot at the middle of the chairs, left the bag down and threw herself on the soft fabric of the chair. The look she made was beyond satisfactory - she had ended her report to Rias and could now skip over any of the formalities and take a break from managing their finances. She did switch with the brown haired boy in order not to strain herself and to equally divide responsibilities between them.

"Oh, let's get straight in the pool. There is no need to wait, is there?", Riser almost let out a chuckle while maintaining his flamboyant act of a playboy. He threw his robe on the chair and calmly went behind Ravel and tapped her on the shoulders, to which she made a slight frown but let it slip this time. She knew he didn't mean anything bad.

Then the black haired Rook passed through the entrance with a slightly dismissive look. She didn't seem to be enjoying the atmosphere, she crossed her arms and casually passed over to the chair near Ravel's. In contrast to the rest she wore a thin zipper hoodie of white and a red tartan skirt with the mandatory slippers which she didn't find comfortable enough to walk in. She sat across the chair for a moment before she layed down and pulled out a small magazine to read with boredom.

Finally after some coercion and a bit of forcefulness the devilish Dragon stepped up inside the room with a steady, but hesitant step over the marble floor. It was just an act of consideration that he didn't want to go really but the prospect of watching girls in swimsuits was good enough to make him reconsider. Wearing a pair of plain shorts and the short sleeved variant of his undershirt, Issei flexed his arms around and took the table and chair at the first row,furthest from the designated chairs of the girls.

"Well, i guess there's no point in waiting." slightly chipper, Ravel left whatever she was doing and in one sit up already had her palms over the hem of her robe. Fast as a lightning she removed the said attire and removed her slippers.

She looked like a near flawless copy of her mother thanks to the 24 hour boost in her physique, only having a few hours before it would wear off. Her hair was flowing down freely with no bands to hold them in drills, giving off a mature and really sexy vibe in the way she did so. She was still shorter than her brother but near Xuelan's height as it was just a short term camouflage in ticking off people and drawing attention away by having people believe she was her mother in an attempt to lure out something. The only thing she got was both the unattended attention of both men.

She wore a white string bikini with black strings on the edges of the cloth around her neck and back, a rather earnest effort to look mature in spite of the wise cracks they gave her for her choice of undergarments. The swimsuit was as if made for her slender and curvy frame, combined with her gentle blue eyes and blonde hair made her one hell of a dream. Her smooth and fair skin was like dazzling under the illumination of the spacious room, she was sparkling in unrivaled splendor in matching that of Rias. Her blonde tresses glistened with unmatched beauty in flowing freely over her back like the mane of a lioness. Before she was attractive beyond a doubt but now she was much more than that. She was truly like a crafted living masterpiece of pulchritude.

The boost made wonders with her body, this was how she was going to look like once she grew up into a fine lady of the House of Phenex. And for some reason she had chosen a slightly frilly skirt bottom of the same shade with the curls framing her dazzling legs into a wondrous display of wonder. The sight made Issei stop for a second to enjoy the marvel he was presented on a silver plate. He took his time to take a quick picture for such an occurrence could never happen twice. The white top with black lines she used to cover her marvelous assests even made her own brother question himself if it was right to look at her like like that. She was hot as hell; both literally and figuratively speaking.

Riser immediately created a link to Issei to converse privately. "Low Class Devil. I have a proposal to make." said the third Phenex son."If you can do this once in a while i will allow you to marry my sister."

"I'll grant you that wish. I can't deny it", Issei was staring at her with indescribable delight. By the Lords of Eros she was hot! Literally and figuratively, the brown haired Devil took a good look at her from head to toe. Rias was a sexy lady but Ravel was just his type - he had a thing for blonde girls and her personality was quite the charming one even if she was a tsundere. "...she's quite a looker. Nothing less from a family of pretty people. I won't blame you, whoever gets her would be one lucky guy." and he nodded in agreement.

Riser opened the bag and teleported a bottle of tequila and a cup on his table and raised his now filled with the burning alcohol glass in approval. He was perverted and arrogant but was still a cool guy once you got past his defenses and his love for his family was undeniable. The House of Phenex were known for their loyalty and trust in distinguished individuals who earned their respect.

 _"The power of the brotherly boner is a power to be terrified of."_ Issei thought to himself and poured a glass of the transparent liquid in his cup.

Next Asia undressed. The white robe fell on the tiles from her back in revealing a white one piece swimsuit with gold rings holding the sides around her waist. Her swimwear was rather modest in comparison to Ravel's choice, a slightly cut out in the stomach area bathing suit that looked great on her no matter what anyone would say. Her figure was her like made for this type of attire, one pieces stood the best on her lighter frame as to her chagrin a bikini wasn't quite right for her. Add in her tied in a ponytail hair and her generally innocent like face and you have the blend of modest but stylish.

The former nun acted courteous towards the older man, together with Ravel they skidded to Riser and with some magic lifted his chair above the pool and dropped it over the water. The chair was returned to it's rightful place and thus they jumped in. Riser spat water and didn't look quite amused at their little prank so he began to throw water at them like a little child and they in turn did the same. So far for any shred of maturity left in them.

 _"They're like little kids going to the pool for the first time. Huh, reminds me of my first time at the pool with...",_ he stopped thinking for a moment. His eyes looked down in resignation and pain of slipping into thinking about it. His body squirmed with a cold chill running down his spine in almost having reminded himself of those happy times in the past _. "*It's not right to think of that. But i can't help it,I'm living with three girls but nothing changed. They're not there anymore..."_ and nearly had slumped into taking the normal course of action to leave.

Ravel's voice snapped him out of thought, followed by a splash of water in his way. He hated that, water hitting him in the face was something he despised with a passion. What wrong did he do to get splashed over,he was just sitting at the sidelines in not getting in the way of their fun.

"Aren't you two going to swim? Don't be shy about it, i think it looks great on you. Even Asia thinks that way!", Ravel was lifted up by Riser and submerged as payback for throwing him so distastefully and having spilled his drink because of it. The siblings played together like any child would - by shoving her underwater with a push and fighting for petty reasons.

Issei tried hard not to look at them and spoil their mood with his sour face. He didn't do these kinds of things since long so he shook his head in rejection to their offer. Xuelan left her magazine on the wooden table in annoyance but nevertheless the less relented. Unlike the trio who were having fun,the Chinese girl unceremoniously claimed the chair next to Issei's table and once again sighed.

"It kinda feels like a cliché beach episode of some series under the impression of those episodes being good." choosing to voice out her thoughts Xuelan couldn't help but find this development rather typical. She was forced before to attend these kinds of events with the rest of the peerage before but it was fine since she was used to Riser but wasn't quite so with Issei. Not because he would stare at her but for she didn't exactly quite know how to act around him. Every time they tried to make an attempt to socialize under normal circumstances it led to silence; aside from short sentences and general management and information, they didn't quite communicate but understood each other really well nonverbally.

"Tell me about it." eyes rolled up in irritation. Things like these were making him feel rather uncomfortable,he did not share a sentiment towards the clichés in ecchi anime but still watched them as anyone else. "Go have fun with the rest. That's why we're here." basically he was trying to send her away only to receive a disapproving twitch by her blue eyes.

"I won't pester you but i want to talk with you about something later. If it is not a problem with you?" she beckoned him in with a tilt of her head. She actually the quiet and humble type of a girl, respectful and loyal to those who were of worth to her. There was no need for words between them, it was their understanding of logic and characteristics that brought this weird, professional relationship on high grounds. And let it be known he enjoyed watching her bite back at the Occult Research Club for being dishonest with themselves. Atleast these two didn't delude themselves and took things for what they were.

He only nodded with a bemused look on his face.

Instead of speaking the gorgeous Rook pulled down her ox horns with both hands,letting her hair flow freely in sweeping her long hair back while leaving the white cloths on the table. Xuelan then brought her fingers over the edge of her tartan skirt and within a few seconds the fabric was left over to the side. The only article of clothing that remained on her was the thin hoodie under which she had already set up her swimwear.

It would have been a blatant lie if Issei didn't show any signs of curiosity. Undeniably he was interested, he cherished female beauty with the same mindset as Matsuda and Motohama - to watch and appreciate but not touch. Like hell would he be allowed to do it, he couldn't stand someone touching him as it made him uncomfortable and rarely did hug people. Only out of necessity. Still the way he gazed upon her with each pull of the zipper made him gulp down in the thought of what was underneath the thin layer of clothing.

The moment of truth dawned upon the eyes of carnal desire in unbasked glory. The zipper went down fast in a flash, said cloth she pulled sideways in prying her upper body free from it. He had finally saw what he wanted to and was not disappointed at all. On the contrary - he couldn't help but feel drawn to her despite his attempts to avoid facing her.

Xuelan turned around to look at him directly with locking eyes in a similar way, the angle she had taken did the rest. No words could he mutter, she had bought a jet black bikini top with a string that connected the triangular pieces a bit further from each other. The top was nothing flashy or ornamented like Asia's swimsuit, instead it had been a rather simple one with no excessive details to ruin it's charm. It suited her way too much to even think about a different kind of swimsuit than a bikini.

The distance between each piece was right. Her breasts were just the right shape and size, just the shape Issei liked best with their roundness being superb. Even the string in the front she had tied made it harder for him not to consider of grabbing her over his shoulder and straight to the pool. She had a great figure, feminine and yet trained that made her irresistible, the way she bended gave him one of the greatest views he had ever imagined.

He had always found her his type, strong and beautiful and she basically gave him a full sight of her cleavage. The way it flaunted her upper body was just perfect, the indigo lines on the hems brought some variety to her otherwise typical set of everyday clothes. Even more the strings of the bottom were tied into big ribbons which finished the look into one worthy of such a elegant lady.

"Damn." only a single word that escaped from his lips made her look up once again.

There was a thin smile on her face once she got up and instead of heading towards the pool, she snatched the cup out of his hand and drank all of it in one go. "That's better. So where were we?" inquired the Rook. She wasn't known to drink, she wasn't a drinker for she avoided alcohol like poison for the philosophy of a healthy body equaled a healthy mind. She was already quite close to him for giving him any chance to move.

She knelt down to face him better, placing herself on the same eye level.

"You know, despite what you say and do you're not a bad person. Just hurt and broken.", her voice was mellowed down to a friendly one, really sweet and gentle in her way of talking. "Thank you for treating us like people and not as toys,i really appreciate it." she stretched her open hand to him in an invitation, a handshake to express her respect. Issei didn't treat them like maids or workers, he didn't lay one finger on either of them despite having that right as per the rules of the bet.

" Don't thank me for something so normal. I haven't done anything worth being thanked for so don't lower yourself to this.", he stopped her. He never enjoyed anyone denying him his personal space and being thanked was a bother, an act he wasn't used to as people did not thank him for anything.

"That's what i hate in you. You never even try to acknowledge your achievements or accept you have good qualities." a bit of contemplation passed through her frowning face, she was really cute when she was angry. "You don't think it's important but we don't follow you because of a bet. This freedom, i can't help but be grateful. Even if you don't see us as anything else but a nuisance we want you to feel alright around us. You need a hug, just like everyone else does." rather wearily she told him.

Issei did try to be a decent guy and not stare at that rack,suppressing his primal feelings to a minimum to save himself from the agony. "I don't do hugs. It's not my thing, everyone who sticks around with me suffers a great deal of pain. It has always been that way for a long time." thank god he had covered his legs with a towel. It would have been terribly awkward if he got aroused and things wouldn't end well for him.

Xuelan did not like people who shoved away her kindness - it was like an insult to her pride. She had been raised with kindness and compassion for others, to be attentive to the mental state of the people she cared for. And both she and Ravel did care for Issei in their own way. "So why shouldn't it be something different this time?", she was no longer kneeling. Standing with pride she looked over him,only to accidentally slip on the tiles and fall on her derrière.

 _"Seriously? What's with this development? It ain't fuckin To Love-Ru, that's just bullshit! Still Kotegawa is best girl."_

He did have enough decency to give her a hand to get back on her feet. He usually didn't do this kind of thing but it was never nice to fall like that. It did remind him of that time where Hilda accidentally smashed a bottle on his head when she tripped over her legs.

The blue eyed girl took his hand in standing up,choosing to ignore the stunned expression of confusion he had and like the fine girl she was glued herself to him in a hug. A motherly embrace in it's nature, Issei barely trying to escape her grip in a failed attempt to break free. It reminded him of so many things long forgotten,his revulsion to touch kicking in but instead she responded with a stronger hug. "See,it's not so bad. Even you need a shoulder to lean on,you can't do everything alone."

"Is she trying what i think she is?" from the pool Riser raised his voice in a moment of confusion. It was really sudden of him to react like that,she was one of his favorites from the peerage. Let it be known he had slept with almost everyone in his peerage, sans the chainsaw twins and Ravel. He knew what happened when she was moody so he pointed his neck in saying 'bite her on the neck!'. He was a cool guy.

 _"You mean it would work? Sacrifices must be made for the sake of living!"_ in the right moment he lowered his head in what she thought was him finally giving in,only to freeze in place. He really did that - with an earnest effort he fastidiously sacrificed his own feelings by actually biting her on the neck tenderly. Even as going far as licking her skin.

She dropped her hands off his back to stare in surprise. "That damn handsome! Don't you go around telling people about my weak spot!" she yelled out her frustrations and with a fast kick with everything she had plunged the perpetrator in the pool despite his block. Embarrassment and anger rose like a volcano when she made a leap in the air to land directly into the water.

They were going to receive hell for having done that.

XXX

8th September, Kuoh City, Gremory's Mansion, Sunday, 22:30 pm

Akeno stepped out of the bath naked with holding a big towel she had yet to use. Things were rather moody given the shift in dynamics of the Occult Research Club as well as the addition of Gasper and Sona, which in turn brought some underlying tension between them. Even if they were part of the 'family', it was quite obvious it felt strange and those two were like strangers. Rias gave her best at helping her friend while Sona assisted them in various tasks and choosing the suitable familiar for each one.

In a way her cold and logical thinking was foreign to the group of emotionally driven children, who thought with feeling and not by calm and logical analysis.

Simply put - they were a group of reckless idiots who relied on brute strength and feelings to win. Overall they were superior in raw strength to her peerage but Sona had the upper hand by using her intellect to outsmart them. Now she had more power than she could actually control.

Akeno wrapped herself in the towel and passed through the door of her own room on the second floor of the mansion. Only to find someone sitting on her bed, it was dark so she charged a fire spell to prepare for an attack.

It was a silhouette of a man, the light of the flame glimmered enough to reveal it was none other than Yuuto himself.

After having taken precaution, the buxom Queen flicked the switch on to turn the lights. Attacks could be landed in any location, especially in the bath where they were at their most vulnerable state - out of fear Rias mined the bathroom with a lot of traps and anti-personnel barriers to prevent such an event from occurring.

The blonde Yuuto was calmly sitting on her bed as if he had been waiting this whole time for her to arrive. His position was lax and showed nothing but an elated sense of being approachable and within her grasp. She didn't miss out how his face was serious and no smile such as his iconic one was present on his pretty face. He was himself, the real man named Adam Bernhardt who had looked at her with a sad face.

"I didn't expect to see you here." the girl didn't look disturbed by his presence at all, he had seen her like this before so it wasn't a problem. Still there was a slight curiosity in her intonation,a slight surprise on her side as she closed the door shit. They were not in their best condition, they had yet to heal fully from the wounds they received from Excalibur; it took a lot of effort to save them from being crippled for the rest of their long lives.

"I just wanted to see you for a bit. How are you feeling as of lately?" there was a hidden meaning in his tone, a two folded question at it's base in demand of an honest answer. Kiba tapped the cover of her bed in inviting her to have a seat next to him and talk. He did it with a sorrowful smile mixed with a graceful change in his position to predispose her to talk.

"You don't spare your questions, do you? I guess there's no point in hiding what i feel about it." she did say it with a slight discomfort. Stepping forward, the Queen closed the door behind her and searched through the wardrobe for a robe to cover herself with.

"So what exactly do you feel at this moment? Things have been quite hectic nowadays." pressing intently on his wish for an answer, Kiba raised a brow in a quizzical look of doubt and honesty at the same time.

Akeno looked at her reflection in the mirror next to the wardrobe - her expression was rather aloof and devoid of any other emotion. He was perhaps right about it, she didn't really know what she felt at this point. Still, her eyes twitched in contemplation. Especially when she had the feeling he knew about her deal and behind their backs visit to the Dragon's house, their bickering and much more the way she gazed at him from time to time.

"I don't know what to say other than feeling confused and angry with myself. I felt so useless back then,if you didn't do that thing or him showing up, we'd be dead." her tone was grim like a foreboding omen. "That jerk didn't even consider how we feel and is going to leave us again. We have Sona to deal with just because they probably had a fight." a mockery of a smile was reflected in the mirror like a distorted mirage." I feel envious of them... They attract people naturally and are looked up to while I'm just a ugly mutt in comparison."

"It doesn't matter if you think that way because it's not true. He's not one of us, ever since he showed up he brought chaos and misery with him. Do you really feel something for him?", the Knight went on the offense with his questions." There's no reason for you to compare yourself to someone else. It doesn't matter what you are to me. You're just you and it wouldn't change the fact of being who you are." quietly added in the swordsman.

"I can't help but feel like I'm losing to Rias and Sona. They gather,they attract people so easily with their personalities and beauty while I could never do that." she began to dry her hair with an air spell that burst into her right palm," I'm just eye candy for the rest. They don't see who i am underneath or what i can do... It's always Rias that wins over me; i act like i usually do because i don't have anything distinct in store, by being all seductive and lady like i could compete with her. But it doesn't seem to work really. And the worst thing is that i am jealous of her, i despise her ability to make people like her, i just can't help but feel inferior to her." she frowned

The devil took her frown as an answer. "You know", he began in a pleasant tone," you're probably thinking that you're not good enough but you have any no idea how much you mean to me. You don't have to put up an act when I'm around." he stood up and went straight behind her. She looked down to hide her face from being seen but he placed his fingers on her shoulders." I don't have anyone in this world but you. I don't want to see you in pain. It hurts so much, I'm sorry..."

Akeno's shoulders trembled. Her lips quivered in inexplicable pain over her anxiety. Rias was her best friend but she could not help but feel envious, of hating her for having everything that she wanted. She always had and took everything she wanted but not once did she voice out her complains but even now she felt like Rias would take something she had wanted - Rias was affected by those words in the infirmary the brown haired boy told her. And she wanted him to trust her for he saw her as who she was.

"I hate it how i feel so powerless... I hate it how they get everything on a silver plate. But not this time", her voice was leaking out with emotions,a cold shiver ran down her spine while she was about to say something. "I just wanted to be liked. To be seen as who i am, and i won't let her have him. I'm greedy, aren't i?" she finally raised her head to stare into the reflection of Kiba.

"If you are trying to win him over, it won't happen. He doesn't want to have anything with us,you've seen it already. You're not the only one who feels like that." Kiba said bluntly.

Coming from him it felt strange.

"People see me as nothing but a pretty guy and that's that. They don't like me for who i am but for who they think i am." when he said that Akeno turned around with slightly reddened eyes.

"Having to pretend to keep someone happy, to keep appearances like I'm fine... He doesn't care about it,he's hated by people and doesn't seem to mind it. I hate and envy that part of him - to be free from the opinion of people. And the worst is that I'm not even seen as a man by the one that matters..." his voice turned in hoarse and heavy as if he were carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders. For it was a burden of having feelings but never to be acknowledged.

"Yuuto...you've changed..." a sad and mixed with confusion melancholic smile spread over Akeno's graceful features, "You're in pain as well. There's no hope for people like us, is there? I don't have anyone else as well but for you and my father... I really like him. I do really like him and i want him to like me too... Even if he is a monster, he surely thinks I'm under some delusion of being confused but..." a myriad of emotions were present across her face in a unreadable feeling that Kiba could not quite ascertain of what it was...other than the misery and pain that were there. She removed herself from the mirror with a ribbon in her hand,a memento she was left by her mother and sat on the bed.

"Don't hold it in... It hurts, i know.", he sat next to her and whispered faintly,"...not to be noticed by that special person to you." he was on the path of giving up. Resignation was the mask he wore over his face at this moment of silence that followed.

Akeno couldn't find any words to say at this point. If she had anything to say it couldn't escape from her throat, it hurt so much to try to bring herself to say it. Her shoulders shivered in anxiety, a creeping sensation of doubt was growing at an alarming rate in her heart,like a poison eating at her conscience slowly and painfully with bitterness. She barely withheld it,she wasn't going to let herself be seen so vulnerable and helpless. She wouldn't do this to Yuuto,he had suffered so much more than her to make him feel uncomfortable.

She gulped down with a uneasiness, she was emotionally fragile like glass once she was pushed on the ledge.

"Tell me", in a slightly gruff tone Yuuto directed his inquiry towards her. "Do you think you're the only one who's hurting? I guess despite everything", there it was. A long kept at bay anger was resurfacing like an animal breaking out of it's cage. That face of his twisted in a cold stare, unrestrained and asking. Asking for an answer, a revelation to be dawned upon her. "...you never thought of what i feel exactly. It's always about your problems but never about mine. It doesn't matter, Kiba is a strong guy who can handle it. But you have no idea who wrong you are. All of you..."

Akeno took a deep look at his eyes; they burned with a flame that could never be extinguished. Those weren't the eyes of the man she knew, they were different and sharper like a cleaver in splitting her image with a righteous fury. "We are both fakes, aren't we? We're nothing more than a bunch of ill fitted cogs in a machine. It's so ironic, to hear that from the one that never fit in." there was a slight disdain in his tone. Now he realized those words and their meaning. The irony was of such a level that it made him want to laugh but couldn't.

"I-I'm so...sorry. I never knew you felt that way. I'm so sorry... I'm disgusting, aren't i?", Akeno's eyes couldn't handle the pressure, the stress was racking her brain into an uncontrollable fit of anguish, she couldn't find the words to say it. Her palms were over her face in trying to hide her eyes from being seen. It was the truth; she felt so ashamed of herself for having never tried to look deeper into his soul if he had one now,neither her nor Rias noticed how he truly felt. " I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry...", her voice was swirling with sobs and wails, shivering and her lips quivering into a ugly forced smile, only that it wasn't a smile. Only tears remained...

"I'm sorry as well. I'm good for nothing if i can't even make you feel better. I'm just tired of this...i just feel like I'm breaking down into the darkness, devouring me piece by piece. They're gone,they're not here anymore! What am i supposed to do!?", his nerves got the best of him. He couldn't take it anymore, he placed his head on her chest and hugged her tightly in fear she might let go. It was unbearable. The sight of two broken souls crying in despair, hidden from the world in the dark corners of the night. He clutched the fabric of her robe and squeezed tightly while muttering the same thing over and over... "I'm sorry, I'm so...so..rry. I don't want to...hurt you..."

And they stood like that for a while..

After a while Akeno and Kiba broke away from their embrace in confusion. It had went over their heads and just as suddenly as it happened, it went away like a flash. The atmosphere was rather unsettling, as if there was any way for it to be a pleasant one. Yet it felt real for some reason, not a bold lie or a faked understanding like it was before. There was sincerity, a deep sense of connection between them that wasn't present before time. The world was as if left behind in the background and only the presence of two was registered by each one of these two beings.

The pain was far from gone but it was receding with time. There was a new glimmer in those eyes of hers as she continued to look down to her feet while the boy anxiously fiddled with his hands in a shaky manner of concern. Perhaps it was what they really needed - an affirmation of their true feelings and what it meant for them to being a family.

Firstly, the blonde Devil broke the silence in trying to strike up a conversation to reassure her on her own feelings of being inferior to Rias. "We are flawed and broken but does it really matter when what you think is perfect is nothing but an image? People who are perfect aren't perfect at all. In fact they are just as flawed as me and you,hell even Hyoudou is a messed up kid like us." he preferred to call him by his family name as everyone else did so and to stop himself from thinking they could be friends. But he understood well enough that the Devil didn't like him getting all friendly with him so he kept it as that.

"Rias has her own flaws and doubts behind that mask of a princess. Especially her quest on understanding what makes us human, what it's like to be a human being which i find admirable. But she's just as selfish and greedy as we are. Nothing different."

The black haired girl looked apologetic after having heard those words. It had a subtle effect of somewhat enlivening her spirit over that fact. She still far from being calm but those words made her think twice for they were quite similar to the words Issei had told her. Both thought of the best for her but expressed it differently - one with brutal honesty and bluntness while the other one did it with a tender but harsh approach.

"Maybe you are right about it. I can't be her no matter what i try to do. Because...I'm no one else but me. I really appreciate it", a small smile appeared on her face,a realization she had avoided for so long in hiding her jealousy had arrived at the right moment," because you are right. He is right as well even if he's a cold and logical asshole. And we have to stick together..."

"Even if we are nothing but shredded paintings on a wall, why shouldn't those pieces be brought together to create a new painting. One that combines and completes those pieces that constitute it in being full?", his voice was soft like a feather. The Knight gave her a warm gaze of compassion for her plight, a single glance that told her of his pain and grief which he was willing to share with her. She was not alone. "So tell me... Think about it really well and say what your heart desires. You don't deserve to be hurt, you don't have to be hurt because of what you feel. Everything is possible, right?"

 _"What is the answer to this question i wasn't sure of saying before? Whether i was mistaken,blinded by my own dependency over burdening someone else to make myself feel good by hating them and watching them suffer. Still i don't know what the other side would think but in fact i don't want anything fake or half-assed. I want clarity, i want something for myself that she wouldn't take from me... I want it... What i want is... The answer to that question is..."_

"Issei...", her face flushed with a tinge of determination over having said that. Her very presence became stronger and no dishonesty or even a delusional lie would have been the greatest facade she had. For in fact it was her being honest with herself and what she wanted. Something cruel,something perhaps impossible to even think of but something she wanted to have. "I don't know but i want him. Not because he's cool or a popular guy, not because he's strong and dependable. I want it because he's different... But he's not the only one who i feel drawn towards to...", her gaze shifted to Yuuto immediately as if she were stressing over something with great importance.

"So that is your answer. It would be painful and strenuous, so as a friend I'm telling you to think over it and decide what to do on a clear mind. Because you might regret it..."

Akeno smiled back at him and with the yellow ribbon in her hands turned around to tie her tresses into the trademark look of the Gremory Queen. Her fingers held her long hair together as she was preparing to wrap the cloth around it to form a high ponytail... Only to be stopped by the touch of his hand over her tender shoulders.

"I think you look so much better with your hair down. It's a rare sight so a change in once in a while wouldn't be so bad." he grossed.

She thought for a moment about this proposal. It didn't sound so bad to try something different, it might even be a lucky charm of sorts in doing that. "Perhaps you are right about that one as well. Long hair is better to be left freely than to be constrained by something. Just as being truthful to your nature and feelings." there was more meaning than she let on, a much deeper meaning was hidden behind it in various arguments and interpretations to be considered. She left the ribbon on her bed and turned to face her fellow peerage member with dignity.

Kiba made a sign of preparing to leave after having heard what he wanted. His eyes were wiped away from tears, still his face was reddened from crying out his grief but it didn't matter. No one was going to see him like this anyway - Rias had gone to bed earlier or appeared to do so, Koneko was probably asleep on the table in her room after her meal and the servants wouldn't be a bother.

"I'm going out for a walk." he was preparing to leave after having said that. It wasn't a blatant lie but neither it was quite honest. "So I'll be leaving you to get some quality time alone with your thoughts. It's wha-

He was cut off. She didn't let him finish what he was going to say, she didn't want him to leave her alone but to stay with her. Her right arm tugged on his sleeve in a almost powerless pull, expressing her need of having someone stay with her. The lights were out by some time earlier thus leaving the two of them in perpetual darkness. It was relaxing like it felt so endearing to the senses in bringing relief to the doubts that plagued her mind. It was the state of mind she wanted to achieve, a liberation where she could be someone who was free to be who she was in truth undisturbed. There was light only in the darkness and darkness existed because of there being light to define it.

"Please...don't go...Stay with me here." it was almost like a pleading to his better self in an attempt to bring out the better side of his on the surface. He could feel her eyes peering into him; he didn't need to look back to know she was watching him intently with a single wish of not being left alone. An invitation to follow her in the darkness, for better or worse the gravity of that sentence made him reconsider.

He sat back next to her with grace like a true gentleman would to show his respect to a fine lady. He didn't know what would happen or if it was right to stay here when he had his own apartment in which Gasper would soon live there as a roommate for him. It had been long since he had visited this room or the Gremory mansion after he moved away two years ago in his freshman year to avoid any rumours from spreading.

 _"I am cruel and unforgiving to what life has made me into but i do not regret who i am. If it means to set the Underworld ablaze for those i care then so be it! I'm not intent on losing to that gun swinging jerk for nothing in the world. I can protect them just as well as you can..."_

Suddenly something clicked in his head. The warm touch of a pair of hands over his cheeks made him snap out of his thoughts. Those hands were so tender, so soft in their touch when they caressed his face. The same way she would touch his cheeks when she was trying to cheer him up - Akeno did it just like Tosca used to comfort him back then when he was feeling down. She was somewhere out there,waiting for him to find her. Somewhere he didn't know but would find out soon enough.

"Akeno... You don't have to be in pain. I'm still here for you so you can depend on me as well. I won't leave you alone." his eyes were speaking much more than what his words could ever say.

It meant only one thing.

Akeno lifted herself to his face while she still held him by the cheeks and slumped back on the bed with pulling the Knight over her. Her black hair was spread across the pillow, easily seen due to their enhanced senses in the darkness but what was more important was her expression. A loving gaze with no pain present,a desire for intimacy and comfort plastered her features in a calling, a need, a wish for something she needed. Her left hand slipped down to his left arm to in interlocking fingers and then she slid his fingers over the hem of her robe in pulling it away to reveal her naked self to his own eyes.

He could feel the softness of her bare chest at firsthand, something everyone else would have killed for to even have the slightest, miniscule chance of being able to lay a finger on her well endowed bust. He carefully squeezed her breast in conflicted bliss over what he was doing, and due to the soft moan she made continued to run his fingers across her flesh like over a delicate statue of clay. Then she moved her other hand over his neck to bring him closer to her face. He didn't resist any further than slightly twitching for he had a duty to fulfill to bring her what she desired.

No invitation was made when she pulled him even closer for a passionate kiss. She closed her eyes and let their lips meet in a sloppy way when she slid her tongue in his mouth and began to twirl and coil in pure ecstasy and passion. It was slow at first until the moment she turned her attention to pulling down the zipper of his shirt slowly, kissing him seductively like she would the person she loved. Moving her head to the left to get a better angle, she raised her lips away in a trail of saliva, thick and glossing their lips to push Kiba to the bottom and she was on top of him.

There was blood on their lips. She had accidentally bit him after having removed her lips from his. Red shaded her lips like a thin red thread,a deep shade like that of a lipstick smudged itself over her mouth.

"You love Rias,perhaps? Or am i wrong about it?", she was already on top of him. In this moment she knew what she wanted, what she needed. Everyone had their biological needs, they weren't statues with no desires in their hearts. "But still, she wouldn't think about it so why don't we forget about everything?" and finished with a shrug.

Her hands were already over his chest in her next move being to lay over him and disrobe the upper section to press her skin over his. There was a passion, a craving like a crazed animal took over her when she began to kiss his neck so magnanimously in light bites to which he responded by running over his callused palms on her derrière in a teasing way. She moaned in pleasure as her breasts pressed over his chest in feeling the desires of the flesh, he was a man like any man and wanted to make her feel good. They were alone in this world so they had to help each other in any way possible. Everything was allowed.

The atmosphere was changing slowly into an eros riddled paradise of carnal desires and lust, soft moans filled the walls of her room in pure delight. The darkness was thrilling, it was exciting and felt so good. The whole world was pushed far away in their minds, leaving only pleasure to take over their bodies.

The blonde Devil broke off their engagement, lifting himself up to wrap his arms over her back. It felt really warm and pleasant to be hugged like that, he placed his chin on her right shoulder and straight forward told her, "I guess you're in need of confort as much as i am. And...i love you all so depend on me. I can make you feel better..."

Akeno hugged him with a strong grip on his upper back, she could feel his heart beating faster with each second ticking away. The sensation of bare skin was electrifying, the flame growing stronger as the rest didn't matter to her. She gathered her courage in saying something of importance, "It's okay. We love you just as much as you do... Hold me tight", her eyes beamed down at Kiba with a melancholy gaze as if she was lost and found, her mask shattering and revealing her true damaged self to be seen amongst the fractured facade of her own creation.

"Can you help me,Yuuto?"

"Always... So could you..", hesitantly muttering in a low voice into her ear words he wanted to hear from her with all of his heart. It was as if his whole esteem disappeared in leaving nothing but a shell like vessel to take action on this spot. "Just once...Call me by my real name. The one i was born with..." he wanted nothing more than that. To have someone call for him, to be needed by them and to have a purpose. All of that in one simple request.

"...Adam, i need you right now. Help me so i can help you too." the black haired girl removed herself from him, only to push him down again and her robe completely fell off. From her back emerged a crooked wing of a Devil and a black as the night wing of a Fallen Angel. Their flutter was silent yet it was a gentle breeze they produced in surrounding them together.

She was fully naked, hiding nothing more from him to see any longer. She was showing him her vulnerable side at her weakest moment in hoping to be accepted for who she was and what she was much more. She leaned down fearfully but his soft fingers touched her face so tenderly she felt like she was melting down in the act. In the darkness they were together, their bodies aching,craving for something more than just a mere contact. In a single moment she brought her arm down to his pants in unzipping them slowly to remove them.

"Do...it, please do it. I don't think i can hold back any further...", shivering with ecstasy, her words were like a charm having an effect in swaying the blonde Knight to kiss her passionately for a moment and when they parted once more, he only responded dutifully.

"No one could truly resist the Himejima Special. And neither could i." and pushed aside her hair to kiss her once more.

"You're quite the bad boy,aren't you? I really appreciate it. Thank you for being by my side...i don't think I'd be happy if you weren't around. All of you." with a quick pull she removed his black jeans and smiled with a complacent smirk. She finally removed the last article of clothing on him and raised her upper body to spread her wings out in the space around them, gave him one final look and began...

It was a night they would never forget for a long time ahead of it...

XXX

7th September, Underworld, House of Glaysia-Labolas Mansion,00:00 pm, Saturday

The clock had struck midnight. It was a dark already as the artificial red sun had waned already to leave the Underworld into a perpetual sense of darkness with the ticking of the clock arrows in striking midnight over this thriving world. There was still a lot of commotion present as the whole place was filled with guards all around the perimeter. A barrier had been erected to prevent outsiders from entering, not that it would matter for the enemy could be someone from within their society.

But some things weren't just up to sleep like everyone else would. There was always something lurking, crawling in the darkness in wait for the right moment to strike down it's unsuspecting prey. A Devil perhaps it was.

"How do we get in? I'm itching for a fight but there are a bit too much guards around which i don't mind..." Bikou spoke quietly, almost non existent words escaped from his mouth at this point. He was standing in the distance, far away from the guards in being cloaked by a special suit that prevented him from being seen. There was excitement burning like a flame,his hands were twitching with the downsized spear of his ready to rumble.

"Easy. This barrier has the principles of using Vectors and specific formulas that are quite similar to my brother's very own creation." Diodora fixed his glasses on his nose. It was rather strange for him to wear shades at night but it was because his eyes would give him out because of their glow. It was a trait specifically attributed to the House of Astaroth so he did it out of consideration and practicality. His teammates he did not subject to look at his eyes, he was considerate at once. The dirty blonde haired Devil fixed his colar next; he wore a black bodysuit with armored sections on the chest and limbs. With a few strips that carried something like armaments. "I'll show you something cool. Just watch.", he said with a rather restrained tone, devoid of any emotion.

He ran to one of the closest guards at their position. Bikou was still hiding while Diodora skidded carefully towards the back of the guard. He gave Bikou a hand gesture to wait, and just then removed his glasses and with his other hand tapped the guard on the shoulder. The guard swung his sword into his direction only for the young Devil to dodge and jump straight up in his blind spot.

"Tell me", his eyes were glowing as he bore into the guard's eyes of green. It was as if the guard was mesmerized, he clearly couldn't scream to alert the rest for intruders. "What is that you desire? I'll tell you what i desire in turn. Sweet dreams and a blessing. Amen!" he chanted something that would have given every other Devil pain. Yet it did not faze the Astaroth heir for there was something different ever since he first chanted the bible scripture in front of the Pope. The other Devil, however, felt immediate pain take over his body. He clutched his head for a moment, then both fell on the ground.

A second later, the guard rose back on his feet and made the same gesture that Diodora had given Bikou. It had worked, still Bikou tried to skewer him on his spear until the very final moment where the guard spoke. "It's me, you idiot! Can't you see i took a hold of this body to get us inside. We'll need a distraction. Keep my body safe for a minute while i maneuver through the rest." Diodora had taken control of this body with ease for the will was extremely weak and easy to manipulate. He had used one of the effects of their Sorcery Trait to take possession of the guard and move around.

"Ok. This is seriously cool.", were the words Bikou gave towards him while picking up his body before he hid nearby.

Diodora masqueraded as the guard when he was approached by another one from the other side. He feigned having heard something at this corner, to which the other guard nodded and moved away with Diodora following right behind him. So far everything was going as planned, smoothly and surely. But he didn't underestimate the guards, he was thinking of his next move to get closer to the barrier undetected and to make a spot for Bikou to teleport. He could have asked Le Fay but didn't want to involve the girl in his work for he enjoyed her cooking and company - but not so much her cheerfulness. Still she was a good listener so he occasionally basked in talking with her. If only the rest were here.

 _"Almost there. Just a little bit and we're in. Oh,how much I've missed your stupid faces...Christina,Zephyrdor. Time to apply some justice to those fuckers."_

He strolled around to the next guard against the wall, greeted him as usual and pointed towards behind the other wall of the gates. The Glaysia-Labolas Mansion was still in tact with the prospect of showcasing the devil's decadence and wealth. Still looked uglier than his house but felt a bit more like a place where there could be affection. There was an explosion of sorts in that direction to which both ran towards the source to see what it was.

"What the- before even being able to finish his words, a blunt object smashed the back side of his head like a hammer. The impact was so strong in it's delivery, enough pressure to knock the guard out with a bleeding head on the floor.

From the distance Bikou had reappeared as the spear returned back into his hand while he was carrying Diodora's body over his shoulder. There was a small grin stretching over his face like a child,it was a fun game for the Monkey Youkai in slamming people to the ground. "Damn, this is more like it. Adrenaline, the rush! I was getting so bored with waiting. Vali is rather strange these days. The others just disappeared in thin air."

"Seems they were kidnapped or something. We'll have to find them after this.", rather concerned, Dio began to drag the knocked out guard to hide the body in some corner. He gave Bikou a sign to dissappear before he would disrupt the barrier and make an opening.

Vali and the rest of the team dissappeared three days ago. Nothing was heard from them since then. He had a favor to return to Le Fay but it would have to wait until he secured the target. Then would they bust their asses in searching for the White Dragon Emperor and the rest.

Diodora passed through the gate with no problem whatsoever. But he had to be checked by the other guards first. They did the scrutiny to prevent any infiltrator from getting past these walls, even the residents of the house were checked every 5 minutes to ensure that. Paranoia was taking over the whole Underworld, at an alarming rate.

"Stop right there!" a female guard barred his way. There was another one together with her, a tall man with grey eyes. All clad in armor and holding weapons. They were reincarnated Devils who were enlisted in the national guard to protect the Pureblooded Families with their lives. One was a Knight while the woman was a Rook.

 _"Crap! This might not go well or maybe it could. I didn't take this in account but i went through all the guards on the list. This one would be quite tough,it's good that i did my research on everyone. Just you wait, lady. We're getting you out of this place."_

"We need to do the routine check up." the female guard casted a special analysis spell to check on his vitals. Diodora wasn't worried at first glance but deep down he was a swirling mess of worries. But it was a possibility as much as a risk to take.

"As you wish.", he smiled rather timidly on instinct. He moved his hands on the side and prepared to be checked. The female came closer and placed the seal over his chest. There was a quick flash and some sounds for a few moments until they died out on their own.

"You're free to go further. All clear soldier." she saluted him while making the most respectful face she could muster to make. Only for a second later to see the guard stumble down the ground wearily.

The other guard panicked. They both crouched down to check the soldier's conditioning. Placing her hands on his neck she muttered."There's a pulse,he's ok. But we need to get medical assistance for him." she removed her hands and turned away with a frown on her face."I'm going to get help. Bring him back to the mansion to have him checked out. It might be poison."

"Got it. Go quickly, I'll be right behind you." the Knight said with a dull voice while he held the fallen guard. He rose back on his feet,carrying the guard over his back and the female guard began to walk.

 _"Bikou. Operation Nun Snatcher has begun. We're in the game,my friend. We're in. Let us begin,shall we?"_

The guard didn't see or notice anything different in his companion. She continued to walk in front of him, peaceful and calm like water. Her long hair of hazel flowed freely at her shoulders while her hands were clutching tightly on the grip of the small sword she carried. Only that her companion couldn't see it but there was a smug thin smile on her face. Something uncharacteristic for her to do. Still her eyes glowed yellow for a tiny fraction of time.

 _"Let the games begin...I haven't forgotten what you told me,Glaysia-Labolas fucks. I haven't forgotten the humiliation and pain you brought me,Christina. And neither the kicks Zephyrdor. It's time for some little dose of justice."_ and the female guard smiled again.

XXX

A few minutes had passed since what had happened. Riser called forth his servants to appear, all clad in the appropriate attire for this occasion - all kinds of swimsuits in various shades and accessories. Xuelan dissappeared for a few minutes to use the bathroom. She felt embarrassed by having had her neck bitten by someone so she had to go and calm herself down.

"I have a request. A simple request that should prove nothing strenuous.", Riser went out of the pool while leaving Asia and Ravel alone. He had developed a brotherly bond with the former nun in the past couple of days, treating her as a little sister and she in turn made him a lot of hamburgers to satiate his hunger. The flamboyant gentleman sat on his previous seat while his peerage were preparing themselves to enter the pool. "I request you to use that boosting capability of yours on the chainsaw twins! I need to see it for myself!" his words were like a blessing. He gave the green light for Issei to make it happen. He wanted to see how they looked like with a few years behind their backs,who knows. They could turn out to be the most beautiful out of the bunch.

Issei thought for a second. Why not, really? It wasn't a bad idea but they had to be either naked or they would have their clothes ripped apart by the process. He wasn't into little kids, he wasn't into girls like Koneko. Especially someone like her. "I guess i cannot refuse this task at hand. When do i start?" was his answer with curiosity to back it up. Riser did not miss out the devious glint in his eyes. Rather he nodded appreciatively and stood up straight to make him follow.

Issei left together with the older Phenex sibling to the changing room. Inside the room were the twins - they wore simple bathrobes like Asia's, only difference being the color of pink instead of white. Still the dread they felt when the Dragon entered was immeasurable to explain with simple words. He had beat the shit out of them with one of his constructs in the Rating Game awhile ago so they instinctively raised their guard in defense.

"Stand down. He's not a threat." Riser raised a hand in Issei's defense. The blonde man almost sneered when they didn't quite get the meaning. Issei remained calm and collected on the outside but was feeling somewhat uncomfortable. He only stood at the wall in awaiting for the moment to strike. Riser handed him a blindfold to cover his eyes as he knew they weren't his type so he took it and tied it on his head.

Issei did the preparations, boosted a few times to provide the energy for the conversion and sat on the floor, ready and waiting. Small chains wrapped around the twins hands, they tried to break free but Riser told them to stop it and stay still.

"Don't struggle! We just want to help you a bit. Resistance is futile, do you not wish to see how you would be like in a few years?" Riser was holding them while they comically struggled to escape. Seriously, it was akin to a doberman holding plush toys under it's paws.

They tried to break away with their eyes closed but it didn't break apart. The connection of pathways was created and Riser forcefully held their arms to touch with the brown haired boy's palms tightly. The sound of Transfer echoed, smoke and tearing sounds were heard, echoing around the walls like a boom.

Once the smoke gave way, Issei removed the blindfold only to see Riser stop in his tracks. The man was stunned - the twins were covered in rags; they were naked. There was no sight of the small twins... Instead there were two ladies with long hair to the waist, alluring developed bodies like those of a model. They were mirror images of one another - height, legs,body frame and especially bust size. The twins were truly better looking than Yubeluna could ever be.

"Ok. You have my blessing." Riser managed to speak up with a deadpan tone in suppressed amazement. No other reaction could he try to make as he continued to look at them. "You can marry my sister if she agrees. I fully support it but don't hurt her feelings." just the idiotic pose he made was enough to make Issei feel proud.

Oh...the twins…hey were still naked by the way...

XXX

After 3 minutes everything hit the pool.

Riser grabbed Asia and Ravel over his shoulders and jumped like mad into the warm waters. Not without the girls making weird faces. Once they submerged above the water their game resumed. They were going to play volleyball with almost all members of his peerage splitting into two teams to play against each other.

Marion, Isabela, Bürent and Yubeluna didn't play at all. They chose to spectate the game, rooting for different teams while the players begun to use their powers to make the game more challenging.

Xuelan had just returned from the bathroom and spotted the sitting girls on the chairs. She acted reserved and greeted them with no meaning behind her words and gestures, just mechanical and bored. They didn't exactly care for her neither did they like her bluntness so to speak. Just being in a peerage together and having to put up with each other. That was it,nothing else.

"So hello there,Xuelan... How's it going with the new owner?" Yubeluna sarcastically asked her on her condition. There was a bit of spite in her tone as she wasn't at good terms with the Chinese girl, rather she disliked how she didn't follow her orders as second in command. "Did you go to the bathroom again? You sure can't help it,right?" her smile was devious and a bit insulting to which the Rook only frowned.

" Leave her be. Everyone has their needs and there is no need to act so condescending towards Xuelan just because you lost. I didn't enjoy watching you taunt the enemy Queen and to brutalize her like that." Marion was the first one to stand up to the Bomb Queen. Contrary to belief, Marion was extremely sensitive and did not approve of the tactics their Queen used against others. She was prejudiced at first but she was quick to apologize for her behavior, truth be told she was rather nice and down to earth despite her appearance. No one would expect her to be like that when she was so pretty. " We must apologize to them and to that person."

"You didn't get trashed around and with a sliced off arm. That thing broke my neck and legs. I misjudged that thing by appearance... He was kinda cool in that charge." Bürent decided to voice out her frustrations. She didn't forget how Issei chopped them and almost crippled them for good, she was both scared and fascinated with his heroic act of saving Himejima. That was totally cool in her eyes, a scary abomination masquerading as a Knight in black armor.

Isabela sighed in annoyance," We lost fair and square. There is no need to hate that man for having defeated us. Instead, we must strive to better ourselves and actually care about each other." she did what was never expected. The removal of her half mask was something that had happened never before. No one has ever seen her face without a mask,it was like the world was about to explode. The impact was immense for a lack of better words to express their astonishment.

"How was that fair? There was no mention of the monster being like that. It wasn't clearly fair play! How am i supposed to accept this embarrassment, how am i to live with these nightmares every night?" The Bomb Queen shivered in fright. She was having nightmares ever since and had problems with being alone due to the paranoia of that thing showing up behind her."And this bitch right here is sleeping with that abomination. Even going willingly to his side like the filthy fucker she is." directing her words towards the martial artist with enough venom to kill a Basilisk. And those were the King of Serpents, poisonous and deadly like no other beast from the phantasmal species.

Xuelan felt a deep disgust growing inside her heart. It appeared this woman didn't know about the wager between their King and the Gremory Dragon, she just made false accusations on a whim in her narrow mind. Enough to make her snap and say the things she could never say before.

"You know what", she let the bluntness speak for itself, "...why don't you just drop the high and mighty act and go see for yourself? Calling someone trash without even knowing them...just because of the way they look like. That abomination right there is a man worthy of respect, a man of great worth and honor. Maybe not honor but he's much more than you could ever be."

Yubeluna was stunned by her attitude. They had clashed before but seeing her like this was a surprise. "So what,you fucked him once and now you go all mighty just because you got away from us. You've got a big mouth, little girl. How about i shut it up for you right now? Go cry on it's shoulders like the little bitch you are. I'm sure he'll love it."

"Let's stop fighting please. No one deserves to be insulted like that. I'm sure he's a good guy!" Marion tried to break the escalating dispute before it was too late.

Xuelan turned to her with a nasty smile that was so wrong on her beautiful face. "Calling me a bitch when you didn't know anything about the wager..." the sharpness in her tongue began to increase,"your cooking sucks, you're a nasty bitch everyone puts up with out of respect for Lord Riser. You think you're the best,you're nasty and rude,you always take the best deserts and you never use the toilet properly! You have no redeeming qualities, neither in personality nor in that face of yours." the satisfaction never went away. She had always wanted to say her opinion to the Queen and now it was time for it to vent out her anger with this.

"Oh,shut it! I'm the Queen so shut your filthy mouth,bitch!" the Queen was of course furious. "So tell me", the Queen turned sarcastic," where is that good guy now? Why won't he show his face and defend his dog like the man he is? So much for being a man of respect " her face contorted in a ugly mockery of a smile. Her eyes squinted with contempt for the monstrosity that hurt her and much more for the attempted defiance of her former peerage member.

About to clash with fists and magic, Marion tried to get between the two and nearly suffered a brutal punch to the jaw. Only for a noise to shudder from behind them.

" **I'm right here if you're looking for me."**

An ominous screech struck their ears from behind. It felt so vile and wrong in it's making like a twisted aria of a broken saint. Fear grasped their minds in a creeping sensation of uneasiness, a cold shiver ran across their spines in freezing them on spot. Something was making them turn around against their will, it was making them look at their backs like a command to bow before it's glory. The madness it brought was out of this world...

And they gazed back to see the friendly dragon stare at them with dull eyes. A perverse slasher smile of pearly white fangs stretching to the sides of his face greeted the Bomb Queen in it's wake. The sheer creepiness of those eyes,the magnitude of this fanged smile and the slightly closed eyes was unbearable. He waved back at her with a smug grin, letting out a tail wiggle behind his back while he held a glass of tequila in his arm to raise a toast. Even going as far as appearing friendly and flickering between forms for a fraction of a second.

The rest turned back. They hadn't registered his presence at all,he was like invisible to them to have acknowledged his presence. He didn't do it because he was insulted; he didn't care what everyone talked about him. But to make false claims of having slept with the black haired Rook was something that left a sour taste in his mouth.

Isabela tried to stay in one place and not run away. It took a lot of willpower to even try to focus and be relaxed now since she saw his face again. Those broken ribs and spine did hurt a lot. "Let's not fight among ourselves and keep it civil." she fearfully said with a whisper. "Because he's scary as hell...and it's not a good idea to get on his bad side."

Everyone completely agreed with that statement. It was for the best.

Marion thought to herself something. She had almost forgotten what she was asked to do by Lady Phenex. The patriarch of the Phenex House gave her instructions to apologize on their behalf to the winner of the Rating Game - namely they were grateful for helping return Riser back to his old,humble self and for having informed them of the lurking dangers. The House of Phenex were infamous for their loyalty and trust in distinguished individuals, they valued loyalty and family much more than others. The Gremory were known for their affection towards their servants but it felt rather exaggerated to be honest to a large amount of Devils from other families.

"Could you excuse me, please." the girl with light brown hair bowed down respectfully to her companions," i need to deliver a message from Lord Phenex. I kindly ask to be excused."

And as of that moment a flaming volleyball smashed into Yubeluna's face by accident. The apology followed right away - "Sorry, my hands sort of slipped. And big Brother is calling for you to join the game so please go right away, please." Ravel apologized with courtesy to the smacked Queen. The game had stopped for the rest to join, Riser waiting attentively but did not miss out what happened really.

Ravel had purposely tossed the ball towards Yubeluna under the guise of a wrongly placed strike under a unfavorable angle, Asia gave it a slight push to change trajectory and smash into the furious woman. It was totally on purpose, the young Phenex lady did not really like the Queen as a matter of fact. And going as far as to insult and taunt the people she cared she did not tolerate at all. They were just waiting for the rest to step in the pool and utterly destroy them in volleyball, where they used slightly changed rules to make it challenging.

Isabela, Bürent and Yubeluna went away carefully from their seats, leaving Marion behind with the Chinese Rook at the table.

"Didn't you have a message from Lord Phenex and Lady Phenex to deliver?" curious but not so much as to care,Xuelan asked the girl with the headband about this message of sorts. It wasn't usual for the patriarch to send out messages to specific individuals on a whim; they ever did so if they found a person worthy of their time and evaluation.

And this surely meant they wanted to hold a meeting in secret. Lady Phenex was known to break rules like they were nothing, even as going as far to meet with the Maou on several occasions.

"Oh,yes... I do.", Marion's eyes flashed in discomfort for almost having forgotten her assignment. Something in her tried to mention a different topic and much more an apology to her former peerage mate. "Please excuse them,Xuelan... They're not really thinking about it that way. It's good to see you with a more mellow expression." she smiled. "You're always serious or frowning but you look happy now. I hope you're doing fine with miss Ravel."

"I am. And don't worry...I'm used to it anyway." resignation and acceptance were delivered in her words. She did not sigh atleast. "And we haven't done anything as a matter of fact. He avoids touch and contact, i don't want to burden him with that. I doubt he would feel like that after what happened with that Gremory girl and recent events."

"So you're saying he's a gentleman or he doesn't like females?"

"No,no,no he likes girls for sure! I don't know what might happen in the future between us but I want to support him,the both of them." she didn't exclude any possibility of what might happen between them in the future. She knew everything was possible - even developing feelings for the melancholic man he was. Or him having affection for both her and Ravel. "But if i can't do anything about it then...i don't mind some help."

"I see. Well, wish me luck." Marion tapped her on the shoulder and began to walk in the opposite direction.

 _"Single...He's single so i might be able to strike a conversation with him. It's my time to shine! I'm going to use that opportunity and take your place,miss Ravel. For the wellbeing of our Household. I want a feisty Dragon Emperor too! A phoenix isn't enough for me."_

XXX

21st August, Bucharest,Romania, Tepes Household, 06:27 am

It was just the time for every vampire in the stronghold to cease their activities in preparation to rest. It was quite the night they had - a summit was held by the leaders of the two most influential vampire factions to negotiate on equal terms on private matters. So far everything was fine, peace was established and plans were discussed by the representatives of each faction in the giant ballroom. And it was time to rest, some of these vampires retreating back into the darkness to wait until twilight struck again.

Only that things never went as expected...

In the ballroom were the heads of the Carmilla and Tepes Coven,preparing to leave for business after having held a successful peace conference for mutual support and benefit. The whole place was heavily guarded from each corner of the room, outside of it and beyond the gates of this sinister looking den of blood suckers to prevent any outside interferences, which could have disrupted the process and brought problems.

"This has been most enjoyable. I look forward to work on the future of our race together with you", the regent of Valerie Tepes humbly bowed down to the matriarch of the Carmilla Coven in paying his respects,"I believe it is time to be on our way. And to send an envoy to return Gasper Vladi back to our side."

"Yes,i believe it to be true. Yet,taking in a half-breed is not to my taste. And i do not wish to ally with beings not from our race." the pale skinned matriarch of the Carmilla Coven expressed her disdain for this pressing matter. Vampires were prideful and very keen on preserving their racial purity, Nobles to be exact. The way they treated sired Vampires and half-breeds wasn't quite spectacular at all.

"Fair enough" the regent spoke on Valerie's behalf. "We won't ally ourselves with any other faction to maintain our neutrality amongst these squabbles. And i fear", hesitant to say what everyone knew,"...i fear that reclaiming Gasper would spark a war between our people and the Devils."

Valerie nodded sadly. She knew it was hard to get him back but secretly felt happy he was out of their grasp and would do anything to keep it that way. As long as she had the Sephiroth Graal she was of use to them, she could have a say in matters with no opposition to stand against her. She missed the boy dearly, she would have tried to propose a meeting of sorts to go see him but it was denied, otherwise there would be no peace. They feared him. He was not a vampire but a real abomination in their eyes.

 _ **"I couldn't agree more with that."**_

The moment those words were said a set of flying curved daggers spun across their heads,splitting apart the other representatives behind the Carmilla matriarch's back into bloody mist,intestines and remnants of organs splattering over the place. There was a flash at the same time which blinded them for a moment. It was happening so fast, in the blink of an eye.  
Guards began prowling towards their location, reacting as fast as possible to create a defensive layer around the rest of the ambassadors from each side in a circle. In time to divert a menacing slash from an unknown assailant with swords.

The suit clad attacker created more swords out of thin air,throwing them with accuracy to jump back on the wall and goad them. It had a female silhouette, the curves of a woman no doubt. She wore an armored skin tight suit which pressed closely to her skin in framing her body quite nicely. Black shadows and mist swirled around her to disguise her presence and identity, leaving nothing but a black humanoid silhouette and a undeniably interesting spark from within.

These flying swords were deflected with ease; they expected them be another set of explosive blades so they hastily made a strong enough barrier to withstand the blast. At the cost of losing a few of their own. It did not stop. More and more guards bustled in to climb at the walls and take her down. Their attack was coordinated extremely well- they succeeded to overpower and cover her with their blades extremely quick which seemed extremely anti-climatic. Not even twenty seconds of struggling and the fight ended with the downed assailant on the ground.

The rest began to run towards her direction while a few were taking away the ambassadors and leaders through a second door while the rest were to check upon it and land a test shot at it's body. Already upon it, the Vampire guards encircled the strange mist clad girl with swords prepared to slice with prejudice. Sabers, rapiers,broadswords flew down in every direction of the mist, skewering her from head to toe. Too late did they realized when their own armaments rebounded off something hard and rigid like titanium, the impact kicking them back a few steps back for them to try to regain their senses - but it didn't happen. Swords with light, flames and ice manifested from below the tiles they stepped on like a forest of metal sprouting through their defenses. It was fast enough to make it's way through their armor, swirl into the resilient flesh as a snake to finish them off with a large eruption of swords. Turning them like flowers of metal and bloody flesh.

But they're were much more than this girl could handle by her own. Atleast if she were to fight fair which wasn't the case.

She bounded over the fallen corpses in one fluid motion, bouncing back onto her feet and creating a short rapier to thrust into the head of a incoming vampire, pushed forth and made the blade explode with energy, creating a blinding light to use in a rapid streak of cleaving more and mist and shadows hiding her identity, she created two scimitars and parried two consecutive blows to her back and legs,twisting and ducking a second later to jab those blades through the skulls of two guards and went on with a remarkable speed towards the Vampire ambassadors.

Before being able to reach them,a larger vampire caught up to her with a remarkable speed towards her shoulder. Before she could respond, the vampire dug it's fangs into her shoulder in an attempt to rip off her arm but it didn't go as planned. Incensed to the point of madness, the vampire mercilessly bit into the line of the suit, clamping down it's extended fangs as others immediately seized this chance with drawn swords and equally sharp teeth to immobilize the intruder. Her swors swung rapidly yet missed, vampires circling and ganging up on her. That very moment brought it all over - the second their swords stuck her,a series of sizable blades burst through the mist, severing limbs and heads by deflecting blows and the unfortunate one who tried to bite her was impaled through the jaws by a silver basket hilt sword poking through the suit. He slumped down on the blade,falling down and chipping it off. That moment another one who was still alive clawed at her mask.

The featureless mask was damaged,revealing long blonde hair of a light shade. Blue eyes and a mole underneath one of them,bearing a cold look of indifference. Gentle features of a girl met the enraged eyes of the fallen, an European beauty from the west almost spat with blood and saliva. It was a good hit,still the shadows covered her features as fast a they could.

The floor underneath begun to inflate,swords sprouted like a blizzard to detonate the place with silver particles upon shattering. Thus bathing the spot with glimmer, burning the eyes of the nearby enemies.

This time her left hand sleeve split and peeled back in revealing a immaculate arm of silver and flesh up to the biceps. There was something special about it. And from that point of flesh and metal,the appendage produced a curved scythe like blade as she resumed her charge. The doors were locked by some sort of magic, a barrier was created to keep everyone inside and nothing going out until it would be over.

Swarms of bats and shadow lurked around the corners, magical bolts were unloaded in every direction to stop her. Incoming, she had to stop in her advance, place her hands over the floor and create a cage of claymores to make a hastily prepared shield to withstand the attack. That was what saved her from dying but her condition was worsening; numbness in some areas took ahold while in other she felt pain and dizziness. There was just one thing left to do now. It was now or never...

Upon impact every attack was beyond damaging; the aftermath was an utterly destroyed shield and rubble all over the floor. Dust spread out in the air,creating a smokescreen of sorts. Only a burning red glow escaped from it's center.

"Balance... Break!"

 **[Sword Birth: Blood Fort Clarent - Sword of the Betrayer!]**

The taloned gauntlet with silver blades manifested over the silver hand magnanimously with Clarent's red chain wrapping around her hand like a snake. Kiba had done something to change his appearance to look like a different person for obvious reasons. The Vampire Elders were killed by his companion while they slept but this person had yet to make an appearance.

The radiance of this blade was remarkable - it was burning the vampires skin and eyes, bringing forth pain and agony to their senses. Whatever shadows were there before had been reduced to nothingness, the bats were burned to a crisp in falling down on the ground.

Kiba was there, lunging, with a secondary blade to rip them apart for something he had prepared. The properties of Clarent could sever their attacks and defenses, with each slash devouring blood to fuel it's cutting strength and durability. From nowhere sprang a cloaked individual to spread terror and chaos while Clarent's Blood Frenzy could charge.

This figure carried a parasol for some reason undisclosed. The armor under it's cloak was scrapped, dented,marred with scratches and ridges all over it's plating, a suit used in more that one battle as by judging by the condition it was. And what it did next was simple; moving behind the regent of Valerie, it spun the parasol in a rapidly fast thrust beyond the capabilities of this man in question could ever react to - it was so fast and precise it threw away the others atleast a few meters behind her. The reaction of the regent was to lean back and instinctively draw out his swords to parry the devastating stroke. He nearly had his neck broken if not for having moved away a second earlier and swipe as fast as he could with both blades to the parasol.

"Nope!"

The black parasol extended, opening up as a shield in blocking the following strikes - the armored being's next move was to tap it's leg once for a boot blade to perch out of the sole of it's footwear. Shifting the balance, the bladed boot was raised in a straight kick to his stomach, the parasol lifting up the swords to make it harder to block and finally landed the foot with a sadistic kick straight through his intestines.

"I read this in some manga!" and closed it's parasol while the vampire tried to claw at it's chest, diving straight with a smal spike from the umbrella's tip to his face. For that moment the umbrella pierced his eye, pushed him back when it was lodged deep - finally spreading out once again to slice apart his head by the expansion of razor like protrusions in the fabric. His face was cut,slipping down like slices of meat and sent flying into tiny bits of flesh like bacon but not without bursting into bloody mist for Clarent to absorb.

Kiba rose Clarent over his head with both hands, ribbons of blood and light particles of holy and demonic energy dances across the blade like flames as he took a step forward, clenched his palms tightly on the grip as he swung down in a graceful slash of blood cresent strikes of blood and motes of reddish lights in a inescapable multi directional slash towards the mass of guards, unrelentlessly flying towards their direction. No matter what defenses they brought up it was clearly overpowering their might by devouring the blood from their bodies and ripping apart their very bodies in multiple slashes - bringing destruction in it's wake. Demolishing the ground and walls, painting them red with the blood of the enemy.

Continuing the attack, the parasol wielding user crept upon the ambassadors like a beast with ease for they were not soldiers but powerful and influential members of the high order. In ten seconds they were on the floor, bleeding profusely from multiple lacerations all over their flesh. It was a common tactic to aim for the neck or heart of a vampire, decapitation was the way to deal with them. Only Valerie and the matriarch were left to deal with.

"Your little plan for a mass turning is over,bloody fantastic isn't it?" the other figure spoke with a relaxed tone. Nothing but jovial courtesy was directed towards the older female, not without a sense of humor of course. "So this is how Arima feels like? But this isn't Tokyo Ghoul... It's Romanian Bloody Night out here, ladies."

"You wretched beast! You'll pay for this insolence with your life!" the matriarch resorted to anger. Her own charge was laden with openings from the emotional damage she suffered from witnessing this carnage of her people. Her pride was what would lead her downfall. She may have been strong but one could do nothing against their weakness - that of being vulnerable to light.

A orb of light grew larger, several tiles broke into shards for a telekinetic push to lift them over and riddle her legs with terracotta. Kiba was already upon her,moving Clarent and a long spike like sword, specialized for bringing an end to vampires in a circular motion at her back to send her tumbling into the legs of his companion. The orb of light went through her stomach in forming a cross to pin her down safely while the figure placed the umbrela over it's left shoulder and from the right hand took out a gun, fully loaded with bullets in holy water for the final mercy to deliver.

She spat blood but remained defiantly with fierce eyes of scorn. Trying to claw her way out, she suffered a smack from the umbrela in her right shoulder and received a reminder. "This is getting annoying. But I'll tell you one thing", it knelt down to face her despite the iron mask hiding it's eyes from view, "This is for the people you killed back then. Those poor sisters did nothing wrong to you, you could have drank from anything else but to purposely kill those girls for having been in your way... I guess I'll show you who i am."

It let go of the grip to place hands on the iron mask,pulling down it's braces in a fastidious manner to show who was underneath it all along. Long,flowing blonde hair of a straw like color shone under the remaining lights,blue cold eyes as of made of ice pierced back into her own deep red in recognition. It was a woman, someone she recognized very well to not spit back at her. Kiba came to her side as a valiant Knight to stab the sword in between them to avoid his contractor getting hit by a bloody spit.

"But despite everything, you didn't manage to take away the Twilight Maiden."

"You humans are nothing but food. Do i need a reason to squash a bug? That boy... He was a filthy monster..." the matriarch spoke of Gasper. She had nothing but scorn for the child of her brother, a dirty stain in the bloodline of her family. "So do it, let's see the monster in you, girl. My people will hunt you down until you fall and creak..." her smile was disgusting. No level of respect was left, Kiba grunted with contempt for the words she said about Gasper. Gasper was a part of the family, a dear brother to him. This was the last straw.

Kiba pulled out the blade before her and lifted it up above her head in preparation for the final blow. There was no doubt nor any lingering thoughts in his soul as the red rune of his Relic glowed ravenously for the blood of this vile woman. "He's much more than you could ever be... So don't insult him for what he is, you bloody bitch!" his roar struck out like a wave. His cold eyes looked upon her one final time before he plunged the sword into her skull and rotated it to split her head in two.

"I guess we're almost done. Now to destroy that Longinus, shall we. Such a vile power, to disturb the dead from their rest... I'm not going to let this slide." she looked towards the shaking Valerie with a sympathetic gaze. Almost as if pitying the poor girl.

They both stepped forward away from the corpse to the fearful Valerie Tepes. The silver and red edge glowed madly when it was dragged across the surface, Kiba and his contractor slowly moving to her in calm strides.

She tried to run away but the girl intercepted her. Her armored hand plowed through Valerie's chest. A sad look met Valerie's face as the straw blonde girl pulled out the physical, manifested form of the Sephiroth Graal from her chest. She gently placed the girl on the floor and made a cross gesture over her with parting words to the girl.

"May you find peace. Your fight is over so rest well. I'm sure this one would take care of Gasper better than these people could. My friend told me he'll be coming home soon and it's better to forget, isn't it. May we meet again..."

Kiba's long hair turned metalic and began to dissipate into nothing. The changes in his physique were just a second layer of metal and swords underneath his skin to modify his appearance and to give him a female silhouette for extra concealment. His waist and legs were returned to their normal shape with the rattling sound of metal coiling and receding back from where it came. His chest shrank as he felt pain,adding multiple layers to create a decent bust size did cause a good amount of pain to him but he endured it. His face became a bit rougher and masculine as his cheek bones were allowed to return to their previous state, his companion could see the tiny layers of blades shifting and deconstructing with minimal changes that were visible on a surface level. But there was a price.

He had blood running down his lips, he felt so tired he could barely stand and had energy for one last thing but nothing more than a few swords as it drained him. His condition was awful and his wounds would have opened up but for the suit applying emergency medical care and keeping him upright. Issei surely knew how to make great armored suits,that he gave it to the brown haired boy.

Clarent was more energy efficient than his Sword Birth but only had two weapons available and needed time and blood to charge it's Blood Frenzy to use for it's various properties and abilities as an Anti-Excalibur blade. Specializing the second side arm also took a great amount of stamina, combined with continued use of creating metal in his skin it was a dangerous ability. Clarent also required a small amount of blood to be used by Yuuto,his blood acted as an activation key so only he could use the tainted Holy Relic.

She held the chalice while Yuuto placed his palm over it to create anew a downsized Clarent to destroy the core of the Sacred Gear. The blade pierced the chalice as it begun to crack down in the middle, it's core exposed and extinguished forever by the aura of the sword of the Betrayer. Sephiroth Graal was the most fragile among the 13 Longinus, enough for a Holy Relic tainted with madness to destroy it.

"Three Longinus down,a few more to go." the blonde waved her finger in satisfaction, "Could you pay my final respect to that girl. She had endured enough so atleast she should look beautiful till the end.",she moved away from her and Kiba knelt down to Valerie with a final sentence to deliver.

"Sorry about this. Nothing personal, just business as someone i know would say." producing a sword into his hand after Clarent and the gauntlet dissappeared, the shining metal turned red as blood and the placed it closer to her chest.

Instead of what she thought it curled, twisted and shrank into a beautiful rose of steel with no thorns. A decently made article with some demonic energy to twist it to the right form was used. He left the rose fall between her arms and stood up,walking away from the dead girl with a neutral expression. The expression on her face was tranquil, so peaceful and pale but still so beautiful as a living doll. She was all in white stained with red under the lights. It could be said to have been fitting - a painless, peaceful descent into the darkness. Valerie died with no pain at all,she died and layed down on the floor like a sleeping beauty amongst a garden of red. Flowers surrounded her,made of steel were they in splendor, a final act of respect for the blonde girl.

Her pale body stood there but her eyes could not see the red garden.

A garden of corpses...

XXX

"What just happened? This can't be happening!?", the voice of a young girl shrieked in contempt. It was an impossible growl coming from the mouth of Christina Glaysia-Labolas, one of the offspring of Falbium Asmodeus.

The girl was sitting next to the gigantic table in the guest room, surrounded by maids and bodyguards all around the perimeter. There was a large tremor,it felt like an earthquake had shaken the very foundation of the mansion with a thunderous noise echoing through the premises. Some panicked while others tried to keep their balance and unsheathed their weapons. This was unnatural, it felt like a siege because earthquakes were extremely rare in the Underworld. The guards circled around the fair skinned lady in a safe perimeter, weapons raised and ready to fight with their lives on the line.

"Everyone! Defend the mansion at all costs. It's a dragon! I repeat - it's a dragon!" one of the soldiers burst into the room trotting, he had ran as fast as he could to warn the others of this sudden attack. Outside was a great fight - a black dragon and a small squad of attackers were storming the garden and heading for the house. The guards outside were holding them off at the time to make an escape route for the inhabitants of the house.

Then another guard,a female one followed panting and trying to catch her breath from running. She was holding herself at the door with both arms to lean on as a crutch to keep her balance. "We are being attacked from both sides! There's too many of them." she looked at Christina with frightened eyes. "Everyone, head to the east side. The guards there need reinforcements! I'll lead the princess to the emergency exit.", skidding somehow towards the blonde girl in a black dress, the guard leaned on the shoulders of one of her fellow guards while she catch her breath.

Another explosion erupted. It was stronger than before - the windows were demolished by the sheer shockwave that struck; pieces of glass were flying in every direction like pellets, a rain of transparent particles flew on the ground and the room. It knocked them down on the red carpet with glass sticking in various places over their bodies but the lady of Glaysia-Labolas was left untouched, they shielded her with their bodies.

"We must get to Anastasia! She's waiting at the secret passage, your brother is waiting there too,milady." one of the guards lifted her back on her feet, the female guard supported the others as the rest regained their senses and ran out to confront the assailants who were at the halls. Their steps could be heard, growing with each second passing away.

"I can't leave these people alone! Let me go!" she protested heavily over the guards having held her hands and moving away from the scene to the small library at the next door.

They ran through the passage straight for the library like crazed beasts,their legs driving them further like lightning to seek out the passage to escape. It was their duty to protect her with their lives, something she didn't quite like since they were acting like her babysitters. She was a spoiled runt just like her brother was; only that he had more success and was right behind Sairaorg Bael with the second place behind his back. She squirmed and wiggled in trying to break away but they didn't let her so easily. The library had a secret escape route in cases where there was a siege - the male guard stood against the wall on the eastern side and tapped on a small picture to reveal a hidden lever which he begun to pull with all of his strength.  
The lights turned out. Everything became dark all of a sudden.

"Run...run,little mouse...",a disgusting echo passed through her ears. She didn't miss out the malice and the intention. It was like a cold chill running down her spine in stopping in her tracks, unable to budge a finger.

Christina looked around once again as the lights returned.

The guard was down on the ground while the female guard was panicking and looking out through each direction. Everything happened so fast for her to even notice what transpired when the lights went out.

"Oh,hell... We need to run away." her voice shivered. She was feeling scared and slightly erratic as she tried to pull down the lever with her magic.

Once again everything became dark.

"Hey Christina,what do you call a tavern of black birds?" someone's voice whispered into her ear like thunder. Her heart began to beat faster like mad,the oddness of this question further confused her more than she already was.

She instinctively turned around to see what was behind her back,the second her eyes could peer into the darkness behind her we're met with something blunt and hard. There were flashes of energy in ripples just right as the hit was almost delivered with savagery.

"...A crowbar." as the heavy metal crowbar ran across her face with the force of a truck. She was sent flying into a wall, crashing violently into the bookshelves like a ball. The impact was so strong that she broke a good amount of shelves by landing onto them. Splinters,noise,cracks and chaos fused into one mean hit in the face and for some reason the lights were back again.

It was visible; the aftermath of the situation. The obnoxious girl was laying on a broken bookshelf with blood seeping from her forehead in streaks as she continued to stare at the female guard with vicious eyes. The guard in question was joyously holding a black swirled crowbar with a split tip in the shape of a goat's leg in her right hand. The female guard in question gave her a mischievous wink before wiping off the blood from the cold metal with a quick swipe of her sleeve.

"It's a bit corny. Sorry about that. Came up with it on the spot.",she barely managed to suppress her grin from stretching out and laughing uncontrollably. She began to walk towards her with the crowbar grinding against the floor in a ominous plethora of screeching sounds with sparks forming from the friction.

"Man, revenge feels so good when it's served with a wise crack. So lemme tell you something sweetheart", she turned cold as a rock but her smile only waned to be replaced with a disgusting smirk she knew well. "Why don't you call your Queen here so i can ask her something? I bet she wants to see her brother badly and it's my job to make it happen."

A flurry of demonic energy flew straight to her body in a rapid succesion of another one behind it,formless mass of darkness streaked across the air with no set trajectory to back it up. Her aim was off; the guard shrugged it off due to the resilience of being a Rook,proving stronger than expected and splitting the attack into two. The projectiles were sent across the room in two separate locations,bringing more damage to the room with wood and marble flying across the room like rain in tiny particles to fall behind her while she made a lackadaisical pose of theatrics to make her entrance more spectacular. Just the act of it made her giggle with a creepy echo behind her voice until the moment her eyes flashed yellow in a sickening glare.

"Time is up. Gotta switch the players on the board." and she fell down exhausted and unconscious from the strain. The crowbar dissappeared into thin air like it had never existed in her hand,only a small mist was left behind before another figure came crashing down from the roof.

Christina Glaysia-Labolas regained her senses to stand up on her feet and somehow called forth her peerage of six to encircle her in a protective barrier from every side. They eyed the unknown figure with hatred and malice as they took position to retaliate on command with various magic circles and weapons raised high in a volley of metal and spells.

The figure in question manifested a golden spear of splendor; it was rather simple at best yet with a heavily ornamented shaft of inscribed scripture of ancient Chinese up to the pommel. It's blade was sharp at both angles with a incredulous luster of a sun in it's immaculate and beautifully crafted sharp edge with flowers coiling like snakes in unison of a crest. It was a staff before but he modified it to suit as a thrusting weapon for this one instance. The figure removed it's hood that covered it's face,a black and pieces of armor shone under the dim illumination of the library as Bikou took a heavily oriented stance on defense with the golden staff, now a spear into his hands and raised to eye level.

"I guess it's time to serve out some justice to the likes of you Glaysia-Labolas?!" from the door returned Diodora Astaroth in his own body. The prolonged use of his family's Sorcery Trait had placed a strain onto his body and drastically decreased the duration of using it on someone. Jumping from one body to another from an already controlled one was quite draining but had to be done.

"You!? Filthy vermin! How dare you attack our house and hurt our mistress?", one of the six individuals spoke with contempt for the dirty blonde haired Devil. He was a tall and bulky Knight with a shimmering claymore of silver and black running down the edge. He was of a heavy build and rather beastial in comparison to his master who was a bit on the short side.

Diodora did not react much to that question. The only thing he did was to flick his glove covered hands in one singular motion, cross them in a guard and still staring at them through his shades he muttered,"...Nothing but payback for all the pain and suffering you people brought me. And for insulting the one friend i once had.", his legs changed their position with one being brought slightly forward as his jovial expression switched to a blunt one of seriousness. "This one is for Sairaorg too... You'll pay for what you did."

"Attack! Kill this loser on the spot! Make sure he never walks again for having dared to hurt my beautiful face!", the fair skinned Christina pointed towards their way as she let out a detestable scream of wrath.

Magic bolts of various elements scattered of flames,water,ice and miasma in a set course for annihilation. The Knight charged forward with inhuman speed with the claymore prepared to cleave Bikou's head into two. He was running ahead of the rest with attacks incoming from behind him.

"May God bless you all! Amen,motherfuckers!" Diodora's hands broke from their guard into throwing silver crosses, dipped in holy water against them like projectiles. He prayed,there was no headache that struck him but the same could not be said for them. They were like stung,the Knight's movement faltered enough for Bikou to charge ahead and use that opening for a quick jab with the blunt section of his spear.

The hit connected with the sword in one fast swing then a second followed with the spear extending to deliver a counterclockwise strike to his legs and a third stroke jammed into his shoulder, sending him flying backwards hard.

The crosses blazed through the air like fiery blades in their tracks,spinning like a buzzsaw straight at the peerage. They put up a few barriers to avoid getting hit but the crosses exploded in the same moment when they were paralyzed with pain, spraying silver particles over the barrier in negating it's properties and burning them upon touch.

Diodora immediately rushed to Bikou's side in bringing forth his burned from the crosses hands in creating a multi overlay barrier on the principles of Numbers, barely making it in time to divert the impact and protect Bikou from the damage. He glued himself to his back to cover his back, pulling out two Desert Eagles from the compartments in his armor,fully loaded and prepared.

"Just like that time in the past. You ready to roll, brother?" Diodora asked him with a joker-esque grin but those last words were what did it for the Monkey King. He made a thin smile of approval, to be called a brother in arms meant a lot to him as he made the spear compact and with nothing but camaraderie said his thoughts. "Always. Let's do it and find Le Fay. I can't cook shit at all!"

They came upon them in a frenzy with everything they had. Enraged and frustrated them sprinted faster than before in a brutal onslaught of carnage and malice. They were gaining ground and due to the cover fire from the Bishop had a sense of superiority against the two men in numbers and firepower. Before the first one could hit them, Bikou knelt momentarily and made an opening for Diodora unleash an array of bullets from his guns,said bullets coursing with power and inscribed formula for an added punch in several bursts of explosions. The bullets flew through the limbs of the attacker who tried to raise his defenses in believing he wouldn't be hurt from a human weapon. How wrong he was...

Burning wounds opened in his right leg and left shoulder, blood was leaking out from the pierced flesh with pain and scorching marks spreading through his body. Silver bullets with holy water. He was doing something so despicable for a Devil - he was fighting like a mere human with trickery and cowardice. No Devil used guns due to their pride of being physically stronger and better than those measly mortals, he was instead imitating their tactics and patterns as if he were born as a human being. It was to that extent; he actually liked humans and could sympathize with them for being looked down upon the rest and thought to be incapable of matching stronger foes. He felt more at home with humans than he could with devils.

Bikou stood up and twisted around, pushing the Astaroth heir to the other side to block a strike aimed at his head from a female Rook on the other side. The spear skewered her through the shoulder with Astaroth swerving back with slamming the handle of his gun at her forehead,throwing her away at an incoming attacker from the right. He smacked her hard enough to crack her skull but she would live.

The rest was upon them already. They were much more so they would overwhelm them in no time. A strayed from it's path slash almost hit Bikou but Diodora moved in that moment to deflect it, his gun was retched from right hand and he suffered a blow to the shoulder which offset his balance in almost going down over the monkey Youkai. A ominous yellow glow flashed through a little girl's eyes, in that miniscule moment he had taken control of her body and made sure she would be stabbed in the moment when the spear came back with a vengeance full swing. It struck her hard into one leg,lifted by the spear and used as a battering ram to stop the rising Knight from splitting them in two.

"Tactic number seven!" Diodora woke up in his body and began to sprint next to Bikou. In exchange for his missing gun a set of daggers with his own energy sprang between his fingers.  
He threw them at the ground in different angles, following with a spark of demonic energy to activate the inscribed spell over them as Bikou made way through the repeated attacks of the peerage. "Let there be peace. Amen. Amen." he continued to invoke the name of God to create openings in their formation.

With a giant leap by Bikou's legs,a shockwave rattled the marble floor in activating the daggers for a chain explosion. Still they stood tall and as aggressive in their assault like previously. They weren't going to let live and get away from here. Even if it meant sacrificing their lives to do it like the good obedient servants they were.

"You filthy peace of shit!", from nowhere a loud growl rang in the air like a grating on a chalkboard. From the barrier walked in Zephyrdor Glaysia-Labolas with everyone from his peerage, a full set of 15 to bolster the ranks of the seven remaining in this room.

They immediately prepared to rush forward only to be halted by the hand of their King. The man with a darker skin tone and translucent green tattoos on his face angrily exclaimed his feelings over seeing his sister's condition. They didn't get along perfectly but no one did really. She was still his family. "Do you seriously think you could beat us with just the two of you? You'll always be a pitiful loser, i feel bad for your brother. Having to live with such a weak and disgusting loser like you... But not as much as that old fucker of yours.", he just began with the one thing that hurt the most. He was always disrespectful and arrogant. Just the sheer thought of mentioning something sensitive gave him a thrill like never before.

His peerage began the attack with Bikou as their target. They were numerous in numbers but the monkey king had several tricks in his sleeve. Such as using his own hairs to create clones,rather constructs to assist him in his fight. The same way they faked a dragon attack and staved off the guards outside. He had the most delirium ridden smile of delight at this sight of arrogance. He was going to kill them this time, no more holding back and delivering non fatal wounds. He sneered, "Leave these people to me. Go beat the shit out of that smug bastard, brother!" and he extended his spear once more in a battle cry following his insane assault.

"I do not know whether you will die on these grounds or outside of this house,Astaroth." Zephyrdor focused his superior magic and strength to his knuckles, swirling green energy encased his fingers in ripples of densely layered mana in following patterns. His stance was aggressive and wide to intimidate him to submission, he was naturally stronger in almost every area aside from being a King,falling behind Sairaorg Bael in being second to him. Diodora had no chance in defeating him in combat and prowess at all. But the weak were nothing but tenacious and resourceful in trying to catch up to the strong.

"That will depend, my Lord, upon whether i embrace your principles or your sister.", the dirty blonde haired man snickered jokingly, further enraging the already maddened King to no ends. He still had his gun with a few bullets left and something in his hand. "And I'm really intent on sleeping with your sister. Just for the kicks of it!" with a quick swipe he removed his glasses from his face and revealed his yellowish eyes of a snake. He was ready,he knew he couldn't defeat him but he followed up with his promises on delivering the sister to her brother. What came next was a dead serious glare, peering into Zephyrdor's eyes with utter hatred. It was time. "Who's the sissy now,bitch?"

No words were exchanged. Propelling himself by using a minor variety of Ajuka Beelzebub's manipulation of Numbers,namely using the mathematical vectors of phenomena to make the marble bend and shoot him straight forward against Zephyrdor. The tattooed man rushed against him with both hands prepared to crush his skull. It was a battle of strength against witts, Diodora aimed his remaining gun and shot out a black bullet with a cross marking at his legs in trying to cripple his opponent's lower limbs.

The bullet sizzled with magic, bursting fast with giving Zephyrdor only a split second to twist his leg to avoid getting hit. Still the bullet passed through whatever barrier he had conjured and grazed his thigh and exploded. Searing heat struck him as the bullet ripped through the fabric of his pants and carved a large gash on the bare flesh,scorched with heat and bleeding. It was an anti-magic bullet of silver with a sip of holy water on it's tip to be effective against Devils. It should have hurt like hell but Zephyrdor was pumping with so much adrenaline to shrug it off as a flesh wound.

In that second where Bikou broke free from the rest he sent a concussive blast of mana into Zephyrdor's side,blinding him for a moment before they would meet in a tackle. Bikou was going on the defensive again but there was a moment where he would have been skewered. Not contemplating, Diodora swung the Desert Eagle to release his final bullet and gun down the enemy about to decapitate his comrade. Favor returned.

The other Devil clasped the object in his hand tightly and spun around by the velocity of his flight, a white light escaping from what appeared to be a handle, stopped in his tracks and spun on his heels before Zephyrdor as he roared in rage. Only for a burning gash to appear on Glaysia-Labolas.

His eyes widened for a second, yet kicked hard enough to cave in his stomach and push him back. Disarmed he was of his gun which he dropped from the impact. This slash was not ordinary - it was from an Exorcist blade. The snake had procured a light blade to battle them! Such cowardice!

"You filthy fucker... You're so gonna pay for this." Zephyrdor bellowed in agony, trying to stop the bleeding with a healing spell. His sister sprinted faster to his direction and attacked the Devil in question while he brother could realize what was happening.

Christina created an energy construct,a makeshift sword to couter his blade of light. Her slash aimed for his head while he used the light blade to parry,she twisted her body around and brought her leg up. Her kick was almost blocked as the small barrier he made was shattered and her leg delivered a brutal slam to his knee. It was enough to offset his balance, in a second later her sword found it's way into his shoulder armor. Twisting and pushing further she dented the plating just on a nearly successful stab yet the snake eyed man kneed her in the stomach and in the next instance where she pulled back - the crowbar he had earlier appeared in his other hand in a rapid smack across her neck.

Just then Zephyrdor came to aid his sister. He swung a hammer from green energy,further strengthened from his natural strength against the trying to block the hammer Diodora. The hit connected at the price of being split into two but somehow deflected the light sword from his hand. The crowbar he had dissipated as soon as it had appeared before. Diodora spat blood, his damaged knee and shoulder made it harder to dodge. Not that the tattooed man would give him any chance either way. He slammed against the wall.

"Fuck... I didn't calculate things right... This is gonna hurt so much.", spitting blood and coughing on the wall, Diodora looked up to Bikou's side. He was fighting and staving off the rest admirably but they were no pushovers; they were many and he wouldn't be able to keep up forever.

Both siblings were at it again. Even with a damaged thigh, Zephyrdor trotted to the wall and began to kick him wherever he could see. Christina too began to deliver kicks until her brother grabbed his shoulders, "You've got quite the nerve to think you could beat us. You were always weak!", his knee struck his stomach, even under the armor he felt the impact. It was painful, he threw him at the rubble with such force to further vent out his rage.

Walking up to there,the Glaysia-Labolas did what they were best while punching him with no restraint.

"You sick fuck. You monster! How dare you!"

He smiled. He only smiled in contemplation.

 _"Do you like it now, freak! How could someone like you think you could be like us? Come on, sissy. Stand up and fight.", Zephyrdor was taunting and beating him on the ground while others watched with disgust. Agares looked dispassionately, Belial did not seem to be touched,the rest just enjoyed it._

"Come on,fight back! Where's the bravado now? Or is this how much the freak could muster? You're just a failure..."

 _Sairaorg Bael stood in front of the bleeding boy with wrathful eyes. His fists were raised up and he stared at the rest with disgust. "Do you enjoy beating those weaker than you? Just because they're not like you people? Answer me!" his voice was almost feral in it's scream. Some of them were unnerved but the rest just snickered._

 _Agares spoke up._ _"But what could a cripple like you do? You who have no power and this disgusting freak? Do not make us laugh."_

 _Badly bruised and bleeding, Sairaorg and Diodora were taken away by Lord Astaroth. The blonde man with gentle eyes carried away the children on his arms, turning his back on the other children's taunting. He_ _i_ _ignored the insults and accusations directed at him, going further and further away._

 _"Do not listen to them. They're wrong. It's not only power that makes you strong,knowledge, hard work and creativity are true strength. It doesn't matter if you were born with no power because if you strive and aim higher than the rest...", Lord Astaroth held them tight in his arms and looked with a fatherly companion,_ _"_ _even people like us who are in the shadows can come out into the light. Because i believe in you two..."_

Both Zephyrdor and Christina's punches were weakening. Only their words remained.

"You want...ed a... monst..er and you have it. So don't you dare bitch abo- he was hurled and held by the neck.

"It's time to die. Too bad for you, not even your family would miss someone like you." Christina pointed a new construct at his face,her face twisting from the pain of her neck being smashed in. She was lucky to have a tough body.

"It's just like old times...", the tattooed brute began to squeeze hard on his neck. "It ends here. I guess you're just a loser like your father was..."

 _"Stand back, I'll hold them off." his hardened gaze shimmered with defiance. He was standing against a group of Devils, he was not a violent man but rather a artisan. A craftsman and an artist but not so much a warrior. He pushed aside Sairaorg and only gave him parting words."Please be good to my son... I'll be right behind you...please..."_

"...Just a failure i guess."

Something snapped. Diodora met his hateful eyes with a all knowing expression of absurdity. He even made a sorrowful smile mixed with confusion and spite. "I am weak... But because of that I'm much stronger than you people. Because you don't have a damn idea." his eyes glowed once more with such an intensity, almost making the two devils flinch from disgust.

The marble floor rumbled. The building was shaking with tremors, a extraordinary gust of wind tore through the walls. It was devastating,bringing forth destruction in it's wake.

From the walls burst a gigantic dragon of 25 meters tall,it's wings were nothing but deteriorated stubs with torn edges in being unable to sustain long distance flight but could flap and make short leaps in the air. It had a muscular build with silver,metalic plates with pronounced spikes from each one going down from it's neck to the hardened chest where that row ended in two large stalactite like protrusions on it's massive shoulders. The color of it's metalic scaled stomach was of a dark gunmetal shade with small spaces to form razor like extensions used for digging through the hardened soil of it's domain. The dragon stood on all four limbs, having two gigantic armored pikes jutting out of it's hind legs with two smaller sets going down on those limbs with a shiny black luster. It's tail was long and covered with blades from the top to the bottom in ending with a normal tail with no blade at the end, unlike the Welsh or the English Dragon.

It's back and outer side of it's hide were stained in the color of gold from having stayed too much near it's gathered treasures from all around the world. What were once black scales now shone with an illustrious glimmer of a golden light in contrast to it's front. Razor sharp jagged spikes extended from the back of it's neck like a spine with silver lining over the black blades. It's muzzle wasn't long or short, it was medium in size but had extremely powerful jaws and biting strength to compensate. Despite having horns they did not form a dragon crest as they were too different in structure to be able to grow in that way. Black inward pointing horns towards it's muzzle adorned the head of the dragon with two smaller horns beginning from it's upper jaw and extending towards the back, a black horn with a crease and black horned brows gave it a terrifying primal state of aggression but what was the most curious aspect of it's appearance was it's chest.

Bluish circuit like scars marred it's chest, in the location where it heart once used to be. Forming a blue scar that healed with that glow to signify it's change and resurrection. It had no heart ever since Siegfried killed it and ate it,bathing in the blood of a dragon.

But that came with a strength - heightened magic resistance to specific magics and spells,an extremely hardened hide with a especially tough defense and no possibility of being killed by being struck in the heart by a dragon slaying sword. An improved resistance to magic and swords like Ascalon, those changes elevated it's status back to it's rightful title of the Golden Monarch Dragon, the Dragon King Fafnir!

Unlike other Dragons, Fafnir could speak like everyone else could do to his origins as a dwarf, breathing out flames when speaking. It's roar had a magnitude, it looked straight into the attackers of his partner and began the brutal assault.

 **"I am the Dragon King Fafnir and i have come to lay waste to this foolish Devil. Astaroth, i want those treasures you mentioned before."**

The Dragon King pounced like a starved beast at the peerage who were attacking Bikou relentlessly, killing a few with a swipe of his muscular tail by smashing them into the walls. The next he roasted like grilled chicken for he was a civilized dragon and preferred his meal roasted at the right degree of cooking. He also had a thing for chewing the arms of arrogant, pesky Devils, poachers but loved to eat adventurers the most.

"That's why i brought him. Who's the sissy now, bitch!?"

Fafnir made waste with the two peerages, extending his neck towards Zephyrdor who threw the Astaroth heir away from his arms,stood frightened as Fafnir gave him a wicked smile with his pearly white fangs in a human like fashion of saying, " **you're totally screwed kid.** " and the Golden Monarch's eyes glowed yellow like those of Diodora.

Christina was smacked away to watch from the distance. Bikou's spear was back into his hands as he skidded closer to them while holding the Queen,Anastasia Giovanni on his shoulder like a princess.

"That's what you'll never understand. I know i am weak and pitiful, I'm not like you people with strength and power but", Diodora stood up barely yet his eyes glowed with dread for the Glaysia-Labolas. He moved closer to Fafnir's muzzle to support himself, standing closer to Zephyrdor who was paralyzed but still subconsciously held his arms in a stance to fight. He was going to fight till the bitter end.

"...insulting me is one thing. I've always kept going no matter what... I'll show you all that even the weak can devour the strong and that birth does not determine who you are or what you're capable off." he gave a signal to Bikou and respectfully bowed to Fafnir to fall back and wait for him.

He began to walk away from Zephyrdor, not even giving him once glance of being worth it to see. His steps were heavy and slouched from the beating he endured, his whole body screaming for him to stop and rest but he continued to walk silently.

"You won't... get... away with this...i promise th..at. You fuckin loser." Zephyrdor stuttered. "You just don't have it in you. Just like your stupid and frightful father..."

"You know", he begun in a calm tone in contrast to his burning emotions,"...i don't fear you anymore." he turned around like a flash, his speed increased exponentially until he found himself behind the tattooed man with whatever was left of his strength. "And one last thing - NEVER INSULT MY FATHER, YOU SCUMBAG BITCH!" in that very moment his left wing sprouted from his back and before the stunned Glaysia-Labolas could react to attack and kill him,Diodora's left wing lowered it's self and with a fast spin with everything he had decapitated his head in one clean swipe.

His head rolled around his falling body like a ball,he died pitifully and in the most humiliating way possible. "Oh,yeah. You can keep the change." and Diodora kicked his head towards Christina for one final blow to her pride

He died pitifully.

Bikou grabbed the blonde Devil in his hands while in his other he held Anastasia Giovanni. "We did it,my friend. Let's get out of here fast before shit hits the fan."

"Sure. This so gonna hurt in the morning."

They disappeared like how they came in. They left ruin and delivered revenge. Operation Nun Snatcher was a success.

XXX

3rd September, Place Unknown, Faction Conference meeting, 00:00 pm, Tuesday

It was midnight when the clock struck. Azazel was calmly sitting in a restaurant together with Shemhazai and Barakiel, eating a really late dinner together while they waited for someone special to arrive. On the other table were the usual trio of the Doctor,Castor and Arthur in waiting for the right time to engage. Everything was planned out to the very last detail; nothing possible was left unchecked. Everything possible to make it go smoothly was provided,the setting, the place and most of all the special barrier that was erected over this small restaurant. They were outside of Kuoh City in a neutral zone occupied by neither Devils nor Angels but a special gathering where no one had claim over this territory.

The cards were set and it was time to make the best use of them in secret.

"I guess it's time for our guests to arrive." Shemhazai leisurely muttered out some vague words out of boredom. He was a tall man of stature with Slavic features, a slightly lighter skin tone than Azazel with a thin nose,pronounced cheekbones and sharp, piercing green-chartreuse eyes with amber/brown scattering across the center of his pupils. He was of the height of 1.80m, a rather toned build with broad shoulders, giving him an aura of respect around him. His tresses were combed neatly with a few loose locks of his honeyed blonde hair falling down over his forehead.

Shemhazai. The one who lead the fall of Angels after the war in the other side,the one with whom 200 Angels fell to become the Watchers due to their love for humanity. They did not become Devils for they still retained their love for humanity and creation,their transgression was not as severe as the first one. But they could still become like those before them,shedding aside fully their nature to become something different, something tempting and vile. Terms as Angels and Devils did not apply to them for they were the ones who existed before the current state of the world before the Reset. They were the ones called Original Beings, transcendent beings of power from the beginning of the existence. There were no multiple versions of them,only one existed in existence while those that were similar were nothing but derivatives, imitations and mixing of legends and beliefs to exist. Shemhazai was the true governor of the Fallen Angels but to maintain the illusion of them being the same false ones who led the Fallen, they switched the order so Azazel would be Governor not to raise suspicion. But they could always switch places if necessary. Shemhazai even had a human son with his beloved wife,unlike the Demiurge created replacement who had a Devil spouse which was caught and executed before time.

"Do you think they will actually arrive here? I doubt about the Angel", Barakiel decided to speak up for once. He had mostly stayed quietly in wait but decided to take part in this small summit. It was no problem if they would not agree to peace; they would sooner or later see how much better it is when you stand together than apart. That was what he believed atleast. "...So it's tomorrow night, right? The attack on the Khaos Brigade."

"Don't be so nervous about it. Everything will be fine, i promise. So let's relax as being tense wouldn't bring anything good, would it?" Azazel waved off his worries like nothing. He didn't feel anxious or threatened at all; if it came down to it they could always blow up Heaven or Hell once they revealed their true forms but it was rather a choice they would not take so easily. They would meet heated opposition which would push them before having to succeed so it was out of the question.

Just as they were peacefully conversing about too many things to even count, a screech of an opening door was heard. It was time. Everyone prepared themselves for whatever might come out of the door, having hidden weapons all over the restaurant just in case things got wrong and something else came in with them.

The door continued to creak ominously before their eyes, making them tense up and coil their muscles in preparation to retaliate. Everything was possible to happen so it was better to be prepared than to die because of a stupid mistake.

They relaxed, sort of, when through the door passed the leader of the Devils. The man known as the Crimson Satan, Sirzechs Lucifer himself gallantly entered into the room and made courtesies with the others. He was dressed in his official Maou robes to show his respect and might to his counterparts as etiquette demanded him to do so. It was a secret meeting between the three faction leaders as it was plain obvious if they held a meeting they would surely make the Khaos Brigade make their move and try to disrupt any possibility for peace.

Next behind him arrived his wife in a elegant black business suit with a bow tie instead of her usual maid uniform (Sirzechs secretly loved that costume), the Strongest Queen Grayfia Lucifuge. She bowed respectfully before these gentlemen and moved closer to her husband and leader. Grayfia was the representative of the Extra Families outside of the 72 Pillars as well as the reincarnated Devils who were yet to form a Household of their own. She had the backing of the Devil Council to prevent too much power falling into the hands of the Maou. And each Maou had a team, composed of distinguished Devils from all kinds of Houses to hold positions in their government; infrastructure, general wellbeing of the populace, multimedia and information and so on and so on. So much work could not be done by four individuals, it was delegated between each team of theirs to assist them in general affairs.

"I trust you know that we are basically forgoing our own veto by meeting here with you, Governor." Sirzechs spoke leisurely. He did not appear to be tense,rather he seemed quite pleased to be in the company of his sworn enemies since times long forgotten. It had been almost 15 centuries since the Second Faction War had happened but he was optimistic in being able to bring peace and usher forth a new era of understanding and tranquility between each faction. He took a seat on the big table before him and made Grayfia follow suit.

"I did not expect you to respond to this request of mine,Sirzechs. It's rather pleasant to be on the same wavelength as i am." Azazel spoke calmly with a thin smile as he took a gulp from his wine. "What shall we drink,gentlemen and ladies? It's on me so don't be shy."

Next from the door entered the representative of the Pureblooded Families of the 72 Pillars,a member of the Devil Council, a beautiful woman with dirty blonde hair and dazzling yellow eyes of a snake. She carried herself with refined gracefulness, lightly stepping forward with respect and courtesy towards the leader of the Devils. She wore an elegant black dress in comparison to Grayfia but there was no doubt she rivaled her in her beauty. "I believe it is not the time for drinks, Azazel. We have pressing matters to discuss." her voice tingled like a melody. A rather serious expression she had before she eyed the three gentlemen sitting next to the Fallen Angels. Malina von Astaroth gave them a warm welcome and took her seat on Sirzechs's left side. Her eyes did give her an extraordinary charm as to say,a trait she shared with her sons. She was one of the two most beautiful women in the Underworld, rivaling Heaven's very own Gabriel.

"Who might these pleasant gentlemen be? I have not seen them before neither did i know you would bring more people on your side,Azazel." Sirzechs couldn't withhold his curiosity. He couldn't read these people at all, they were like blank pages to his senses. The only thing he knew was that they were humans but only that. Not even his magic could hope to scan them and determine what their capabilities or true nature were.

Barakiel this time chose to speak. He presented his companions as members of the Grigori, nothing more and nothing less than that. He knew what they really were but would never reveal that information for nothing in the world. He would not betray his comrades or reveal their secrets.

"Pardon me for speaking when it's not my place to do so", Arthur made a bow and removed his hat to place it on the table, "...but are we not expecting another guest to arrive soon. Being late is not polite neither pleasant. And as my fellow Barakiel said", he did make a smile, "we are here to act as a mediator to the peace treaty. There is too much infighting among the people and someone is taking advantage of that... The Khaos Brigade for example."

"That is true. Too much people died on that night and many more would die if we do not put a halt to this." Lady Astaroth made a remark. "And do not feel threatened by our presence, speak freely...", she felt at a lack of words to continue as she did not know of his name.

Picking that detail easily, the Irish barman gave her his name with a short nod. " Arthur Hale Mason at your service, fair Lady Astaroth. You have my respect for arriving here to represent your people."

"It appears we are late for which i beg your pardon,Sirzechs. And Azazel." a new voice echoed through the room. From the floor materialized two transportation circles of Angelic nature with pure light basking the room in motes of golden luster. The voice was serene and tranquil, having the magnitude of eons to back up it's archaic nature. It spoke of power and authority with each word expressed, something the African Major tried to suppress from expressing his feelings on the matter.

Castor withheld his questions as he did not arrive here for this but to act as arbiter. He recognized the signature as easily as tying a shoelace - he would never forget it for it was Michael, the Leader of the Host of Heaven. Someone his father served before as one of the six Heavenly Summoners and someone who did nothing to prevent the destruction of Cape Town twenty years ago.

"Allow me to introduce my dear sister." Michael stepped back and moved out of his circle.

From the next circle the beauty stepped out was unworldly. She had a perfect face with no flaw or blemishes, perfect features above anything a mortal could comprehend. Her locks were like a radiant sun, light like the sun that gave life and illustrious as the shine of the moon. Straight locks of hair flowed freely at her back with nothing but two small braids to make a crown of the likes to hold them in place. Her bangs were perfectly aligned in framing her inhumanly beautiful face, soft and sharp in their ends. Azure eyes peeked from under the fringe in childish curiosity but not without leaving a serious aura of maturity and respect. But her smile was the one thing that made her even more alluring than she was naturally - warm and soothing beyond anything wicked in this world, even capable of melting the coldest heart there was.

But just as perfect as she was, she was unsettling. She was way too perfect for anyone to look at her normally without any disgust or not to feel appalled by her appearance. Things that were perfect were so unnatural to the human eyes, so wrong and so right, human but yet so inhuman to feel disgust and fear just upon gazing at her. The uncanny valley effect was shared between all of them, even Michael at times experienced difficulty in conversing with her when she was like that. Perfection was ugly and boring,it was unnatural and disgusting...to those who understood what it meant.

"Could you please tone it down a bit? It's too much on the eyes, thank you." even Shemhazai didn't like how she glowed like this. He was just as flawed as the rest, he was not like these Angels and Devils in appearing perfect, he despised this search for perfection when just by being imperfect you were perfect on your own.

To everyone's relief, Gabriel toned down her appearance to more human levels, bearable enough to appear normal and with flaws. This was quite the usual routine for the Archangel; when she usually appeared people would stop to stare at her like hypnotized and after a few moments would turn away from her being so perfect. It was unnatural to everyone so she had to always downgrade her appearance in order not to creep them out.

"Anyways," Azazel brought to light his intentions, "this is a sort of rehearsal for the real summit. Everyone wants to end this hostility because each faction is weakened and to be honest", something sinister came out of his mouth, "if we don't stick together, we'll all be dead. Something is culling the competition- you saw what happened with the vampires and some members of Devil families. The risk of each faction disappearing or the group led by Ophis bringing forth that is quite high."

"I believe it to be so. Enough bloodshed, times have changed so we must strive to change as well", waving off his hand in approval, Michael's gaze was drawn towards the African man for some reason. A feeling of deja vu,some remarkable resemblance he found in this man which fueled his curiosity further. He could not read anyone of these people - no name,no magic or any inherent abilities. They were just humans and nothing else.

"But before we lay out the clauses for this peace treaty, i must inquire on the identity of this man." the Archangel could not help but feel curiosity when he directed his words towards the Major. There was no ill intent nor taint in those words, it was just tranquility between each word he spoke. It felt unnatural when he was so calm and peaceful but that was just on the outside. "You seem familiar to me. So what is your name if i may inquire?"

Just that tone of benevolent intention made the African man feel uncomfortable. Did this Angel forgot who served under his order or was it not worth remembering a simple man? He found himself forming fists and releasing them but maintained his disposition as a mature man and met the Angel's eyes with coldness.

"My identity does not matter. It has no relevance to this small summit but i ask you", his voice gained a distraught feeling mixed in, "is it not worth remembering a man who served your kind and humanity and sacrificed his very life for it? We are nothing but bugs in comparison to your kind but even the strongest can fall. You have traitors in your ranks..."

Everyone looked at each other and Gabriel was the first to speak up. "That is a rather big accusation you are making there. What evidence do you have in support of it."

Shemhazai raised his hand on wishing to speak. He stretched his arms on the table with a serious face, befitting of his status as the true leader of the Watchers,beginning with the most recent events. "The siege of Kuoh City, also known as the Devil Slum, by a group of Angels in pursuit of the Twilight Maiden and the Red Dragon Emperor who is on the Devil's side. It's awfully convenient in saying you do not know,isn't it?" the blond man with green-chartreuse eyes made special mention to the last part of the two. Actually, Issei was not on the side of the Devils but his alignment was towards the club and the three Watchers strictly and those who were in this together. Lies had to be made when necessary. But in the end the boy was aligned to himself fully.

Lady Astaroth and Grayfia made worrisome looks when they heard that. Pureblood Devil Houses were being targeted, their especially as Sirzechs was a Gremory before anything else. Same applied to Ajuka and her house. There was much more to it than simply culling, both actually knew about what has happened with the Vampires and Yasaka from Kyoto so both looked quite worried.

This information made the Archangel to look down to his feet in dejection. He was not happy at all with this, he never gave such orders to any of his people which certainly gave credibility to those claims. His words were stained with fatalism whenever any conversation came to this topic, it was too much to bear sometimes for him to not be fatalistic when fellow Angels died and fell. He felt he was a failure with the kingdom of Heaven crumbling slowly apart.

His eyes shone with unrestrained sadness over something long lost in time. "We never agreed to this as no such order was given by me or any of the other Seraphs. I always feared something like this would happen, i always did."

"Then maybe it's time to stop sobbing over the past and do something about the present. If you do not wish to do it", Arthur made a peaceful nod to both Angelic representatives and finished the second part of his sentence with stressing upon the following, "...then it is time for us to do that job if Heaven would not help. Not that you people actually care about it,to be honest." straight out sarcastic but subtle in his delivery, the older gentleman smiled with a grandfatherly disposition but they did not miss out the hidden terror behind those words. As if he knew more than he let on.

"I shall take it that there are many traitors among my kind as well. And that is why we must band together to survive. The Khaos Brigade is getting stronger and stronger with time and is threatening the balance. We must not let that happen by any means necessary." it was this time Sirzechs who spoke up. The reassurance of someone doing this gave him an idea to propose. "Why don't we try to create an anti-terrorist task force of various individuals from each faction? To prove we can work together."

 _"Azazel, this is what the enemy wants. A group of highly trained people from each faction who can be controlled unknowingly. They have set roots in each faction, even ours as we saw before. I do not believe it's a good idea."_

Through a mental link,undetected by the Devils and Angels, the Fallen and humans discussed this proposal secretly and so far decided to answer with concerns.

"Those who are pulling the strings want exactly that. To have the strongest champions of our races in one spot. They are all around us,everywhere and within the ranks of each faction. It is a thought out idea but abundant of risks."

Sirzechs stopped for a second and thought it was a pity but he was right. It was way too risky for it to happen.

Each leader soon placed a parchment, documents with clauses to be signed and discussed before the official summit which would be held rather soon.

Everyone was preparing to leave with the Devils first heading out, then the two Angels prepared to leave but Michael stopped in his tracks to hear something. He felt like he would get an answer finally to satiate his curiosity once and for all.

"Twenty years go a man stood up to protect his home and lost his life because of it. I will forever be grateful for the courage of one single man who tried to do something while the Angels did not. That man was Marcus Zeble,one of the six Heavenly Summoners..."

Those words struck him like lightning. That man, that very same man was one of the Heavenly Summoners. One who was above the rank of Paladin Lord, one specialized in summoning Angelic beings of Divine. The same rank and status like Touji Shidou, the third Heavenly Summoner and Vasco Strada, the Blade of Heavens. He could not believe it. There were no reports of any survivors in Cape Town back in 1995, this was impossible or not so much. His memories brought him back to those times.

He could remember two little boys playing on the farm with their father... Could it be? It had to be that...

"And that man was my father..."

Michael and Gabriel turned around lightning fast in disbelief, their reaction being absolutely the same in their hurry. Only that when they turned around there was no one left.

The Cadre were gone and there was never any trace of humans being here. Michael and Gabriel would not remember the existence of those three humans no matter how they tried. They did not exist. They were never at this meeting.

Or atleast that's what the Devils and Angels believed. They remembered nothing of having met them. Those who lurk in the shadows like ghosts, the ghosts that hide in the night...

XXX

The Phenex peerage had already finished with their game after a few minutes had passed with the team of Ravel,Asia and Riser plus some of his girls winning against Yubeluna's team in an almost equally matched fight. They did put up quite a good fight no doubt with Yubeluna receiving several passes that hit her in the face(courtesy of Ravel), but nevertheless lost by a difference of two points in the long run. And now it was time to hit the jacuzzi for some while the rest decided to chill in the pool. Aside from one bored dragon.

Issei sighed as he flipped out his Xperia E1 to check something on the news or rather read some hentai like a boss. Nobody called him usually unless it was for a job by one of his associates on the second number as he used the dual sim version of his phone. Only when there was work did he get calls or when it was necessary for others like Asia or Ravel to call, heck even Gremory had his number but he never called her or saved her number as there was no need. So all in all no one really called him unless there was a reason for it.

He didn't lift up his eyes to see the girls playing around in the pool neither anything else as he was consumed in fiddling with his phone like anyone else in the planet who didn't feel like they fitted in. And even now he didn't feel like he had a place with them,it didn't feel right or made him feel good about it. They were having fun perfectly without him so why should he disturb them when they spoke just a few lines every day and there were days where they didn't speak at all. It was uncomfortable, these strangers made him feel so out of place.

 _"I knew that i had no place among these people. There was nothing else but that which i always knew to be true for myself. Even if they really did want me there i didn't think it would make any difference whether being present or not would change anything. I just had to be reminded of it again and again, another battle for another day. Living with three girls isn't bad but it would never be the same like it was... There's no point in trying to think of those times. It was useless..."_

Issei sighed again as he leaned back on his chair and closed his eyes to shut off the light. His phone was in his right hand, the other was left freely on his chest in a moment of relaxation to focus on thinking. The rest didn't matter, the girls seemed to have fun without him so everything was fine. It was always the same thing over and over again. Being left out.

 _"Everybody needs a hug from time to time? If you only knew what was under this skin, you'd never even wish to try again. Maybe it's true but i don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable... Or someone invading my personal space and squeezing me like some stuffed animal."_ just the last thought made him shiver, Himejima's hands were quite touchy when it came to that. He may have ogled them but he didn't touch so he did the lesser evil if it was ever evil to relax,take a good look at some hot girls and smile like a creep.

It was just sort of fun watching Riser and Ravel throwing bottles in the air and making use of them as a shooting practice, Asia trying to keep the siblings safe while a mature Xuelan awaited at the corner of the pool,half submerged into the water.

"Watch and be astonished ladies for this bottle is going down for real." elegantly, almost elated to the point of nirvana,Ravel held in her hands two bottles of some cheap vodka in preparation to throw them up in the air. For once she let her childish habit of making things burn out of it's leash as it brought quite the enjoyment to the dignified Phenex girl.

The signal was given as the girls in the pool stared at the ceiling above their heads in anticipation. Riser ignited his right fist in swirling flames with a highly specialized spell he created on his own,taking inspiration from the fire spell Issei had used against him to ignite his blood in that last charge, and aimed at the ceiling. Ravel nodded appreciatively despite Asia's worries and threw both bottles up high in one swing.

"It's time to rumble. How you like that?" the older Phenex shot at the bottles in midair, striking both at the same time in making them explode like napalm by having mixed in a small quantity of his blood. It was beautiful, the glass burst into thousands of shiny specks like rain,with the lights casting down light upon them in a spectacle of magnificent destruction. No matter how many times they did it,it was always cool to see it happen every single time. Thankfully those small pieces of glass were evaporated before they could strike anyone in the eye.

"I don't quite think it's right to blow things up like that." as the voice of reason, Asia tried her best in trying to make them stop at first sight, that is. Her eyebrows were raised in a questioning expression of not amused until the next words she said gave it away. "You need to make it big. Flashier, smashing, and finally but not least with more finesse. But enough about that, let's just have fun."

"I believe you are right, miss Argento. Enough is enough", he looked at his sister and Asia in a mental command - it was basically let's hit the jacuzzi. He wanted his sister to feel happy and the same applied to Asia. He took it upon himself to make them feel better and relaxed, his reputation and the general opinion of him were actually quite incorrect. He had a good heart deep down inside, his looks and arrogance were deceiving and a mere facade to appear before others. In private he was quite likeable and a gentleman but still had his arrogant gait as it was a part of who he is.

The three hopped into the jacuzzi within 30 seconds and as a true player/brother leaned back with his arms behind Ravel and Asia,who didn't mind at all.

 _"Those two look like a couple. No wonder Phenex told the receptionist they were husband and wife. Atleast it was fun getting out a reaction from the Tsundere Sniper."_

Issei continued to stare at the ceiling after having averted his eyes from that direction. It wasn't bad but it wasn't just right for him, it didn't feel like that with 13 other strangers nearby to spectate their shenanigans. Atleast he had his phone nearby.

Like there was a better time than this for it to vibrate and the notification light to flash light blue. It was the notification for receiving messages which usually didn't happen aside from his informant,either by computer or by text messages. The one who warned them from the shadows,the unknown. He had sent out a message only a few times and that was back then. So why the hell did someone decide to write now. Was it a new warning or some work?

"Just my luck. Never mind, it'd be good if it pays well." and he took the smartphone and unlocked it's screen to experience a surprise.

 _\- Are you sleeping? It's so annoying to spend money on roaming when you don't use Twitter, Facebook or even Skype. So are you still awake?_

Issei didn't use social media like those. He still liked YouTube atleast and some good hentai sites, random stuff and etc. Depending on the need. But he didn't quite expect his only female client to actually message him. They usually used different types of communication but she still had his number so why not use it,right?

 _"Fine. I will answer your questions. It's not every day i get a message from someone that isn't about work or perilous events_ _._ _"_

 _\- Not sleeping at all since i replied. So what do you need me for? I'm quite heavy on the schedule so i don't know if it's possible._

 _\- I just wanted to see how you were doing. No need to act so professional._

That act was something he didn't clearly expect. He wasn't used to it, he didn't really chat with anyone to be precise. He would just give a call from time to time to Matsuda and Motohama as they spend time a lot so there was no need for messages. He did wonder how those were doing without him, once he got back they'd make up for the lost time.

 _\- How's work going, what are you doing now?_

 _\- Just sitting around on a chair and acting as a babysitter near the pool. Nothing much. I expect to return home in a day or two._

 _\- I see. Did you take pictures? It's sort of a pity for not having gone to the pool when there was the time for it. Oh,well._

 _\- Did you need to ask that? And i don't go to the pool, i can't and i don't. It's just part of the job, it's in the paycheck so i can't exactly bitch about it._

 _\- When i think about it... Payment is still not delivered...Wait, I've got an idea. Wait a few minutes, I'll be back in a moment._

 _"Time for something weird or absolutely dreadful to see. These things never go well with me."_

He waited for a few minutes, anticipating something horrendously wrong to burn his eyes like the scorching sun, calmly assessing the dangers to his mind in preparation for the worst to happen.

Only that it didn't happen.

 _\- It's not much but works,right? I hope it would brighten up your mood a little. But don't show it to anyone else, I'm doing this just once as a payment. It's only for you_ _._

His eyes were glued to the screen. It wasn't anything creepy or damaging. She had sent him a picture! Something he actually wanted to see - how she made the connection didn't matter. Her willingness did.

 _\- Enjoy. Nothing beats a swimsuit, right?_

She had sent him a picture of her in a swimsuit. She knew he was a fan of swimsuits so she took the time to change and wear one for him. A small payment but done from the heart.

She was standing towards the mirror in a rather tense pose with her expression saying what she thought - a hesitant but not against it warm smile, an embarrassed glint in her eyes and yet a coy, hot look of appeal did she have. A mix between hesitation and a small dose of smugness gave her a really cute and sexy outlook, a look good enough to mess him up totally. Even something as far as a embarrassed wink did not escape his eyes. Long brown hair in a high ponytail with a pink thin scrunchee adorned her beautiful tresses in the best hairstyle that looked just right for her face.Her sidelocks and bangs were neatly styled in framing her face,not too long neither short. Her breasts were round and full, just the shape Issei liked best with their roundness being superb. Smooth and fair skin, a slender attractive waist and nice legs made his head spinning. Now he had an even better sight of her cleavage, just the right amount and roundness to please his trained eye of an expert.

Just the very pose made the brown haired boy smile with a genuine feeling of satisfaction, matching the cheesy smile she had. And he especially liked her choice of attire - her wonderful boobs as he would say,were held by a black two piece top.  
It was hot,the way the triangular pieces glued to her skin was just right. One with strings and layered ruffles going down the fabric in a delectable way,framing her upper body in a really nice way. He was a fan of the black color, and even more of ruffles so it was just perfect in his eyes. Not a scandalous swimsuit, it had just the right amount of fabric and skin to bare. No ribbons or hanging strings, the bottom was of the same color but she wore cut out denim shorts to make it even sexier. Truly that derrière was godly in denim shorts!

Unlike the unnatural beautiful ladies of the Occult Research Club, Sayaka was just a normal girl like Xuelan. That's what he liked the most - normal girls who were not inhumanly, outrageously beautiful and too distant to even dream of. Still the combo of a bikini and denim shorts was the best but what he liked the most were her warm, green eyes to which he would never admit out loud. What most mattered to him was personality and she had it in heaps.

 _\- Well... It's not much but it's better than nothing, i guess. It took me a lot of contemplation to think over what might work as payment and it wasn't easy, you know... Thanks for that night. It means a lot._

 _\- Just doing my job. No need to thank me,Takeyama. And it's more than enough actually. Honestly, it made me smile. You don't get that every day._

His thoughts raced back to that very moment where the blonde Devil kicked him hard in the behind and accidentally made him kiss the girl. He never wanted that to happen, he didn't want to embarass her but blame it on Kiba. Just thought of that moment made him feel so conflicted as it was just because of the booze and not out of anything, it was out of his comfort zone and in contradiction of his work as a service provider. The worst part was it actually felt good. He drowned that memory deep down as to avoid any further pain. If he raised his hopes they would be crushed mercilessly. Of course it reminded him of one other girl which did the same out of being emotionally affected. He hadn't called her in a while.

 _\- So this means our contract is terminated. I doubt you would want to sign another one..._

 _\- You know, it's really hard for me to say it but I don't want anything happening to you so... Let's make another contract. If you're willing to stick with someone like me._

There was no answer for a minute. She didn't say anything more...

 _"Nothing different than before. Nothing wrong with it being like that. It was bound to happen from the start so why even think of it. I was almost at the point of feeling a tiny bit of something. I knew it would never be that or end well. A hundred battles i have fought but when it's about losing I'm number one."_

 _\- I accept your offer. I want you to be my friend, no one else but just you as my contractor. Thank you for everything you've done for me, Issei. I can't express how much things have changed for me._

 _\- Don't thank me. There's no need for that,just doing my job._

 _\- But you still can't say my name. You avoid saying it,always formal and treating it as work. Come on,you already grabbed my ass once but you still can't say my name! What's with that? Oh,and your palms are sweaty._

 _\- It's not my fault for them being like that. That was just accidental. Plus you were drunk at that time and you even did the same. Ok,this is awkward. I need to get back to work._

 _\- Fine. Keep what i sent you safe. Once you get back home let's meet up. Oh and i don't mind what you do with it, it's flattering actually if you do. So goodnight and sleep well, Issei._

 _-Sweet dreams and goodnight. Saya_

As a response she sent him another picture, but this time turning around in a different angle with one hand holding her bangs and twisting enough, giving him a good look at those awesome shorts he liked so much. And a really meek and sexy smile. If the first was from the front, this one was from the other side. Even her back was nice, Issei had grown to appreciate everything. He was a newborn Assman, worthy of the praise of a certain Chairman. Even Vali would be proud.

"Just like one flamboyant Ghoul would say - Tres Bien. That's my El Dorado." he quietly murmured to himself. Instead of using what could be said to be over the top, he did it quietly with none of the necessary gestures of based Tsukiyama. He always laughed when alone in remembering those scenes. Still the way he said was awfully wrong.

"She looks kinda cute. Is she your girlfriend by any chance?" a female voice rang into his ears. It was quite sweet with a sexy timbre in it. Not too sweet and not to heavy but having that devilish feeling to it's sound. Definitely not a good sign.

He looked up stressed out and only saw with his peripheral vision what appeared to be the Pawn of Riser, Marion standing behind him and curiously watching his actions. He had ignored her presence so far as she did the same, believably due to his lack of presence. Still creeped him out.

"Not at all. She's just a", he found it hard to say what she was. Not an acquaintance neither a friend exactly, and by no means having a relationship with her. "Never mind that. I don't have a girl by my side. I am single and i never had a girlfriend before. It's impossibly hard to imagine that. So what do you need me for?" defensively he said with some strained voice at her. Luckily he had a large towel over his legs just in case as in fact 'that' happened.

Marion immediately bowed down with respect, "Please forgive me for having judged you on your appearance. It was wrong of me to have prejudice based on trivial matters. We humbly apologize for that." Marion was actually quite nice and quick to apologize for her mistakes. She raised her head up while holding a small bag behind her back.

"It's no big deal actually. I'm used to it anyway.", he made a wry, creepy and uncomfortable half smile in disbelief but there was some resignation in it. People apologizing to him wasn't exactly his thing so he waved her off, there was nothing further to say.

"You're rather reserved in your words. You don't seem to enjoy talking a lot from what i could see. And you don't seem to be having fun", she made a lackadaisical gesture while still being behind his back, "just as they said."

Issei sighed. It was not his thing to talk with strangers. "What they could have told you, don't believe it. It's all subjective so if there's nothing else to say just go and have your fun." he did try to make her understand he didn't want to disturb her.

"They said you would say something like this. I am here to deliver a message from Lady Phenex and Lord Phenex for you." Marion made a really nice expression; there was something especially nice about her eyes. They had a really positive and somewhat goofy vibe to them with her expression being really sweet actually. She had a devil's smile and an angel's eyes which meant it was something to be wary of.

"And as an apology i offer you these homemade chocolate cookies. Please take them as i put a lot of effort into making them." he didn't see her expression nor did he turn around from embarrassment to look at her as she lowered the bag of cookies to his shoulders.

"Thanks but you should give them to someone else. And don't apologize; I'm not used to it anyway." rather dull and disinterested he was when he said that. There was nothing free in this world.

"Don't be like that. I spent good time in making them so atleast one bite?" she made a plea as she shaked the bag with cookies near his face. She was rather persistent in her attempt to make him accept those cookies. Until he finally gave in and took one.

The moment he took a bite,to her delight, he felt something stirring in his soul. These cookies were horrible! Deadly and a bit burnt, he loved making sweets and pastry but this was abominable.

 _"Is this girl trying to kill me? Oh,god this could even kill a Bahamut with one bite! It's totally going to kill me if i have another one."_ and he munched with difficulty, facing towards the pool to notice Shuriya's terrified gaze, focused onto the deadly cookies. She was telling him with gestures not to eat any of those if he wanted to live.

Even Sona wasn't this bad with making sweets(ok,she made abominable cakes for her late peerage), the dancer girl even made a gesture to put them away.

After having eaten that cookie, he left the bag on the nearby table and faked having enjoyed it not to cause more nuisances to deal with. It was done from the heart maybe so he took it even if it was with hesitation. But the thing that made the biggest impression was that he didn't even turn around to see her; he actually had a really good reason. Hence the towel over his legs.

"My Lord wishes to invite you to a family dinner with us,a political meeting between you and them to be precise." she began in a serious tone. "They would like to talk with you about something private. And also to apologize for the way you were treated by Lady Phenex. She really is sorry for having been so rude to you and desires to mend that mistake." it was true actually.

"That's the message i was tasked with to deliver."

He nodded. Of course there was something between the lines like to marry their daughter to improve the relationship between Gremory and Phenex. All in all to draft him to their side as gratitude for everything he has done. "I don't think i can marry Phenex. It's pretty obvious why they would invite me since i heard before from the big Phenex. So i decline", he stressed on the improbability of marriage with everything he had. They weren't close like people, it was all business to him since one day he's here, another he may be gone and it would only cause problems.

Marion interjected,"I can understand your point of view quite well to be honest. Marrying a Pureblood Devil is not easy but who said it meant only miss Ravel?" that was intentional for sure. Riser did forgot to mention his mother wouldn't mind having the dragon marry a girl, even if it weren't Ravel, yet still she preferred it to be Ravel.

"Members of our master's peerage are also eligible for marriage if you were to pick one of them. And once again sorry for having underestimated you and thought of you so badly."

Seriously this girl loved to apologize.

"So let me get this straight", skeptical of most things in life Issei wanted a precise answer to this statement. It smelled of bullshit. That had to be an exaggeration. " You're saying i can marry one of these girls if necessary? Anyone? I doubt that to be true. I did beat your peerage quite good so i doubt it." things were getting a bit uncomfortable for him. No denying it,even this girl behind him was making him feel out of place. "Plus i doubt someone wanting to take in some bastard like me. They're too good for people like me." he snickered.

"I see. I'm curious on something - why did you choose Xuelan exactly? I know she can be tough and blunt but what reason did you have in choosing her." the brunette was no doubt curious. Taking a Bishop or a Knight would have been much better in her mind. "That we are curious of."

Issei hunched forward to think and gave a dull reply. "I needed someone to spar with. Good defense and fast. She seemed like the right one to me." he placed his hand over to his chin, "and she's quite hot to add. I had a feeling we would get along just fine.It was some form of attraction,a feeling of making the right choice. There you have it so can you stop acting all chummy with me?" snarky as ever he replied with some annoyance in his tone.

Marion felt a bit taken aback by his tone but pressed forward. A tenacious one she was. "Who else was in your top 3 choices?"

"Let me see. That girl with the dark hair,Bürent. The catgirls but i didn't want to separate them, Isabela or Marion. Those i would have chosen from." the sharpness in his voice grew as tinges of arousal mixed in his voice. "Especially the last one. I like her eyes - has that evil goofy vibe to them. Which i totally dig in a girl. Not too nice but not too bitchy. She's hot and my type." and with that he ended the sentence.

He sensed the girl getting closer behind him.

"Then why didn't you choose me?"

He froze. This was one of the possibilities but to get such a question wasn't taken in account.

"I don't think i could answer that." he was unnerved. It was confusing to him, he feared something and it came true - this girl just managed to get through his defenses with one simple question.

"You can still make a change if necessary. Also", she was timid all of a sudden, "thanks for thinking I'm hot. It's flattering to hear that. Also turn around atleast once, there's no need to hide your face from me."

That last one was an invitation he tried resisting but gave in with time. Rotating his neck to turn around he saw her devious smile. What was more striking was the fact that she had changed her white one piece which was similar to Asia's for something that couldn't be anything but intentional. She tried to smile atleast but it felt rather awkward with everyone in the pool nearby. Even as far as trying to appear bashful when it totally did not go with her appearance.

This girl had switched her one piece with a red ruffled triangular top that gave a nice view of her cleavage, her stomach had a navel piercing to add some spice and she wore denim shorts to complete the look. She had left her hair down with no headband which totally made a difference. The thing was that she wore the exact same swimsuit like the one she saw on his phone. If it wasn't intentional then what was?

Sparkles and flowers from demonic energy were around her as a background to which he only responded in disbelief. This seemed really suspicious from the start with how she was tasked in delivering a message and asking him things. It was an interview he noticed but just her smile and the really meek and somewhat predatory look told him everything.

This girl was trouble. The trouble that was love at first sight.

"Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, Mikorin's background!"

"Oh and i like Love Live too. My favorites are Nozomi and Eli, Honkers not too much but still on the list."

"Ok", he nodded up and down distrustful, "I like those too. You have good taste."

She moved forward and grabbed a chair to sit on while keeping a small distance between the chairs but still close. Just as she acted cute and all she switched to a serious look with her intentions being clear. "Most people think of our master as some scumbag but little did they know about his peerage. We were never forced to join, it was all done willingly if you're curious."

"I see. For me it was different but atleast I'm alive... For now." she overlooked that one. "I never wanted to be a Devil but it happened. Even though I'm a Pawn to Gremory, I am a freelancer so once i find a way to get the leash off I'll totally ditch her. Did you wanted to be a Devil or you were forced by circumstances."

"You could say that", the brunette couldn't help but sigh as a sense of melancholy took ahold of her. It was easy to spot her emotions, she wore her feelings on a sleeve so it obviously painful. "I used to be a ballerina three years ago before i suffered a car crash. My parents survived but there was no possibility of me surviving the surgery or ever walking again. But miracles do happen as Lord Riser came to my room and gave me a choice which i took. He even gave my parents work in one of their companies, financial support and etc."

All of the Phenex peerage were recruited willingly with the man even helping out those who had families and taking care of their financial needs. The act of giving an Evil Piece to his own sister was also a good strategy - she was a born Devil so she couldn't mutate from becoming a Stray, the Homing Beacon and Tracking function of the Evil Pieces made sure if she was in trouble for Riser to immediately rush to her location and protect her by locking on her location and teleporting there. Also the Bishop Piece further strengthened her abilities in giving her an edge against others.

The man was smart and carefully used his Pieces on his peerage unlike Rias - Akeno was far more suitable to be a Bishop, Kiba as a Rook would have a better defense in being a swordsman while Issei could have been a Queen but the Pawn Piece was more versatile to him. The Queen was an all rounder but lacked the specialization of an individual piece. It may be naturally stronger with a worth of 9 for any other traits but a Pawn had a worth of the other traits when promoted to a higher level than the Queen. Otherwise those promotions to the three other pieces would be useless as most would promote to Queen.

"Mira suffered from poverty, her father was a serial killer till our master saved her and her mother. Isabela had a really fragile body with atleast 57 bone fractures. The glass person syndrome but even then it couldn't heal the burns on her face for some reason." Marion told him about how the lives of some of the girls were. Not all of them had tragic pasts, some were lucky and had good lives.

"I prefer him to Gremory. It's good that he didn't get to marry her, he needs a different kind of girl.", whimsically he voiced out his opinion on that matter. The man wasn't bad at all,just arrogant and having a bad reputation but he was a bro down to the core. He took out a cigarette because he felt like it and prepared to light it up.

Marion acted courteous and ignited a flame from her index finger to act as a lighter and extended her hand to him. He used it to burn the tip and inhaled the vapors of smoke before exhaling. This was something he was curious of.

"Fire Affinity or just a simple spell? It feels like Phoenix Fire but only Pureblood Phenex family members have it. So would you explain?" he knew there were other functions of the Pieces and this one had caught his attention before. Learning something new was just like him.

Marion leaned forward and stared into his eyes. By that movements did they bounce. With a one piece it was a bit harder but with that red top it just happened and she was hot alright. It was all on purpose given these hints. He looked away as he turned to the other side to avoid her which somewhat upset her.

"Master Riser found a way to reincarnate us with the added ability of channeling Phoenix Fire through the link the Pieces share. It serves as a proxy, giving us the flames of a phoenix through this link. But he cuts out a part of his power when we use it." it was a good lecture he believed it to be. Rias could possibly channel her Power of Destruction through her Pieces to grant a limited use of it to her servants to gain an advantage

Ravel's piece wasn't cut up from the link,there was no need for that while Xuelan's piece had to be and made that way but could reconnect with the younger Phenex girl for her to use the Phoenix Flames and a boosted recovery but not that much as to be called regeneration. This hypothesis could be used to have others connect with his Pawn Pieces and gain access to extra energy or even an improved recovery. While also being able to perform Composition Magic which was 9th tier and required atleast three people to cast. And luckily they were more than 3.

"That is actually cool and useful. Could totally come in handy." were the only words he said.

It became quiet for a while. Actually it was rather enjoyable to be only silence and nothing else but silence. Things were so hectic and weird as of lately that this moment of peace was dreadful for it was the calm before the storm. It was a common thing as it happened always, every single time something went wrong as per Murphy's Laws. That was what worried him to no ends.

He couldn't rest even if he closed his eyes.

Everyone else leisurely leaned back over their chairs on the other side of where the Pawn stood, not wanting to be near him for they were traumatized and fearful of every action he could undertake. Asia sort of leaned on the edge of the jacuzzi to rest her head, Ravel sat tired on the tiles, Riser stared at the ceiling with no care in the world. It was a tranquil scenery.

"You mentioned about being a freelancer, right? What services do you provide?" breaking off from the silence, the female Pawn asked with interest about his activities. She was trying to start up a conversation with him despite it being rather weird but decided to try anyway. What's to lose?

Boringly Issei opened his eyes and stated his services in a mechanical manner. "Courier services, ordering a hit, retrieving lost items, acting as an arbiter, diplomacy, personal affairs, escort, killing stuff, blowing up things and flaming them up. All kinds of services but nothing disgusting. We all need money to live and eat." just the mention of that gave him goosebumps. If he didn't get any payment he wouldn't have water or electricity for a month, no food and certainly no wi-fi. Internet connectivity was of utmost importance to him.

 _"Damn it Hilda,why Vegas and Caesar's Palace exactly?! I'm almost broke."_

Marion was surprised at some of the tasks he did. Didn't quite picture him as the diplomatic type or as a delivery man. She even laughed at the thought of him in a delivery suit or as a handyman. It looked hilarious in her eyes but she stopped as it made him feel uncomfortable. She wasn't bad at all,she was a nice girl which usually worked in her favor but this time it couldn't.

She fixed her hair with her left hand and grabbed a glass from the table near her chair. Everyone had drank to liven up the mood so it was her time to enjoy some alcohol. There was truth in wine and bacteria in water as a fellow club mate of Issei's would say. Marion poured herself a glass of tequila and took a small sip of it before leaving it back on the table.

She turned towards his way with the intention of asking something. She received the confirmation she required to do so and it was time to set things in motion. "How much do you charge for escort and company?"

Even going as far as to look innocent, the former ballerina asked cutely with calling forth her wallet in preparation for the appropriate sum for that task. She fiddled with the wallet, searching for her credit card until she found it and waved it in the air.

The dragon took notice of that and judging by the type of credit card she used looked at her with dead serious eyes like a reanimated corpse by the sound of money. Everyone loved and needed money. Those who said they didn't need money to be happy were the ones who never had financial troubles and didn't know their value. In a way money was the god everyone followed ever since their creation.

His monotone voice had some life in it,a refined sense to address her with utmost care as it was a good offer. "I won't charge you much even if i am in a financial crisis. So where exactly do you need to be escorted." he avoided saying her name as they were strangers, a client and provider.

She placed her fingers on her chin, thinking of the best way to use this to her advantage and make it impossible to reject. "Kuoh City. There is a place i wish to visit."

He nodded. "Payment upon completion or half now,the other half later? I'm fine with both ways for such a small task.", unlike Rias he was conscious of how much he spent,always trying to save money for something special. Having savings was important as relying on others for money was awful. New equipment, materials and etc required currency.

"After completing the task. And i would like to get to know you. Your eyes are disgusting. Like something dead walking and they are creepy.", it was some sort of mixed reaction which totally matched her face. As far as he could tell her expression was serious and before he could even say something else, "I like it. For some reason i think they suit you well, that disgusting perverted glint. The creepy stare of some animal looking at me. I like it."

Some things weren't as they looked like.

"Thanks. Everyone says that." he didn't care much about it.

"I'll be frank with you", she crossed her arms and made a dignified expression of smug and mighty, "have miss Phenex or her Rook back to our master's side. In return for that i will take their place as the deal cannot be revoked." the way she said it was wrong on a decent level. Even more as her face went all soft and mellow despite the stern voice she used to express her belief for the wellbeing of her fellow Devils.

"They are free to leave whenever they want. And by that do you mean-

"I want to be a hot bride too,you know? It was some feeling, i want to be carried like a princess and to be saved from an ugly bitch by a dashing hero. Let's just say i want to see what kind of a person you are. So yes, i am greedy and i want a dragon for myself to complete the phoenix-dragon set of mine. Maybe we should totally hang out and see how it goes."

"What's this bullshit about wanting a dragon to fill your set? I'm not a collectible and i can't do that to Phenex. It's not like it's anything out of love or that." he protested.

She didn't quite enjoy being denied. Greed was her strongest vice from all seven, be it money,privilege,pride or simply desire. She wanted many things and would usually get them with time.

"It was love at first sight!" cupping her cheeks like a little child, more flowers formed to suit as a background as her smile turned devious.

"I can't just take Phenex's favorite. It's not my thing-

"Ah,hell no! This is unacceptable! I'm not going to be the least likable one of the bunch." from the other side cried out the Queen. Bombs of energy formed around her as she raised her index finger in the air to deliver retribution. The rest of the peerage were mobilized on the get go to straighten things out with the damn handsome. For all it took, Riser was definitely screwed. Not even his sister could hold them off forever if they attacked in the span of the next few seconds. "Charge and make that pretty boy pay for his transgressions!"

And with nothing but a vicious war cry every girl plunged at the stunned blonde.

"So what do say?" in the commotion the Pawn turned around to persuade the Gremory Pawn, actually force,to change places which for her bad luck didn't happen. He wasn't in the place anymore, he slipped away with doing the bitch move.But atleast made a strong barrier to save the big Phenex's ass from getting handed to him.

Still Marion pouted like crazy. "Not fair! I didn't get a way to contact him for the payment. Ah,maybe next time."

And this was just the beginning of madness. _What_ _happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas..._


	19. Omake 2

Omake N2: Summer Days, A Night to Remember

24th June,Kuoh Academy rooftop, Friday, 13:35 pm, 2016

It was a fine day or so you could say. The sun was high in the sky, the warm rays of the life giving star basked every crevice of the Earth with an unimaginable heat since it was summer. No clouds were present in the bluish sky as a matter of fact. It was just a regular, boring, dull, slow day like any other day there was for the trio of Matsuda, Motohama and Issei who were casually sitting on the concrete floor of the school roof with nothing but food to keep them company over mulling about the boring day it was.

But with summer there was joy. Short sleeved uniforms, ice cream, the beach or the local pool were screaming for them to go visit and have fun. But alas, there was no money for that. They were broke for the week and it was only Friday. Having spent atleast half of the money they received for the next week, the trio continued to mumble about how foolish they were in spending their money on some good quality merchandise.

"See? If we just had waited until next week, we could have totally been going to the pool. But i guess it happens." the glasses wearing boy reluctantly admitted to having been caught up in this purchase for god knows what yet he didn't mind it so much. Only that he regretted having used up so much money for something like that when there was something else to use them for. It was a special day actually but he had a backup plan for cases like these.

Issei remained quiet while munching down on some homemade sandwich with a pack ton of meat in between the slices of bread, a orange Fanta was near his legs in remaining unopened as he was immersed in thought over something. It was something he didn't want anyone else knowing about. Not that anyone would care actually for it was the day he was born,namely his birthday was today, a hot summer day of 24th June which he clearly didn't celebrate.

He had stopped celebrating his birthday ever since that night in October, 2013 but it wasn't just that to be precise. Most of his birthdays were nothing to speak of; on that day despite having invited people to celebrate with him only his two fellow outcasts had always arrived to keep him company as the rest always made excuses in trying not to associate with him for he was too lame in their eyes. He would have continued that habit of spending time with the duo and his parents at home on these days but things changed beyond recognition. It was a day he loathed with everything he had in his shriveled heart, he stopped caring about it and just went out with the two to discuss episodes and bitch about poorly written Light Novels of the generic type at Matsuda's home. And he still wore crocs with white socks till this day which horrified his two mates severely.

Even if it was comfortable it was still in a dreadful sense out of place but who cared anyway?

Matsuda scratched his head in awkwardness or much more out of feeling the sun scorch his head like an egg on the asphalt. "Sorry about that. I know we shouldn't have bought that but can you blame me? That thing was beyond cool...", uncomfortable with the pressuring gaze the bespectacled Motohama gave him, he carefully chose his words not upset him or to ruin the surprise they had prepared. It was something they had used the last of their money to buy for Issei in hoping he would appreciate it.

"So are you two free tonight? We could use some quality time together like on that night", his smile grew slightly when remembering about the time they went to a strip club with a special escort, that Lamborgini Murcielago was still on his mind as it was a night to remember. "...so are you up for it? Maid cafe...catgirls edition?"

It was like a command. A burning desire awakening deep into the souls of men- the marvel that was the catgirl, a desire for something so pure and yet animalistic in it's nature, leading back to the primal state of mind humans once had in the long forgotten past. Motohama stood up with pride and fixed his glasses which shone with light and Matsuda went behind him immediately to do the Gendo Ikari pose they were rather famous for doing at times. Times of debauchery and serious situations. Issei stopped eating to stare once before slumping back into finishing his meal as if it were something unimportant.

"Honestly, i didn't want to go out but i can't refuse that. You didn't need to do something like that." his brows scrunched downwards in reluctance, rather a disdain for going out but even if he didn't celebrate he would not let their effort go to waste. It would have been a grave sin not to go, "...but even so i just don't think i really feel like going. It's not the same..." his tone became rather melancholic with each word expressed with sadness. It wouldn't be the same like spending time with his parents like before, his joy of birthdays robbed away from him with their tragic deaths. Despite everything, Matsuda knelt down to him and patted him on the shoulder in expressing concern.

"It's not the same... I know...but you should do it for them. They wouldn't have wanted you to be sad and miserable." the short haired boy tried to smile but it didn't happen at all. His features were locked in a reluctant expression of either comfort or sickening misery for he liked both of Issei's parents, their deaths destroyed every little bit of harmony there was in life. Even if they had shitty lives they had their moments of happiness but with time it all changed. "Or maybe we should just hang out at my place and eat some food? Just the three of us?"

"Why not invite miss Phenex and Huang Chen? They don't hate us", the other boy proposed a wonderful idea. Ravel and Xuelan didn't hate them at all; rather they felt comfortable around them and would join them every day to eat lunch together at the roof and talk about life and other topics outside of the typical kind. Both girls didn't quite like the shallowness of their classmates or their superficial conversations about cosmetics,partying, boys and many other things.

"I believe they wouldn't mind if we invited them. Oh,who am i kidding. It's not like it's going to happen anyways."

 _"I'd rather not. We are strictly business and i hate birthdays. Plus it would be awkward for them to hang out with us_ _._ _"_

"There's no point in trying that. Let's just keep it between us, shall we?" the bald boy answered with a serious tone in admitting defeat. Even if they were fine with them it wouldn't have been right towards Issei as he never told them of his birthday and for nothing in the world would do that. So he shot down that idea with nothing but vigor in his words.

"Fine. So let's have that meeting at 21:00 pm tonight. I'll bring some juice and popcorn while someone bring a good film to watch after we return from that maid cafe." finally the brown haired Devil gave into their demands with nothing but making a shrug. His words were blunt and honest, he didn't lie to them but it meant he had to postpone his engagement with his client for another day. And prayed to anything out there for Himejima to never learn of this day for it would be disastrous. That girl was seriously touchy and pushy and loved to invade the private space of any unfortunate victim she set her eyes upon.

But just as it was time to go for class, Motohama suddenly pulled out his phone to check his messages as the smartphone vibrated violently in his pocket. He hated the sounds of notifications so he always had it on vibrate, it wasn't as annoying as hearing the sound ot something popping like a balloon. His fingers fiddled with the white HTC OnePlus 3 in typing a message fastidiously, sent it and returned the phone back to his pocket.

What he said next were encouraging words to the two.

"My mother won't be home tonight so it means that it's going to be peaceful. I've stashed some alcohol from dad under the mattress", truly the glasses wearing lad had prepared a treat for his compatriots as going as far to reserve a spot for his mother at some spa center for the night while his father went at his uncle's place to prepare for a trip.

A moment of contemplation passed as both boys carefully examined each word thoroughly, came upon a non verbal agreement and answered in unison to such a proposal. It was a day to drink and kill off the depression that usually lurked around them like a shroud of darkness over their souls.

"Fine then. I don't mind but still..." the bald boy's palms turned into fists as his voice trembled with resignation. He was the listening type who acted as the mediator between the other two and kept things in a respectable way but to see him like this meant only one thing. "...I wish we could get you more than just this... But we can't even give you a proper birthday which makes me feel like shit." it was a sad face of disappointment that had become his face.

He was a good friend, he always stood up for the other two and kept Issei company and helped him out as much as he could. Even spilling water on Murayama once to give them something like a wet t-shirt,uniform whatever like in that chapter of Prison School but didn't get out of it unscathed.

Issei felt uncomfortable. They had gone out of their way to do something important for him, to make him feel better and yet they felt it was not enough. He disliked birthdays but for this... He had to do something. His fingers tensed over the surface of the Fanta in a tight squeeze, his determination burning like a fire in his eyes. There weren't many occasions like this where there was a shred of passion in his boring eyes so this meant something big.

"No. It's more than enough for me. You've done enough. You deserve something special." sheer conviction echoed through his lips as if a hurricane had swept away his sadness. There stood a man who was wiling to do anything that would make it a night to remember.

Both looked at him frazzled and a tiny bit dumbfounded but hardened their resolve to the max level on the charts. Respect. It was respect they beamed back at his direction, the kind of respect soldiers had for one another. It was their night so it had to be decent atleast otherwise there would be no point to it.

"It would have been good if you could've gotten a kiss from a pretty girl atleast." the photographer pervert said with no hesitation neither any other feeling as if he were a machine and spewed words like a machine gun. "But it's impossible to get that even if we had the money. Even more so like inviting Murayama over for some drinks. She's a classical tsundere who cracks under peer pressure to feel accepted by the rest by forcing herself to hate men. I despise conformity like that..."

"It's pretty sad,don't you think." unapologetically Issei retorted with an amount of disgust in his tone. "To act like you are something better, to stand on high ground by acting like the rest just to have a spot amongst the rest out of fear for being labeled an outcast. Just to be a part of the crowd... people would pretend and hate something that is innate to all of us for what? Just to get a better place in the circle of gossip, superficiality, mandatory sacrifices for the simple fact of being a part of something..."

"Why can't people just be open and honest with their own lives and sexuality? Everyone has needs, everyone needs to satisfy their needs to feel happy. But to pretend and deny that fact is nothing but hypocrisy..." a shrill laugh escaped out of the bald boy's lips in an insulting manner with his eyes staring at the skies with a cold gaze. "It's not right to deny your desires for intimacy just because society says so. Women being treated badly with contempt just for the fact that they know what they want... To be labeled as improper by the rest for being aware and honest with their feelings. What's so wrong with people accepting that girls have their own wishes too?"

"It's because it's totally cool for a guy to have many girls since he's a stud but for a girl to hang out with many guys means they are a slut. Double standards, what can i say."

"Still, maybe we should try to beg Murayama to jest us with her presence for a few minutes? Do you have any cash?" it was nothing but another possibility by using the only God people followed, and that was money. Money made wonders in buying enjoyment which amounted to a type of happiness. And who said you can't buy happiness? Just having food on your table was something to be happy about.

"Won't work. Tsunderes are a type we don't want to mess with. Especially the ones who swing a wooden sword." wise words were those for the smack of wood against your ass was nothing but harsh retribution for all of the times things went wrong.

Issei sighed once more before standing up, "...it's time to head out for class. We'll talk about this another day." it was just his regular reply to things like that. The bell rang a few seconds ago so it meant it was high time they left the roof and get in gear for Literature.  
Professor Mayer was going to teach some Carmilla today as if it were quite the foreshadowing for this day.

"Fine. Let's get going. But it seems miss Phenex was sick today. I wonder why." both boys stood up with the emptied bottles of juice and used wrappers in slow strides behind Issei with the taller one going first.

The bespectacled Motohama waited for the moment Matsuda distracted Issei with some discussion about Eroge H! episode 6, namely his like for Momoka and her development from a sadistic man hater to the Best Girl of the series. It was something he believed to be worthy of another episode or atleast it was what it seemed to be. Mentioning Ravel was a diversion to get things going as he took out his phone and began typing as he walked slower than the other two, his attention being focused on delivering the only message that mattered...

 _ **[Did you get the provisions for tonight?]**_

Only for a familiar number to respond to him with a confirmation. It was Ravel Phenex herself.

 _ **[We're on our way to get it. Keep him occupied by 21:00 pm with everything possible. It all depends on your ability to distract him long enough for things to be ready. Let's make it the wildest party ever.]**_

Only a disgusting grin plastered itself onto his lips. It was what he wanted to hear from the blonde girl all along - her being sick was a ruse to go to the neighborhood to find that middle aged guy who sold special party makers at a low price. Xuelan left school a good 15 minutes ago to accompany her on her hunt and calling the ballerina of the Phenex peerage, Marion to act as a driver for Ravel, was a careful driver and Xuelan wasn't exactly the best there was at driving. After all, Marion drove safely and didn't hit the pedal to the metal like some of the rest. Especially Mira who loved high speed.

With nothing but a smile,he jotted down his short response and a question - _**[Be careful with that guy,he's sort on the mad side so don't take anything from his house. I wish you good luck and could you get someone pretty to give our man a kiss? Doesn't matter what, even on the cheek is totally fine.]**_

 _ **[There is nothing i can't do! Consider it done...and wear something nice. Don't let Matsuda wear white socks with crocs or i will blow my head off!]**_

 _"It seems we have decided to make things better for you, Issei. It's something you will remember for a long time ahead."_

"Are you coming or what?" the echo of the brown haired boy snapped him back to reality.

"Yeah,yeah. I'm right behind you." and with that the he went to chase after them with nothing but a promise on his mind. Who knows, Kiryu might show up too and he could score a date. Or rather hope Ravel would be benevolent and give him a hug for all of his hard work.

 _"It's time for some catgirls, my boys. It's show time..."_

XXX

24th June,Kuoh City, Neighborhood, Friday, 13:45 pm

The neighborhood was quite the peaceful one in comparison to other spots on the map of Kuoh City. It could be said the rate of crime was rather low as the supernatural and escaped convicts in the Devil Slum were only here to hide, avoiding detection by the authority and the Executors of the Vatican who hunted down mass murderers and the like since some were quite hard to catch by normal means. Still it was peaceful for the people enough in order to hide the truth from the face of the Earth so it was just another day of tranquility ever since things settled down a bit.

Atleast it was supposed to be that way...

The wild roar of an engine ripped loudly into the tranquil atmosphere of the neighborhood. It was something dreadful for those who were in their middle age but it would bring joy to those who were yet too young to drive. From the end of the street a black car made it's way to the nearest spot to stop for a moment. The black car was something you didn't see around here everyday - it was a luxurious sports car with an European registration plate on the back and the front, most likely belonging to some western rich guy or someone who was here for work. But what reason would there be for a car like this to be around this neighborhood?

As soon as the engine stopped, from the doors of a black BMW M760Li xDrive stepped out two girls in slow strides - from the left side Ravel went out gracefully with elegant steps on the asphalt, wearing a black mini skirt and a tight cyan blue t-shirt that stuck to her like a second skin. A small black purse hanged on her shoulders while she took a good look at her surroundings behind the black aviator shades she had on her face. From the right side exited Xuelan who had changed from her school uniform to a set of denim jeans and a simple white short sleeve top with black letters on the front. Both closed the doors on each side and stepped away from the car to prepare for the meeting.

The window on the left side slid down for the driver in question to speak up. From the opened window a beautiful girl with light brown locks showed her face through it, wearing a black headband with ruffles over her tresses and she shot a complacent look at the blonde Phenex girl as if she wanted to say 'hurry up and get on with it' for it may have been early but everything had to be done right. The driver in question was the former ballerina of the Phenex peerage, Marion who then looked straight at a nearby house a few minutes away from their current spot.

The car wasn't hers to be exact - it was property of Ruval Phenex, the eldest son of the Phenex family who had lent it to his sister for this occasion. At times Ravel liked to display the wealth of her family but she was yet to be taught on driving a car. Marion was a careful driver who disliked high speed despite driving such a powerful machine in contrast to Mira, who was the wildest driver among everyone. At times Riser feared for his life if the staff wielding girl was at the steering wheel so he preferred Marion as his chauffeur for the sake of traveling safely. Always having to use a magical circle had grown to bore the Phenex siblings so they wanted something different to try to break free from the same old routine.

"I'll be waiting right here, miss Ravel. After this we have to see the progress made by Gremory. I hope the pool should be done in an hour or two." despite her attempt at trying to remain nonchalant, the Pawn was rather enthusiastic for tonight as she couldn't hide her blush any longer. Almost no one knew what day it was today aside from the three girls, or atleast that's what it appeared to be.

It wasn't a loud yell by no means necessary. It was simply put enthusiastic and swirling with restrained glee, ready to blow up like a bomb and sweep everything in it's path of detonation. To that Xuelan responded with nothing but a mild nod of approval before she took a step further and walked away down the street with Ravel behind her back.

With each step further away the two girls reached a typical, if not a bit big house with a small garden at the front. It was nothing remarkable if one were asked to describe this building; words like boring,ugly or just typical were the best at capturing the spirit of this living abode of one man and his beloved dog at the back. It was run down at some places but nevertheless it did not matter to them. They had business with the inhabitant of the house and not the house itself.

"Money check! Persuasion check!" were the words the blonde Devil mumbled under her breath as she plowed through her purse in search for a stash of money. It was money she had earned all by herself from assignments and half of them were just a small amount of the sum she won over poker at Las Vegas.

Winning 80k proved to be a lengthy battle in which she had to rely on her luck only as one of the dealers was a Devil who was really keen on fairness. That son of a bitch still made it hard for her just so she would bet everything she had and lose but it didn't happen. She only won the big prize.

"This is the place, it seems. Just as Matsuda said." Xuelan looked over the wooden fence and opened the door to enter. She had asked for some assistance from the bald boy but never questioned his knowledge on this subject.

They were practically going over at this house to buy from a dealer, called Big Smoke Lewis, something light in broad daylight. That's why they had left and didn't go to school today. It had to be a surprise but buying things like these was a suggestion by one womanizing Governer of the Fallen who had shown them the streets, to prepare them and give them swagger to compete with Mick Jagger.

With the steps of battle hardened warriors they passed through the doorway and found themselves at the front lawn. What caught Ravel's eyes was a miniature gnome statue standing on the left side of the lawn with a flute in it's hands. She seemed to have taken a liking to it but kept it together and pressed forward. She couldn't fall under the temptation, she must not waver in the face of a battle.

Ringing on the doorbell two times as the signal, both waited for the owner of the house to open up the door and welcome them in. After atleast two minutes of waiting like a bunch of idiots, the door opened up slowly with a ominous screech of rusted metal on a surface of granite stone in one nasty cold sound of ear grating madness.

As the door opened slowly a man of considerable height revealed himself before the young girls. Rather unruly and most likely with questionable taste, the man took a good look at both with his eyes half asleep before having managed to say something. Wearing nothing but a red checkered shirt over a white wifebeater and cargo pants, Big Smoke Lewis raised a brow in confusion over their visit which puzzled Xuelan to no ends.

"What can i do for you, ladies? I don't think you've come to the right place if you ask me." the man replied with a dull voice, questioning their reason for being here. "If you're with those charity agencies,i already signed the documents."

"…We are here to buy." Ravel said. "I heard you are the best in town. Or is it not true?" she blinked twice as in testing his mettle, acting respectful but yet at the same time she played nicely in trying to make sure he was going to sell. Her intentions were to provoke him and then slap him with cash to get her point across. If it was business... Ravel was one of the best there is. They could always blackmail him if it was necessary but preferred not to resort to that.

"Why didn't you say so?" Lewis smiled gleefully as put his hands on his waist. "I assure you i am the best there is around these corners of the city. If you were sent here you are at the right place my lady." his smile didn't falter for a moment, his eyes shot down at the tight shirt the blonde Devil wore and nodded appreciatively. "Come on in, i can offer you tea if you'd like."

Lewis was a local drug dealer who known to be a little crazed, if not outright messed up in the head. He was known for his quality products and for his gardening skills which had brought him a few awards for his hobby. He also had a penchant for tea and blonde girls which was surely to work in the Phenex's favor. He might even cut down the price a bit if she was to his liking.

"Thank you for your hospitality." she responded with a smile.

They followed him to the living room where they sat patiently on the couch. It wasn't anything special or something of worth,it was just a typical room with a TV, lots of posters and chairs sprawled across the room. The most striking feature was the multitude of beer cans sprawled across the room, stacked into various forms like a castle, the pyramids of Egypt and even the Eifel Tower was somewhere among these makeshift pieces of art. It was a bit dim and the smell of weed was as if permeated into the stale air around the room, something the Chinese Rook found rather unpleasant but withheld her dissatisfaction. Issei's house was always tidy and clean, he cleaned every single day all of the rooms on each floor. And one time he accidently saw her changing which was bound to happen from time to time but they were used to it anyways.

"…I don't like this place so let's get over it fast. Have you bought a present for Issei?" the black haired Rook clearly did not approve of this but it wasn't like she could do something about it. So to keep herself occupied with something, she asked her friend on the matter of birthday presents. Knowing her, Ravel probably made something by herself to give from the heart while in comparison to that, Xuelan didn't know what to get as she was rather conflicted over what to buy. Maybe a good book would have been to his liking, given how he enjoyed reading a lot every day due to his hunger for knowledge.

"It's something he would like. I-I'm sure of it! It's not like it took me two days to make it, not at all." bringing her arms in a cross to her chest,Ravel closed one eye and sassed back embarrassed. It wasn't like she was over her tsundere tendencies or like it would ever happen. It brought her frustrations at times but luckily the rest weren't dense so they understood what she wanted to say perfectly clear. Sort of...

"Yo! I've got you what'cha wanted, girl." Lewis entered the room with two medium sized packs of cannabis in his hands. He looked like he was on the seventh heaven out of happiness. And of course he was euphoric, his eyes red and giggling like a mule for he was what you could say 'high as fuck'. He always tested his products before selling them to customers.

"Chinese stuff. Since you're kinda my type I'll cut you down on the price. Want some tea?" through his reddened eyes in a squint, he waved the packs in his hand and chirpy like a bird, he offered tea.

Ravel opened her purse to take out a stash of money to place on the small coffee table before the couch and politely declined his offer. No way would she drink that tea,it had to be spiked! Not that her brother wouldn't have teleported to her location by the use of the Homing Beacon and Tracking function of the Evil Pieces, he would smack her once and then carry her home for his mother to scold her.

200 dollars were placed on the table when he passed her the packs for her to secure in her purse, shake hands with the man and get the move on as fast as she could out of this house. Xuelan waved politely and both set off out of the house.

Outside Ravel paused for a second to look around and handed her purse to the Rook. There was something in her eyes that was revealing her intentions like a glass window to peer in. She was frowning and her lips twitching in contemplation, a sense of desire to act upon which she was battling against. In whatever relaxation Xuelan sighed as she saw Ravel give up on it,her senses were alarmed to notice the younger girl slowly creep upon the front lawn in careful steps, reach out to the garden gnome statue with both hands and with a pull - unearth it from it's rightful place and into her arms.

Turning around, she began walking towards the exit with a dumbfounded Xuelan at her right side holding her purse. And just as they went in, they left through the front door.

XXX

"Why in the name of all decency did you have to take that gnome?"

"Come on, Xue... That guy was in no need of it." she answered without turning around to meet her gaze. Ravel had a habit of taking things she liked, even if it wasn't right she atleast left an extra 30 dollars at his door for it. This habit of hers was as worse as her sleepwalking or need to sleep with someone close to her, ever since she was little. Her second brother Ryland Phenex always complained about her taking his stuff without his permission. That habit persevered to this day still. Old habits die hard as they say.

"And we needed a mascot. You know, the main attraction for the party. A symbol for the entrance." coy as a bird,the blonde girl acted bossy and all knowing as if it were really true. How would a garden gnome be the mascot for the birthday party of a Dragon? Some things were better left unsaid.

"…Can't be helped, i guess. You always liked to make pranks on Yubeluna." nothing but a evil smirk did she deliver with her words. She never liked the Bomb Queen and always thought her nickname was pretty stupid. Something she found quite fitting for such a dislikeable bitch who made her life hard. "Atleast it should be fun. I hope he won't run away like last time. Lord Riser must have prepared something for tonight."

"Of course. My brother is the best!" she did nothing to hide her satisfaction. She loved her brother dearly and fully supported Asia to marry him to spite Yubeluna at the wedding. If it happened she would have to be declared the greatest wingwoman and sister there was to have ever walked on the face of the Earth.

Her own mother supported her in marrying the dragon with everything she had, the moment her brother said it out loud made her aware of the intentions of her family clear but she was given the chance of actually deciding whether or not she would marry him. It had to be by her choice, she had many suitors in wait for her hand just like with Rias Gremory and Sona Sitri. Funny thing - they all had the same suitors. It was all about luck on whoever were to be chosen by her as her suitor. Sairaorg Bael was eligible for marriage as well but she didn't know the man quite well.

"I see. That's just like you." she blinked.

Both were walking away already and were close to the car. Just 30 meters or a bit more till they reached Marion.

"I don't know but i want to make it a success. He... He deserves it. Everything's so weird as of lately, more than before, so i want him to be happy atleast on this day." Xuelan mentioned.

Ravel nodded, "Then let's make it one. Gotta show them who's the best girl in the neighborhood. It's gonna be one sick night." just by the smug grin on her face one could say she was anxiously waiting for the night. They had never had a party like this before with so many people. Sure they accompanied her brother but he mostly preferred a small party than a big one.

Suddenly a heart wrenching cry was booming at the other side. It was intoxicated, brutish and nothing less than a savage growl of a wounded beast. There was no doubt about it. It was surely higher than mount Everest.

"You little... Fuckin' cocksuckers! **GIVE ME BACK MY FUCKIN' GNOME!"**

It was Lewis. He ran across the street and straight towards the girls,yelling at them to return his gnome! His steps were crazed,his movement chaotic but heavy as he gave chase like a wolf after a flock of sheep. This was it - both girls frantically ran straight for the car with screams and swears littered across the street. Marion didn't even have time to ask what was happening. Everything was too fast for her to react in the moment when they hopped in the car and yelled at her to drive.

The drug dealer has shortened the distance with ease due to his rage and began to bang and hit on the front windowsill with both fists like a behemoth. If the engine wouldn't start any time soon Ruval would kill them on the spot if his car got trashed! And his wrath was something to be wary of.

Inside Marion was panicking and trying to rev up the engine but nothing happened.

"Fuck,fuck,fuck,fuck! What the hell did you, damn it? We're so gonna get it back home!" she was in a frenzy,almost breaking the keys if not for some dumb luck.

"If we don't get outta here right now,Marion i swear,I'm gonna shove this tonfa up your ass! Run him over, damn it!" Xuelan gave into panic fully, banging on the seat on which the brunette Pawn sat in yelling curses and screaming like mad.

" **Gime back my fuckin gnome!** " the dealer continued to slam violently on the windowsill.

"You're not going to the party tonight! And your visits to the Red Dragon are revoked! It's his birthday! Do something about it." even Ravel could not withstand the grave pressure they were into. She was tightly clutching the gnome and didn't have any intention of letting it go despite Xuelan trying to snatch it out of her grip.

Something in Marion cracked like a broken glass. Her eyes turned into something else from her otherwise nice look into something cold and broken. Her lips stretched into a crazy grin with bared teeth as she whipped the key again, turned it on and with a vicious kick slammed on the gas pedal and it began. The moment the engine roared loudly, her face had turned completely weird with wrath-fueled swears at the situation.

"Ah,hell no! It's my night and i ain't letting you take it from me! How you like me now,bitch!"

They had done it.

Marion accelerated quickly, switched to reverse and the car began to move backwards. The dealer tried to jump on the hood but she switched to 3rd gear and hit the pedal the pedal to the metal, changing direction and knocking out the raging drug dealer into the streets. Both girls at the back were glued to the seats like a lego block in the leg, this was the result of the crazy turn of events that followed after having intimidated the ballerina. The steering wheel begun to dance in her arms like a ballerina,her thin arms spun it like a jigsaw to steer into the right and finally they were on their way. She had knocked him out cold into a pillar, drove away pissed off and finally they were on their way - the next street.

Driving was now more peaceful after they had been able to escape that man's wrath, serenity took place when all three sighed in relief over having made it out alive from that crazed pot dealer. The best thing was - there was no scratch on the car otherwise Ruval would have them burn into the family chamber for 7 days straight, which included feeding Ravel with tempura fish,something she dreaded like no man hated his own life to such degree.

"Oh,God. That was a close o- and like always they suffered a nasty headache. It passed away within a few moments which was surely a good sign as everyone was quite stressed out by this ludicrous escapade.

"Let's not do this again, okay?" through her annoyed with this bullshit eyes, Xuelan stressed on the nuisance that brought this upon them, directing her ire towards the guilty Ravel as the main cause for this merrily occasion that happened a few moments ago. She had the right to reprimand her and point out it wouldn't have happened if the younger girl hadn't stolen the damn garden accessory. For all of her reservations, the black haired Rook was always blunt and straight to the point.

"This thing is like that film i watched" Marion chose to change the subject to relax her mind off this fateful encounter. Yet there was this spite in her voice, bordering on displeasure on how they threatened her with revoking her visit to the Hyoudou Residence - that was unforgivable!

"As i was saying..." she glanced at the mirror to look at the back, "this feels like Project X. The insane ride,the potential explosiveness of the party. Oh and that gnome is probably full of ecstasy or cocaine by the way."

Her lips thinned as she made her guess on that last one. And she liked that movie! She wanted to be the host of the party but they needed a DJ for it. And never mind the picture on the phone as her lockscreen - it was taken at the pool in Vegas with her holding the poor soul for a selfie.

Just as they were enthralled into the conversation they had started - a wild drug dealer Lewis crashed into the left side of the car as they were driving through another street. It was instantaneous the second he bumped hard into the back door,glaring at Ravel and yelling,

"Gimme me back my fuckin gnome! Fuck you Ravel! I want my gnome back!"

"The hell is wrong with y...", Marion couldn't finish screaming when in that moment Ravel lowered the window and smacked Lewis with her purse right in the face!

"Drive,drive,drive. Now! Marioooon!"

"This shit is insane!" she slammed her leg hard and drove faster than before to put some distance in between them.

"Take that, you jerk! Nobody messes with the Phenex girls." and with that final exchange Ravel gave him the finger as the windows were up again. "Oh goodness... That was crazy..." panting she tried to catch her breath as the victim stopped trying to chase them and his curses couldn't be heard. She was a bad girl at times and reveled in causing mischief.

"What the fuck, Ravel?! That dude is like a Terminator. The goddamn Terminator...", it happened as she believed it would. Her next worry was on how to save the house if he were to return with a flamethrower and burn the neighborhood like in that movie. If it was destroyed how would she visit? In the end of the day Marion was greedy and her attraction to him was seriously the real deal.

"Let's just get home. I almost had a heart attack." Xuelan blurted.

"No stop signs, speed of limit. Nobody's gonna slow me down." and Ravel began to sign whatever Marion had played on the radio. And let it be known the Phenex lady was a fan of rock, as well as classical music. She was named after French composer and expressionist Maurice Ravel after all,her mother was a fan of that era so she named her with a name she loved. Ravel in turn liked her name so it was totally cool...

Things were heating up before it all began.

"This is gonna be a fun night..." glasses appeared on the face of the love struck brunette, "... Let's show 'em why the Phenex girls are the best!" and within time they would be home soon.

The time to play has begun...

XXX

24th June, Kuoh City, Hyoudou Residence, 13:58 pm,Friday

"I think it's almost done",clapping her hands in exuberance Rias stood with pride at the back yard of the house,having taken a day off from school to prepare and remodel the whole residence to her liking - namely a bigger house with two extra floors, lots of rooms, a really huge back yard with enough space to hold a large amount of people. And other various upgrades while not interfering with the defenses of the house; she almost got lost in the corridor and nearly got chewed in two by a friendly cappibara that lurked in the linked space of the entrance. That was one big cappibara, even more so there was a camel...

A camel from Hell.

It was quite the surprise for a better lack of words...

Next to Rias were standing Sona and Akeno who remained neutral but it wasn't hard to say the Gremory Queen was rather excited for this night. They had invited themselves in like it was their home to crash, albeit with the generous assistance of Asia letting them in. And the thing they didn't know was that it was Issei's birthday party; they believed it to be some sort of particular occurrence to have fun and lay waste with the house.

Everything was almost done. Except for the pool - otherwise how would you have a pool party if there was no pool to use? Something like that was easily remedied of course.

Rias stepped away from the two, took a moment to relax and concentrate. In her hands a large volume of Power of Destruction orbs begun spinning out of thin air,levitated from her palms and aligned into a big square of 25 meters length and 20 meters width above the ground in a well calculated sequence and measuring scales by Sona,providing them with mathematically aligned dimensions to work with.

"You may begin, Rias", Sona's voice was lacking in emotion as a robotic tone marked her words like steel. Her calculating gaze was laid upon the soil for one final check before her hands were raised in a signal to proceed with the controlled blast.

Akeno watched as the orbs descended into the ground was littered with Destruction in one massive explosion of dirt and rocks in all directions, gleefully smiling at this display with unrestrained happiness on her face. There was dirt,there was rocks but it was beautiful in it's own way. Wrecking things was always a hobby for the crimson haired Rias and her ability was a good way for garbage disposal, just like with being a walking air conditioner was for Ravel.

Only Koneko had nothing special - she would just eat all of your food and do nothing else at it.

After it had been done Rias felt tired as it was a strenuous task at hand, needing the support of her friend to act as a crutch to hold on. With a simple air spell by her hand, the black haired Akeno hummed to herself while the scattered dust and dirt were being collected neatly into one small pile which wasn't that small at all. The result of the concentrated blast was a giant gaping hole in a square due to the lowered intensity of the atomic bond disruption of the Power of Destruction, shaping the base nicely with it being ready for the important task at hand.

At that moment a few dozen workers entered the scene to begin shaping the pool to it's intended form. They were workers of Lord Gremory who also worked as a cosmetics artist and made special life like, artificial skin gloves and etc to assist Devils whose injuries could not be healed due to various reasons. His craft was a fine one with his works being so life-like, the very best there was at this profession. He was the one who usually did his daughter's make up and the truth was - he was among the best beauty artists in the Underworld, if not the best. Even hairstyling was a hobby of his in which he was rivaled only by Asia's hairstylist Jerry, who worked in Kuoh City at his own place, called the _Devil's Barbershop_.

The workers began to link the future pool to the exposed pipes at the other side, their speed unmatched in finishing the task for a few minutes before they begun to cement the base, leaving only the tiles and whatnot decorations to make it happen. Magic was a wonderful thing truly.

There was the briefest of smiles on Sona's face as she tried to keep her face neutral in it's expression, if not barely. She took a stance to prepare herself in what would be the fastest tile layering known to contemporary man. By a singular twitch, jetstreams of water burst from her hands into multiple streams which aimed for the tiles covered in glue by the workers beforehand, in that very moment her eyes changed to ice blue eyes of a Dragon with her pupils thinning into black slits. Ice blue,cyan like blue scales begun to spread under her eyes and her teeth lengthened into fangs as the jetstreams turned into solid ice in the shape of hands.

These hands were by the use of her Brand, solidifying and turning water into ice momentarily. Her natural Affinity of Water had mutated into a Mutated Affinity of Ice with the properties of flames as the Original from which she had been granted this power was a Dragon of fire, which in turn had to adapt to her Affinity in this result.

Sona tilted her head cutely as each hand of ice snatched a tile and accordingly started to glue them to the base,her eyes shining and her smile dazzling with smugness to the brim. She was showing off no doubt, the fanged smile was something Serafall would have been proud of - it was like the smile of an angel,something that deeply disturbed Rias as it was similar to the creepy slasher smile of Issei's. Something she had picked up from the boy to her chagrin.

"Damn show off!" the Gremory girl couldn't hold back on that accusation. It wasn't fair! She could only destroy things upon touch, neither could she produce such a perfect smile. Again, Serafall would be proud and rub it in Sirzechs's face all day.

And no doubt they were disturbed.

Within time each tile was placed and due to the effect of the ice with flaming properties dried up and the pool was ready to use. Only some minor decorations were left to add the finishing touches - Sona's eyes shifted back to their normal color, the scales on her face receded back to flesh and whatever ice was left deteriorated into nothing.

"Time for some water to splash upon it." her smile thinned as she raised her left hand to her chest and water formed into various small orbs which levitated over the pool, merged into one gigantic sphere and slowly lowered down into the pool, losing shape and splashing in to fill the almost complete swimming pool with water.

There was no reaction whatsoever from the rest. It was something they had grown used to with time. Or atleast made it look that way.

Akeno merrily looked at the water with a mirthful gaze of contemplation. Wouldn't it have been great to test out the waters right away? It took her some time to think about it until a moment later as she was about to say something - the realization struck her like lightning.

"We don't have music! We need a DJ for tonight! And every one i took the time to contact had already been booked for other parties.", she was sour over it. They had no one to call for help as neither one of them even had skill in turntables, not unless one of them had to play the role and skip out the fun.

"When i think about it", Rias brought her finger to her chin in one complicated look, "You're goddamn right! We really lack some nice ambient music and lights to make it exquisite... Or atleast something like that." her voice tingled as if perturbed by the circumstances but assured she was it could be remedied.

Her optimism was at times quite heavy on others but when it came from push to shove she stood her ground and made it happen. She was no Superman even if she would have wanted but to rope in her brother(who was rather busy with some documents) was unpleasant as well as wrong to rely on him all the time. There was only one thing left to do...

Pray there was someone who was willing to take up the job in the last minute.

Sona calmly assessed the problems at hand, turned around with a slow step to face them head on and did something, something she dreaded on relying to force the tides into their benefit - she was wiling to call in Serafall for the show. Mind the fact she was terrible with turntables and musical arrangement since Sirzechs actually wrote most of her songs and composed the tunes himself.

Just the conflicted look on her face was enough to make Rias raise a brow in confusion and actually accuse her of being too attached to Levi-tan when in fact she was the same with her brother. She was going to chew her on that one if not for the timely intervention of her trusty Queen whose face from despaired turned all watm and fuzzy for some reason. When she was like that it meant something special; be wary of her ideas for they might be bad.

The Queen looked at both girls frantically in a rapid succesion of going from Sona to Rias and back and forth which was beginning to feel uncomfortable for the other two, Akeno took out her Samsung Galaxy S6 to check out if her advert on the Devil Network was checked out and hoped for one kindred victim to use as the disc jokey whether they would like it or not. It didn't matter who it was, she was willing to call in her cousin Tobio Ikuse a.k.a Tobio Onii-chan, as called by the loveable White Dragon Emperor, to hold the fort for them.

To her luck there was a fast response to it, bringing joy to her rotten heart in singing a jovial sing-song of obscene words and some iconic Ara Ara's on the go. She even hugged her King and fellow peerage mate(Sub-King/Knight) in a tight squeeze with nothing but the words so dreadful for their ears,"If you space out I'm gonna squeeze them harder. I'm a simple girl - i see boobs,i squeeze them." she literally brought her hands and sank them in their breasts like the devilish girl she was.

Oh,dear Satan how much Rias hated that quote of Nozomi Toujou for every single time she fell prey to those stupid shenanigans. Atleast she liked Love Live secretly, practicing their dance moves like anyone else would and wore a Umi pajama from time to time. She was an anime fan after all; figurines, posters,fanart and the like.

Sona's cheeks reddened like a tomato when she found the experience quite unpleasant. It was embarrassing, it wasn't enough that she now suffered from back pains even if she had a tougher body than a human or even a Devil, her being a Dragonette did have it's downsides if it could be considered a minus. Aside from having to buy new lingerie and bigger brassieres to support her now ample bust, she was rather sensitive to body image and took more time to prepare and actually liked her longer hair more than before.

Carefully prying away her fingers from her bust, Sona found the strength to meekly mutter a soft plea to the conscience of the black haired girl to let her go and tell them what was happening.  
"I do not enjoy this,thank you very much. Please keep your hands to yourself and not on my bust if you will. So what's the good news,Himejima?"

Chipper as a bird, the Devil answered with such vigor and confidence oozing from every single word she pronounced she could perhaps drown a fish in water. It was an oxymoron but it made the point get across, "We found someone who's willing to play for us tonight. They didn't have a show to attend so they'll be here any moment now." still she didn't quite remove her hands off Sona. The girl was quite touchy after all, skinship was her modus operandi.

"That is quite the turn of events. I knew you could do it. Nothing less from my Queen." Rias was beaming with happiness after having heard those wondrous words. Still it was uncomfortable with someone groping her from the back but she appeared dignified and calm in her stature to hide her embarrassment.

"So it's tonight, right? The _Red_ _/_ _Black Special_?", cryptic as far as she could be when she had a big mouth in reality, Akeno pertained to something only she knew to Rias in some sort of code and symbolism Sona could not quite fathom well despite having been around them for so long as in being a part of Rias's peerage temporarily. Just the way the busty girl glanced at Rias with a wink was suspicious at the least, her lips twitched into a barely held back grin with perversion slipping through the cracks, from what Sona could tell. It was something weird and dreadful in her mind.

Tilting her head a little to the left in one undeniable, incommodious gesture with a flick of her finger to get some space, Rias glanced back but didn't blush so much as she usually would in the sight of her brother. Puzzlement and some slight excitement ran across her features in saying it was alright, everything was prepared. "Fine. If it's for our dear Yuuto and Ise then i will do it! Polka dot it is!" steeling her resolve to the maximum level, Rias shot up a hand in the air as a sign of reluctant approval but soon turned into something serious. She wanted to please her Knight and Pawn,no matter how much the two were drifting away from her. Issei never liked her but beared with her, Kiba had grown distant and pensive but still tried to make her feel good. All in all she wanted to get in touch with both of them and had thought about something they would surely like.

A surprise.

"Ahem,", the Sitri heiress coughed to clear out her throat, "When is this person going to be here? We need to arrange everything, set up the pool house and equipment by 19:00 pm, prepare food and refreshments. And most certainly," her curiosity took a hold of her, "if i may ask kindly... what is this Red/Black Special of yours?"

By this time around the seductive girl had removed her hands from both of them, which was good on it's own, raised her voice a little and delivered one secretive sentence. "My,my Sona... I did not expect you to be interested... It's just something of a present for tonight for our guys." her voice tingled with venom like a snake in the very next second, "but it's not something you could be a part of. They're only mine and i won't let anyone of you steal them,got it?"

If it wasn't a threat then what was it?

The sound of someone ringing the bell on the front door alerted the stiff and principal Sitri Heiress to take action and command a Gremory worker to go see from the fence who it might be. Could it have been the DJ who came so fast here on demand to arrange the time and set up his equipment? Or it could have been Ravel and Xuelan who came back with the purchase? She needed clarification.

"Miss Gremory, the DJ is here. They ask for permission to set up the equipment and supplies. Should i let them in?" one of the workers had returned and kindly asked the sister of the Crimson Satan on whether to let them in or not.

"Let them in, please. They are welcome." neutral in her response, Rias gave them the signal.

From the back door of the house two individuals in designer clothes entered the scene. The one with the black hair and the red dress shirt carried a large case and the other one pulled a giant cart with speakers with the size of a large table. A sub-buffer,equalizers, and lots of wires were wrapped around the speakers neatly as the man in question pulled them to the back.

Sona couldn't react any other way than to lash out in surprise. "You!? This can't be serious? Seriously?" she was astonished.

These gentlemen were none other than Diodora Astaroth and Bikou Sun Wukong, the Astaroth Heir and the current Monkey King of the East. They were the only ones to have responded with nothing but speed and willingness. Those two were going to be the disc jokeys for tonight's party. What a surprise indeed.

"You called?" responding with nothing but pure sass as he left the cart down and walked straight towards Rias, Diodora carried himself with dignity and some unperturbed joy in his steps. "We had a free day so here we are ladies. Our show for today was canceled so we came right away."

Akeno wasn't as happy as she was before. No,she glowed even brighter than before. They had found just the right person for the task at hand. Bikou was a DJ at private parties when he wasn't on duty to earn some extra cash and have some fun. He was a rather well known and popular disc jokey with the dirty blonde haired man acting as his assistant in setting up his equipment. Those two were inseparable, they were like the Bash Brothers duo in everything they did; be it from serving cold justice to rolling around at parties. If anything was to be said - they were good in what they did.

"And yes... Seriously." reserved in his reply, Bikou carried his briefcase on his back like a backpack in taking slow strides to the girls in order to ask them where to set up his equipment. He wore shades just like the Devil to complete the look but his staff was nowhere to be found, they didn't come to fight. They came here to party!

Rias didn't expect it,Sona was dumbfounded. Akeno was just Akeno.

"So...", beginning slowly to lower his shades off his eyes to show his glowing yellow eyes of a snake, Diodora looked at Rias with a pleasant expression of serenity and honesty as he next turned specifically to the bombshell Queen. "When do we _start_? Let's get it crackin'."

"Oooh,i love that song! So vulgar, so dirty and hot! Bring up the Deuce, bad boy!" Akeno spotted that reference immediately and wholeheartedly agreed to it. She was getting excited for tonight like a little child, she had prepared what would have been a pleasant surprise for her boys and wanted to have fun with both of them. She loved both the blonde Knight and the brown haired Dragon equally and she needed them both to rely on at times but she had grown to be independent within time. She still did rely on them when needed.

"Welcome to the world of pleasure, my ladies. It's time to party!" finally having removed his glasses, the snake eyed Devil made one perverse grin with his eyes narrowing in satisfaction.

"So let's get it crackin', shall we?"

XXX

24th June, Kuoh City, Hyoudou Residence, 21:03 pm, Friday night

"Where is everyone? What's taking them so long!" disheartened, Ravel was about to slam on the table in the living room out of anger. Her fingers were twitching, her eyes rolling in disappointment.

Around her were Xuelan, Sona,Rias,Akeno, Marion and Koneko who for some reason didn't want to be here. Asia was in the kitchen while Bikou and Diodora were preparing music and checking each plug-in for faults which so far were none. Everything was prepared, tip top and ready to roll but there was no one to party with. She had been brought to the point of giving up until the moment she heard a male voice echo in her ears.

"Never give up,lad. It's just the beginning", when they turned around they saw Rivezim Livan Lucifer himself with black aviator shades over the ridge of his nose, chilling on the couch like a boss. He was smoking from the weed they bought, there were rolls left on the coffee table so he secretly took one and lit it up to relax.

How he got in was another question to be asked later. He was here... But he was not alone.

Serafall was sitting next to him in wearing a pair of black shorts, a tight black t-shirt with the 'Best Sister in the House' printed on it with white letters and in her lap rested the magical chainsaw Mistilteinn who roared like a cat in delight. She was dressed normally, who would've figured she would show up despite being buried under the workload of paperwork - truth be told, she placed all of the work on Sirzechs's shoulders and ran away from her responsibilities for one night. She could leave the work to her secret lover for one night, couldn't she?

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Rias found it in her to speak. This was totally not in the plan. Her eyes twitched uncomfortably in the presence of the Lucifer who puffed out a few circles of smoke like hearts. She wanted to kick them out but couldn't find the strength to do so when the old geezer flicked his fingers, creating a circle from which a whole case of beer sprang into her hands. It was his gift for the night, brand new beer from the House of Lucifer made by your's truly.

"We are here to commemorate this wonderful occasion and get drunk like mad." sagely from the door responded the one and only, Cao Cao with Jeanne by his side.

Jeanne, or also known Leticia, waved at everyone with a sweet smile and graced them with her French accent, if only the guys were here they would have fallen to their knees out of the sweetness of her voice.

The cute blonde with light blue eyes and a low ponytail was chipper and awfully friendly for some reason, carrying a bag of wine and food while her male companion was carrying some whiskey in a bag to hang on the True Longinus that rested on his shoulder. For some reason his pants were glowing with a bright white light like the sun, something they didn't find strange at all.

"This is going to be one _heroic night_ , my dear ladies." between serious and joking he lowered the spear on the ground and looked up towards Jeanne. He whispered words of sweet promise to her, in the best way he could so the rest couldn't even hope to hear. "You thought the True Longinus was this spear but I'll show you the truth, the real True Longinus is in my pants..." he giggled delightfully at the embarrassment of his girl and looked towards the ceiling. Jeanne and he had a relationship more than just being comrades, she was his girlfriend for a long time and he referred to her as the sheath to his spear. Whatever that meant anyway, take it as you may want to.

Jeanne slapped him on the back and turned around crimson red in such a way to hide her embarrassment. He had truly whispered dirty words to her. The rest could only double guess what he had told her but they didn't really care. The situation was improving by the minute.

And still, Cao Cao's crotch was glowing with blinding light.

To their surprise from the shadows spawned Georg and Arthur Pendragon, all dressed fancy in jeans and dress shirts with a bow tie and a regular one. Yet for some reason the serious and reserved Pendragon looked rather elated and lax in his position, holding a stack of tequila in his arms while the Dimension Lost user was casually staring at all of the girls in order.

"This is seriously going so well. But we're still not enough! There are more people to arrive and we might not make it in time. M&M are keeping Issei busy for now but we have 12 minutes at most before they get the call and bring him here. It's his birthday after all."

Ravel had accidentally blurted that out. No one really knew aside from her and her two companions but now she had messed up big time. Just the way the beautiful black haired girl looked at when she heard that gave her a fright. She had unwittingly casted damnation over the soul of the undeserving Issei by accident, something which would stick forever to her conscience as his manager. She had messed up big time.

"So it is his birthday, huh? This can't get any better, can it?" smiling sadistic as ever, Himejima clutched her palms in excitement but then again she felt awful for having not bought him a present. Actually no one did aside from those mentioned. Even Marion did her best to get him something cool.

"Yo,boss lady. The people are in the back...so are we to start this thing rolling?" entering the room from the other door which led to the backyard Bikou waved at Akeno for conformation.

He was wearing his headphones on his neck and was shirtless to which Ravel blushed and tried to hide but no one was looking at her. Everyone's attention was glued to the upper body of the Monkey King. Damn good fanservice did he give them but that was for another time.

Hearing that, Sona rushed after Bikou to the backyard with some of the guests following her right behind. The Monkey King led them to the back where they saw a large number of people; Siegfried and Heracles were already there, some members of the Khaos Brigade, Dulio was eating his burrito at the table near the exit, Xenovia and Irina were already on the chairs near the pool while Fafnir was in his original dwarf form,flipping the barbecue while wearing an appron with kiss the cook. And under no circumstances were you to be an adventurer or a Devil he didn't like if you wanted your hand intact and not on the grill.

And what's more - Fafnir had that really awesome beard in braids!

Leonardo was spamming Kancolle girls with his Annihilation Maker to act as dancers and the like, with a whole army of Suzuya,Kashima and Prinz Eugen to form his own harem with the best preferences and personality he could think of. Seriously, that shit was awesome.

Riser Phenex, the soul of the company emerged from a large circle with his remaining peerage, carrying the alcohol ordered by his sister for the party. He was dressed extremely well with a dark red shirt which was unbuttoned and a nice coat over his shoulders. He had done his best to look great for the ladies and mostly to impress Asia for whom he had a large soft spot in his flaming, passionate heart.

Even something more since Mira carried a metalic suitcase. Yubeluna wasn't present which was totally cool in their opinion. All of them looked stunning.

Kiba and Gasper were dressed to impress in the glorious spirit of manliness, creating a sound barrier to avoid any run-ins and complaints from the neighbors and especially the police who would surely ruin the fun. Kiba was a sweetheart - he swallowed his pride and went to celebrate in Issei's house with everyone. It wouldn't hurt for one night, would it? Gasper,well, looked great in black jeans and a party shirt with his hair cut short in a stylish buzz cut at the sides and the rest was left longer and spiky by Asia's hairstylist, Jerry. That guy was godly in his work. He looked so much better in manly clothes and it was his time to shine.

It was a lot of people. Atleast over a hundred and the number would rise with time. Odin wouldn't miss out such an opportunity to flip skirts and ogle at girls for nothing in the world. Loki was dealt with by locking him in the only restroom in Valhalla, giving him expired food which upset his stomach and Thor left his Mjolnir over the seat of the toilet so Loki would be stuck in there until the old man would return. Cruel,comical but effective.

"Play the music. Your host demands it." since she was close to the DJ, Akeno commanded the staff user to get to his station, roll the turntables and begin the fun. Her sweet melodious voice of forbidden passion and seduction stirred his emotions, sent his heart in a flutter and made him feel awkward for there was some sort of attraction he felt for her.

Like a good worker Bikou ran up to his spot at the veranda, plugged in his headphones which he placed on his head, turned on everything and set his hands on his laptop to choose from a large variety of songs and some of his own mixtapes. His fingers fiddled with the turntables as he began to scratch and roll gently with the music playing through the speakers.

More and more people were going to arrive so there was no time to waste. Now or never as they say.

"It's time to hit the pool people! Let's rock!" surprisingly this time it was Xuelan who gave the cue to start. She moved in front of the rest in slow steps down the stairs and with the use of Phoenix Fire destroyed what she wore to reveal a black and indigo two piece to flaunt her legs. She had the best legs amongst everyone they knew, something Ravel was jealous at times. Just like in this moment.

"I guess you're right. Then...shall we?" courteous towards her companions and guests, the Gremory Heiress disintegrated her apparel to leave only a cut out red polka dot bikini that somehow covered her chest enough but was a slightly smaller than necessary.

When it came her turn, Akeno wore something so unusual for her to even think of. Something so unexpected, so weird given her personality and disposition. It was like the universe was about to break apart and drift into the nothingness that was beyond the Dimensional Gap. It was a one piece...

Not a scandalous swimsuit like something she would wear but a one piece which just puzzled her friends to no ends. It was a black one piece with golden rings between each part,holding what would be a bottom part with hoops to the upper fabric of the swimming attire. The top, while a one piece, resembled a standard bikini top but was held by a criss-cross of strings below her bust and ending with gold hoop rings. Still it was a somewhat revealing one piece but a one piece nonetheless.

Everyone threw their clothes in the air and started running towards the pool with preparing themselves for one big jump in the water,sans Sona. She went inside to see her beloved sister or that was just her excuse - she wasn't comfortable with what her sister had chosen for her but still she wore it underneath the blouse if people went inside and the pool was free. But that would not happen as it was unlikely which was a great relief.

It was just the beginning...

XXX

24th June, Kuoh Neighborhood, 21:13 pm

Issei, Matsuda and Motohama were walking down the streets towards Issei's house which was 12 minutes away from the bald boy's house to get something from home. They had a really good time at that maid cafe which the other two had reserved a place for him to have a drink and chat about life and everything. It sort of made the Pawn better but it was still far from joy. After they got what he needed from his house they would go back to Motohama's place to drink and watch a movie but they had to go to the convenience store to buy food.

It was rather dark at this hour and much more were they invisible.  
But one thing was consistent.

 _[ZZ Top- Sharp Dressed Man]_

From the end of the road the three boys walked confidently with a heavy step over the asphalt. It was like the storm incoming as the trio took each step gallantly and with an elevated mood that was shown on their faces. The photographer was dressed in an unbuttoned black shirt with short sleeves, a pair of black jeans with a chain dangling on the right side of his hip and a single medallion on his neck swung left and right wing each step. A black coat from a suit was over his back to finish the look. He gave his best in trying to look good and he actually managed to pull it off just fine.

The other one was in a blue v-neck shirt with several bands across his wrists, blue jeans and his hair was neatly parted to the sides and styled.  
He still had a leather jacket on to make it better as it could turn cold for the night. Motohama even removed his glasses as a matter of fact; he looked quite nice without them and his serious expression was pleasant. They were confident, ready to have fun and not pity themselves for once.

Each one stood by his sides; with Issei being in the center of the group, walking with a tired step further and further towards his house. He had dressed up in his trusty black jeans, a black dress shirt over his short sleeved variant of his undershirt with the seals, amped to the max. Leather jacket and a nice new haircut was his norm despite not caring how he looked like usually. It was mandatory to dress up for this one - they went out to see catgirls! No way would they want to scare them away! He even took his pills in bigger quantities to be more sure that nothing would happen atleast once. He could endanger his friends, they were people he considered friends for everything they had done for him. He even had a a violet tie hanging loosely on his neck and did put effort in styling his hair for once. Atleast once those three wanted to look good and presentable. And they had succeeded in that task.

They had passed almost all the way with just two minutes left till they reached would reach his house and be on their merry way.

"I don't know if it was right to dress up like this for one maid cafe? Isn't it a bit too much?" Issei asked.

"Nonsense. It is perfectly fine if you ask me." nothing but a confident gaze did Motohama deliver. Those eyes of his were sparkling without the glasses, brown-amber eyes of a beast were they in their gaze. He continued walking with no care in the world for it was something to leave on the back seat of his mind.

They were getting closer to his house with every second that passed.

"Seriously? We're just going at your place to watch some movies and drink so i see no point in all of this." unmoving as a stone,the brunette gave one dispassionate sigh of being tired. It was three guys watching some scary movie and talking about stuff so what was it so special about to dress for?

Atleast he didn't roll his eyes in annoyance, that was a plus.

"There is a point, young Hyoudou. There has always been a reason for this game of dressing up. Because let me tell you something, my brother", the bald pervert was dead serious in his delivery. His brows were slightly raised before scrunching down into one earnest look he delivered with a thin half-smile. "The suit makes the man and the man makes the suit. Do you know why?" he didn't let him begin at all since he spelled out the answer loud and clear, "Cause every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp dressed man!"

That came out as a surprise to the brown haired Dragon. Nonetheless he found it to be spot on, a suit and a tie was the best even if none of them exactly wore the classical suit. But it was forgiven, they looked so different from what they usually looked like someone would double check if those were really the Pervert Trinity and not someone else.

"And we're here already. Happy birthday, Issei. Go have your fun, tiger!" they pushed him forward to the continue further down the road. Because they were already before his house but it wasn't his house at all!

The fence was gigantic! What neighboring houses there were had been pushed away from his own abode to make room for improvements. Two extra floors were added as far as he could tell. It was like it wasn't his home at all but some weird big house. Something that didn't make any impression on his companions.

"Oh, shit... Not this shit again...", all color faded from his face as with each step he was beginning to panic, dragging himself scared and confused. This was too much to handle... It was obvious the girls had done something like this. The call of sicknesses, absence leave and some of the Occult Research Club missing which was actually nice but there was no time for that. And he even canceled his meeting with Sayaka due to having to spend time with M&M. They must have ratted him out to Phenex!

His senses were triggered. He grabbed both of his compatriots and rushed ahead to the house faster than Barry Allen could run with the backing of the Speed Force. Within seconds he had jumped over the front door and heard it - the booming of speakers, the echo of people chattering over a drink. And most importantly he heard them... Rias and Akeno were there... Just perfect.

Panting from the sudden outburst of energy, both guys tried to catch their breath from the shock with everything they had. They were weary but still had lots of energy to keep going. Nothing strenuous had happened today for them to be bone weary aside from Matsuda splashing water by accident over Murayama to give them a wet t-shirt... uniform but it was still the same thing! Didn't matter, they saw her flustered and acting all tsun. That was enough to brighten the day.

He forgot about everything else as he shoved his hand over the doorknob and twisted with almost breaking the handle due to his hurry. The barrier that was all over the place prevented any sound from escaping and nothing could have been seen outside, he was able to do so because of the eyes of a Dragon being capable of viewing things in a larger spectrum. His key was placed just so the corridor would not eat them but the system always recognized the two because they often came at his place to play some UFC 2 on the PlayStation in the living room. And yet it was altered to being unrecognizable.

The door creaked by the pull of his right hand, revealing what was happening inside. It was abhorrent cacophony, people walking around and was that Odin trying to hit on Tiamat? That old dude was probably the smallest problem to worry about - he strode inside to look around at everything and go straight for the living room where he would hope to find an explanation. Sadly there would be none.

Snickers, giggles, music and hot girls. That's was he saw on his way to the living room. No words could he muster to express his own feelings when he saw Serafall and Rivezim on the couch, smoking pot and giggling like little girls over their petty squabbles. They were just chilling around like they owned the place and doing whatever they wanted!

And they had spotted him.

"Sup, my man? How's it going, kiddo?" exhaling a puff from his blunt, Rivezim presented himself with the best intention he had at acting cool for once. Serafall was high and cheerful, laughing at everything she saw as it was funny to her when she saw him dressed to impress.

"What the fuck are you doing in my house?" flabbergasted Issei.

This was just bullshit!

"Now,now Hyou-tan" Serafall took the roll from the old geezer Lucifer's hand and took a deep inhale before continuing her speech with giggles, "We came here to have fun. Chill out man, have a drink,smoke some weed and have fun. Ain't nothing like a Friday to get the heat packin'."

"Oh,Issei-kun... Come here, my love. It's time for ya birthday present." just those words were enough to mess his mood totally. Fear took ahold of his thoughts as he instantly moved his hands to his back to protect his behind for he knew this voice and it's owner. None other than Akeno Himejima.

He turned around and saw her by the door that led to the kitchen. He was in one hell of a ride now.

XXX

Hyoudou Residence, Issei's room, Terrace, Friday, 21:32 pm

Issei had given up on everything he knew for this occasion. It was really painful so the only thing he could do was get somewhere quiet(escape from Himejima), settle down with a nice bottle of beer and light up a smoke for some comfort. His house was stolen from him. Matsuda and Motohama were staying in his room while he was on the terrace to clear off his head from all of these emotions. It was too much to handle on how they changed everything about his house, rather it didn't even feel like the home he grew up in. He could not accept this turn of events for it was something terrifying.

The terrace was at the front side of the house, his room was sound isolated so he wouldn't hear all of the noise and since nobody actually recognized he was here (Serafall sort of forgot) it was just the right opportunity to cuddle in bed and hope it will end soon.

 _"I feel like shit now. I can't even have fun when i should be... Honestly, it's just not what i feel or should be doing right now. Screw birthdays, this is just an usurpation of private property!"_

He gulped down from the bottle and wearily frowned. It was annoying at best but it was rather enjoyable to stay in here and not pay any attention to the rest. To run away and hide was the typical course of action of one man who had nothing left on this world.

"You should just let it go. It's one time you must forget about the pain and indulge yourself in pleasure and comfort. Be it by alcohol, partying, and everything you can think of. So please, just this once, have some fun even if it doesn't feel right to you."

Asia was standing at the right side and drinking some of the beer he had taken with him. She was calmly staring at the skies with a smile but her cheeks were red like blood. She just materialized from nowhere! What the fuck was happening with all of this was a question Issei would ask himself like the new savior himself over whether to say screw it and go home... Or wait,he was already at home. Scratch that.

"What you did wasn't right. And how did you even plan all of this? Damn Phenex tsundere. Had to do something like this when i hate birthdays." his hand clenched into a fist but then again relaxed as he closed his eyes and begun thinking about it. Why not?

Something in Asia felt wrong to him. Even with his closed eyes he could feel something terribly wrong with her. The smell of alcohol struck his nose like a tidal wave but to this extent - Asia was better than Rias in drinking but wasn't a pro like Akeno nor could burn the alcohol from her blood like Riser could. And yet she just wanted to feel good. Maybe he should have tried to do it too.

"You know", he made up his mind fast,"Maybe you're right about it. It's just that i feel bad but maybe it's time to stop feeling awful and do something nice. Thanks Argento. Means a lot." he was sincere in his delivery.

He opened his eyes and saw it. Asia was drunk,she reeked of booze but was still somewhat decent not to fall so it was quite possible she could walk in a straight line and not fall on her face but being hasty in his judgement wasn't something he would do. Asia was a wild card at times like these. She could surprise you in the way you would least expect it.

"Irina is here by the way. She's waiting for you to come downstairs at the pool and talk with you." like the good girl she was, Asia relayed her message clearly and stood up from the chair she sat on to face Issei and stare into his eyes. There was this blush so red as the soil of Mars, red like wine and burning hot like the sun on a Tuesday. Her arms were raised to her face as she clearly wanted to say something but wasn't sure if it was going to be alright. The emotions she had were written on her face like a notebook, she was so easier to read when she was inebriated it made him reconsider of having her drunk most of the time.

The mention of Shidou sent his mood spiraling to the negative charts. Every time, every single time it was Christmas, New Year or her birthday the two of them were left and things happened. He didn't forget what happened on Christmas, it was the holiday spirit to blame for him having gone out of his way to kiss her on the streets when it was showing.

Those twintails were like a weapon of mass destruction - he once got hit by those and it hurt like a bitch. A serious bitch it was in what he could describe to be the nastiest hair slap across the eyes from twintails made as if from concrete. That explained how they didn't hinder her movement in combat.

" _Sometimes you've got to make some love_ ", music was suddenly in his ears when he looked back at Asia. She looked so intent when she said that," _And fucking give her some smoochies too_." she was singing. By the ancient times and bloody goat, she was singing that song!

She moved closer to him and moved her hand over the zipper of the pink hoodie she wore, " _Sometimes ya got to squeeze..._ " her brows scrunched down in a mellow expression of serenity in a cross with some lust, " _Sometimes you've got to say please_." her other hand found itself on his shoulder as she leaned forward and grabbed him by the tie on his neck.

" _S..ometime you've g...ot to s..ay hey_ " she blinked twice and pulled down the zipper to reveal her white one piece swimsuit with a frilly skirt attachment. Everything in her actions spoke of desire, inebriation and damn dirty talk with the best advice she could deliver. It was time for the finisher she would deliver with wagging a finger at his chest and raise her voice up to the skies, " _I'm gonna_ _f_ _uck you! Softly... I'm gonna screw you gent_ -

"Hell no!"

He smacked her straight in the forehead for totally destroying his sanity with that song. It was the truth, damn it. He liked the song like no one else did and from time to time sang it when he was alone. But for her to sing it so loudly and upset his friends who were looking concerned through the window, he would not dare hurt.

Her vision flickered between white and black patches until the moment she stumbled and tripped. Her senses were going haywire and she was beyond too late to do something about it as her excitement could not be contained... The one thing that could contain her was the ground she fell on before Issei could react in time and grab her. He was too late for that.

"Shit. What the fuck have i done?" clutching his head with both hands in shock, he was going in a panic over what to do? He could like cover the body with some dirt and a flower or two but that would have not been believable.

"I'm al..riiiightt." a silver chain he found wrapped on the bars of the terrace, coiling and rolling in the drunk nun up to the second floor on which they were standing. There wasn't even a scream or any reaction, she was going up the building like a hitchhiker on the road, waiting for some random guy to pick them up. Still the voice of the former nun was heard loud and clear. She didn't let go of it for even a second, "I was just about to get to the part where i screw you discreetly. Lemme finish that, boy..."

When she rolled back on the spot there was no Issei to sing to and give sexual advice. He was gone. Not even a soul could she spot inside the room for they had already escaped her in that perilous moment. Somewhat pissed off, the blonde nun stomped on the ground and cursed with every Italian phrase she knew from food to vulgar words of promise.

"Damn fuck... He got away... And i was getting to the good part!?" she spoke not to herself but to the one who held her hand in a comforting embrace.

 _"Do not worry Asia. I'm sure he'll be back for some more. So want to go to Riser bro at the pool and have fun? You know your wedding is pretty soon so you two gotta get rolling."_ Aisa was affected by the beer Asia drank like pronto since they technically shared her body when the Witch of the Void was not in the Throne Room of the deepest part of the Dimensional Gap, the very Void itself.

The place from where Chaos was used by the God of the Material World, The Demiurge to craft the main universe and within time other Demiurge-like beings sprang forth from the original Yaldaboath.

 _"You must remain vigilant, my dear. Leave him to that black haired bitch with the giant knockers. I can't believe she even got those! It's criminal! Illegal!"_ Aisa was imitating what could be said to be outrage. Her actions spoke of jealousy towards the beautiful Akeno Himejima for she was not amused by her antics. _"It's fuckin bullshit, i tell you. Back in my days i was considered to be the hottest piece of ass in Rome. Hell,even that Jeanne D'Arc wasn't such an outrageous beauty as this chick. And don't worry",_ her green eyes lighted up with sinister intentions _._

 _"...don't drink from the refreshments Azazel brought. They're spiked."_

Too late it was to warn her for Asia had been drinking those all of the time. Even right now she held some of that whiskey the sweet Governor had sent them as a gift despite not being here. Work,perhaps.

" **Who's there? Do you intend to deny your Queen!?** " seriously things got worse.

And one Aisa wasn't amused at all.

XXX

It was a boring night to say to the general populace. It was 21:30 pm on a Friday night when most of the people went out to bars and dates at the popular clubs but whatever was happening there did not matter. Because the stuff that went down or was going to happen was on a grand scale in comparison. And the best excuse for something like that was the classical 'Blame it on the booze' speech people tend to use.

The neighborhood was peaceful, almost in a lethargic state with nothing extraordinary happening around the corner. Aside from one big party people would never know of...

Some black Mercedes Benz S-Class Coupe was parked at the corner near the 7/11 in the neighborhood, not the one at the bridge, as if awaiting for some sign to dawn upon it and it's passengers to get out. It was tranquil, this atmosphere of peace and quiet. Things were never what they appeared to be... for a reason.

That car belonged to the currently acting as Governor Azazel who lent it to his beloved daughter Vali for the night. Kuroka was acting as the driver since she was the most capable at handling vehicles from the whole Vali Team. And said cat lady was currently in the convenience store to buy herself something nice, it would have rude to not have brought anything to the party in her opinion so she had to correct that. While inside the car were Vali and Le Fay, talking about random stuff and the like. Arthur had left her in their care since he wanted to help with the organization of the plan, namely get hammered and have fun without his spouse knowing about it. He was a cool guy and a great brother to his people, even Fenrir was treated as a brother by him.

"Worried about tonight, Vali?" on the back seat of the car sat Le Fay who had chosen to wear a simple elegant dark blue dress, something modest and not revealing for she was quite young and not yet ready to wear something daring as said by her brother. The magician expressed concern for the deep in thought White Dragon Emperor who was sitting at the front seat,fiddling with her hair and being all aloof.

If anything was to be said, she was a bit anxious for tonight. She wasn't the type to dress up nicely and go around at parties and similar occasions for she was in fact quite introverted and didn't have friends exactly aside from her beloved Tobio Onii-chan!, while the team was nothing more than people who cared for each other and pursued their overlapping goals together. But it was rectified with time where they became real friends who relied on each other. Still Vali was like any girl and on top of having no idea about what to wear she had now idea what to buy so she took things in her hands. Namely the small bag she held in her arms and scrutinized from time to time.

"A bit. I guess it's not so bad after all. To act more feminine and being in touch with yourself." wryly she responded with a nod in the mirror. She had embraced herself and her birth, the White Dragon girl as they called her was content with being born a female in this cold world and proved that gender neither lineage mattered on who you were actually. You were only you and that would never change, the truth she had finally realized and accepted.

"Kuroka is taking a bit longer than expected. My brother would be worried if she doesn't show up soon.", the small blonde magician meekly muttered her worries about her big sister Kuroka as she referred her as such. The tinted windows of the Mercedes did hide them from plain view so unknowingly from the eyes of the silverish blonde girl at the front, Le Fay popped a small bottle of vodka to gather her courage and ask out Gasper Vladi tonight. The vodka would serve as a repellent if he tried to bite her. She raised the tiny bottle in one motion, gulped a good amount of it and nearly emptied the otherwise small bottle she afterwards hid in the pouch of the back seat.

Vali didn't respond. She was too busy reminiscing about today.

 _"Listen, Vali", Tobio was lecturing her in front of the shop at the second floor of the mall, "I know it's not something you would do but i think you should give it a try. What's there to lose?"_

 _Vali grumbled in dissatisfaction over the nuisance this trip to the mall was. She had never worn a skirt in her entire life, a dress no less. Neither had she tried a swimsuit once but yet again tried the Kuoh Academy uniform once and it was glorious. Azazel shed manly tears of joy when he saw her acting like a normal girl and couldn't help but raise his hopes for grandchildren. Even if his candidate for a wife escaped to Brazil. It was the third by now._

 _"Fine! I'll do it! Pick the best swimsuit you got, onii-chan. But just this once." she relented with a lot of persuasion by Jin who manifested from Tobio's shadow and pushed her leg forward._

 _"Oh,you're going to love what I've thought for you. 2 million from that bet are mine so i gotta do my work here.", Tobio placed his hand on his chin in one calculating gaze at Vali from head to toe and concluded. "It's enough to have a vacation with Sae and Nastume. Even Lavinia would be overjoyed." he knew well about that bet. He wanted atleast a part of it and did what was necessary. "Lavinia told me to get you something with ruffles."_

 _Vali was disturbed by that very statement. If Lavinia was in play it meant she would get crushed by the mighty hug of the Ice Princess, she squeezed like an anaconda._

"I can't believe it. That Red Dragon Emperor... It's her birthday today and he postponed their meeting." visibly sympathetic, Vali looked down at her feet in one angry look for it was something she did not approve of. It was Sayaka's birthday and he just shot down that idea to celebrate with her like it was nothing. She didn't tell him about it since he would reject it so she just played it as a normal meeting but he signed it off as a day he was unavailable.

Vali Mayer and Sayaka Takeyama had become close friends over the span of eight months and the dragon girl could say she was something like her closest friend, a real friend like her team had become and helped her out with her own insecurities. And this misunderstanding aggravated her to no ends.

She dialed a number on her phone, brought it to her ear and waited for a moment. After the responding sound picked up she delivered a short message to get to the Hyoudou Residence and fast, she would send out Goggmagogg to be as an escort and ended the call prematurely with no chance of giving the person on the other side to decline.

"Kuroka's done with the shopping so it's time to roll." Le Fay made one cute sound as she opened the back door and set foot on the black asphalt with a confident step.

Vali left her phone in the car and snatched the paper bag she had taken and exited the car rather fast.

"We're ready, nya. Time for these ladies to brighten up the place with some sex appeal. ~Nyaa" Kuroka purred like a cat in delight as she joined the two girls to form the Girls Trio Deluxe in one badass march.

They begun to walk towards the house which was after the corner where the catgirl had parked Azazel's car - Le Fay was in the center, acting as the boss girl of the company. She held a purse that matched her modest black dress and styled her hair to her best ability(actually it was Fenrir who gave her a nice haircut but you get the point), wearing black shutter sunglasses at night for an extra badass feel to elevate herself to greater heights. Arthur would be proud.

Kuroka was on the right side, garbed with a satin blue dress, having a slit at her right thigh to show off and a deep cleavage to flaunt her figure. It was like stuck to her skin in just the right way to make her sparkling much more than before. Slender and attractive as always she tried something different with her hair like some wild curls and no headband to form her usual hairstyle. No cat ears she decided on since she'd probably get deaf with all of that music, it wasn't easy to have two pairs of ears on your head. Blame it on the legend they say.

While Vali... That was something to be commemorated with a nice picture or two to make it last longer. For the first time in her life she wore a dazzling white dress by Maggie Sottero,which was basically a series of wedding dresses and such but was outfitted to be a short dress. The dress was a short one reaching to her thighs and exposing her nice legs, pure white fabric with no accessories on it engarbed her delicate form to flaunt her curves and it wasn't a dress with an open back because her scar would be in plain view and she didn't exactly want that to be seen. The accent was placed to emphasize her waist and bust as recommended, two thin straps formed the upper part to hold it in place by the support of her neck.

Since she usually wore a v-neck shirt and a bolero over said shirt, she had no problem or felt any discomfort of wearing clothes that showed cleavage. If anything she had chosen something that was in moderation. For her hairstyle - just her normal one with her long hair reaching past shoulder length but she did comb it neatly.

"We should've taken something bigger. Beamer, Benz or Bentley? I'd say it was good but Azazel would kill me if i scratch his car." Kuroka would die if something happened with the car. Not even her trying to sleep with the Professor would have saved her from his wrath, and she tried a few times already. Wasn't bad at all. Vali did mind it though.

"Goggmagogg should be here any moment now." a bit concerned she was with the execution of the plan. The giant wasn't known to be careful with people. They already passed the corner and Issei's house, sort of,was already in view. 150 meters at most were separating them from the place.

Waiting at the door they saw the giant who carried her friend on his arms like a gentleman. Sayaka wore the same dress from the time she went with the Pawn at Club Feria in Tokyo since it was her best dress since she didn't have much money to buy a new one. She wasn't rich at all but she did her best to surprise the birthday boy with her appearance at this important day.

The trio sprinted as much as they could with the shoes the wore on their feet to meet them. It was in no time when they reached the door and greeted each other. The bag was actually for the brunette since she wanted to give her something nice.

Just by some dumb luck or the machinations of Fate did Issei show up from the door and gave one unamused stare at everyone outside. Behind him was Motohama who was carrying a bottle of beer in his hand and Issei's glass of tequila, truth be told they went outside to get some fresh air.

Each party was at a lack of words. Vali couldn't even believe her eyes at all when she spotted the owner of the house. He looked so different when dressed up well, it was like he were a totally different person to which she rubbed her eyes to make sure she had gotten to the right place and not someone else's house. It would have been embarrassing if that were the case.

Issei recognized the catgirl and Le Fay but Vali was just beyond any possibility of recognition. It was as if a whole new person had switched places with her and hid the real one in some cellar. Both were quite taken aback by their respective appearances and it took a moment for them to process all of this information in their brains.

Motohama placed his glasses on his face and took a glance at Kuroka. His eyes widened in bliss like there was no tomorrow. His hand fell upon his chest as he feebly murmured, "...what a woman..." in awe. The glasses registered the measurements of **B:98 W:57 H:86** and a height of 1,61m. His vision was like in a rollercoaster when Kuroka made a cute meow sound and her cat ears popped up.

Vali came closer to the unfortunate soul and did something despicable - she grabbed his rump before their very eyes! Le Fay instinctively covered her behind with both hands because it was a special of the silverish blonde girl to punish them with a slap to the buttocks. "I knew it was you, my dearest rival."

It was her sort of habit that brought fear into their minds, even Arthur Pendragon tried his best to avoid her slap since he was lucky in her opinion. It was even worse for Bikou and Diodora.

"Red Dragon Emperor! Today is her birthday! Please do something about it." like a command Vali placed her demands on Issei. And she smirked victorious over everyone being paralyzed with fear.

"My name is Issei and i think you just put my ass in a coma!" embarrassed he squeezed in one unsettling growl.

"And i will continue to do so. It is my duty to do that as your rival." she was smug like never before.

"Damn...1,68m, **B:88 W:59 H:88**." Motohama scouted her measurements with a glance of his scanning glasses. Vali was really hot in his opinion. He was just like a support/scan Persona

. When he turned around and saw the charming brunette with dark green eyes and a nice high ponytail, he waved courteously at her to which she responded accordingly. They knew each other actually, she lived 19m away from his place and they bumped into each other regularly. And she didn't hate him at all, she was a friend of their best bro Issei and they learned about it with time.

He never had the chance to scout her properly so he did it for his friend, himself but who cared anyway?

"1.67m. **B:85,5 W:56 H:88** , damn pretty nice." he blurted that out by accident.

"Actually i ate a bit and it sort of stuck to me so it's 86 now, actually... But it's not nice to do that." Sayaka wasn't mad but she was a bit upset over her fear of telling the Pawn it was her birthday. He would have surely rejected going at birthdays so she played it as a normal meeting but he declined due to personal matters. She understood she would have had to celebrate with just her uncle and aunt and go to sleep early but if this was what she was told by the gentleman Goggmagogg... Then she would celebrate it with friends after all.

"Just get inside already. Aah, this is so not going to be good for my house." he was annoyed to no ends. Pointing at the door he made them go inside finally since it was just annoying to have them cause more racket outside.

Kuroka and Le Fay followed up with his command and went past him to the interior of the house, followed by the glasses wearing boy to lead them. Vali began walking towards the door but was stunned when she felt the burning hot hand of the Red Dragon Emperor land a brutal smack on her delightful rump with everything he had. It was his payback for what she did,she was embarrassed a bit and took note of his implications - get inside before you'll get smacked some more.

It was just the two of them now. One Dragon and one normal girl left outside before the door. It was an uneasy reunion, given the situation but someone had to do something about it.

"So",since there was no one around, hesitant and unsure on how to begin the conversation, the brunette's face twitched with uneasiness, lips thinned into one reluctant smile that felt rather tame than what she usually presented, "...how are you doing, Issei? And...sorry about that."

Conflicted he was as her. Scratching the left side of his neck, the Pawn stood at a good distance away from her to maintain his personal space from being breached. He didn't know exactly what to say about this, he understood that if she had told him he would have surely declined but now there was no room for such thoughts. They both shared the same day and since she was here actually...then why not give her the best birthday there ever was. Even if it was at the cost of his house for which he would probably kill Phenex and Gremory, the latter due to being sure she had messed up with his domain and he didn't like that one bit.

"Not really fine, i guess... It's just that it doesn't feel right at all." his gaze shot down to his feet in dejection. It was pretty common for him to do that as he was introverted and meek most of the time unless when he had to take up the part of doing something.

That was where he shined.

"And i think you deserve something special for tonight. It's your birthday, after all..." saying that last sentence was somewhat awkward. It could have been taken with another meaning, he realized he had screwed up big time.

She moved closer to take a better look at him. Raising a brow in a complacent, pleased gawk over his choice of attire she did what she always did. Her arm stretched towards the tie on his neck which she grabbed and pulled, "See? I told you that you'd look great in something nice, something sharp and stylish. But still", her lips parted in a sassy smirk, "your expression and rotten eyes destroy the look. But that's your charm." nodding slowly as she let go of his tie, she could only smile with a melancholic expression.

It did feel uncomfortable for him, he always hated it when she did that. "That's my charming point. And don't you forget it." he patted his chest in some weird sign of pride. His face remained neutral all the while with nothing more than a twitch by his left eyebrow. "And one more thing", there was something else in his dull, bored voice of a dead fish. It felt like it was delivered with a shred of satisfaction, a sliver of genuine emotion.

"Happy birthday, Takeyama." and still it felt rather stiff and dull. But that was just him.

"You seriously can't say my name or anyone else's even at this point. Oh well", it was frustration that appeared, "but atleast there's something i want to say. Happy birthday, Issei..."

It was something that made his knees give out - her smile was restrained but so nice and bright it always made him feel a bit better. And there weren't a lot of times like that. He did something uncharacteristic, rather unusual for he was not a person of intimacy or the type to give hugs to people. He was like a Spartan in the emotional spectrum but it was something he did on his own volition. He rushed and without any alarm, slid his arms to her back and brought her closer to himself in one gentle hug. It was awkward and uncomfortable at most but he did it... He had grown not so distant, he had finally found the chance to express his affection without feeling people would be repulsed by his touch.

"Woah, this isn't like you at all but I'll take it. So have fun tonight. You deserve it..." whispering to him with a serious face, she felt like he would crush her and he was cold! Having a body temperature lower than the normal for people and other Devils always felt like she was holding some statue, cold like marble perhaps but not that cold. Hence the black clothes - to gather more sunlight and keep a decent body temperature to appear normal. "And it's getting a bit uncomfortable... So could you..."

He removed his hands on the moment. What followed was an awkward silence.

"So let's get going then? Can't wait here all night, right?"

"Fine. Let's do this shit. Screw the house! I'm taking it out of Gremory's pay fund." and with that both went inside.

XXX

24th June, Hyoudou Residence, Backyard, Pool Party, 22:59 pm

Everyone was dancing. There were hot girls all over the place in heaps, Leonardo made some more as a part of his harem and was having a blast. There were people in the pool waving bottles in the air, others were jumping like in a rave party and yelling out lyrics up to the roof. Swimsuits, clothes were the norm so it was nothing short of a feast for the eyes.

It took some time for it to explode, with enough alcohol to supplant the negative emotions within some of them. The present Ravel made was a life size Nitta Minami figure that was clad in a french maid uniform with cat ears- something Issei really wanted!

The music was booming loud with Bikou spinning the turntables like a boss, Akeno moved closer to both Diodora and the Monkey King with a bottle of whiskey in sexy moves to the beat of the song. She was having the time of her life, somewhat intoxicated but much more ecstatic over everything. Bikou watched as the bombshell Queen grabbed Dio and pushed his face to her side, the Astaroth Heir was elated and grinned with utmost delight over feeling the sideboob of Himejima who didn't mind and shaked in rhythm with the dirty blonde haired Devil, dragged herself to Bikou's side with the Devil under her hand and gave him a dirty look.

Bikou grinned like an idiot and threw his hands in the air excited and happy despite being sober. He melted down even further when the black haired lady landed a kiss on his cheek, the boss lady he was entranced with was just happy. And somewhat drunk.

Odin was in his waters as to say - he was quite the flirtatious, lovable guy who sparkled the whole place with the glorious spirit of booze. The norse god was dancing around with all kinds of different people - but there was Tiamat who stole the show. Swaying left and right, back and forth with well coordinated moves to destroy the hearts of men she was intending to do. And it was kind of funny when she danced with Fafnir in his dwarf form - it was the dance of one Legoglass and Gimli under the lights. Could you believe it?

Riser was floating on the constructed by the girls PBR-Sama, together with Asia who was acting as the captain of the floatation device which couldn't fly but it didn't matter. It was a goddess of the highest order of life. Gasper and Kuroka were just chilling out with Dulio on the veranda where Bikou was located and playing his music. Gasper was destroying shots after shots with the cat pouring him another and another. Dulio was totally chill as he actually came drunk already but it didn't show up on his face, it was the burrito for sure! It had to be the burrito.

Ravel was in the pool, blowing up bottles in the air with her flames for some reason. Standing over the PBR-Sama, the blonde Phenex girl held a garden hose in her hands and sprayed tequila over people with it like rain. The floatation device would certainly get you a Best Girl! And she was drinking and shooting down stuff with her eyes closed, Kiba was dancing with his King with all of his favorite Michael Jackson moves he secretly learned from all of those videos. Rias was quite enthusiastic as she hugged the Knight and her arms squeezed his back with her whispering something about a surprise for him. Something to please him... a Red/Black Special.

It was all fun and exciting but there was a need for something else. Akeno whispered something to Bikou at the veranda and he stopped the music for a moment. Dio grabbed the mic and took a deep breath to deliver one message.

"Ya'll know what it is? Let's say something 'bout the birthday boy and for the ladies!" his voice boomed.

"Happy birthday, Red Dragon Emperor and Saya-chan! Let's get it crackin'!" yelling at the top of his lungs Dio left the microphone and everyone exploded in one big yell for the birthday boy and girl with their hands in the air! Bikou took the cue and played Akeno's favorite song.

 _[~Deuce - Let's Get It Crackin'~]_

All the people started dancing and singing the lyrics to the best they knew. Akeno jumped on the floor and grabbed Kiba from Rias and began dancing all around him, grinding and shaking when she placed her hand over his chest and turned around. Still, the gray eyes of the Knight were like entranced with the legs of the Phenex Rook, Xuelan Huang Chen since he was a glorious legman and couldn't let those perfect legs out of his sight.

Rivezim was showing his moves in one duo of him and Serafall, back to back and holding rolls and beer, shouting whatever they wanted. The old geezer was flexible like a snake, his moves wild and he could not be contained. Throwing the now emptied beer he grabbed the hems of his robes and waved them like a boss, Serafall ripped off her shirt and threw it at Gasper, showing her swimsuit underneath and shaking her hips in rhythmic sways while yelling, "I'm da best sister! The Levi-tan, my boy!"

They were like a storm, going back and forth with the best moves they got as the **Levi-tan** **&** **True Overlord Dance Duo** that conquered the Devil's Dance Competition in the whole Underworld. The way she shaked and twisted was great, the old geezer was just as good as her and both turned around with Serafall's arms over his neck and leaning on him while shaking.

Le Fay moved uncontrollably with her brother who swung his sword over his head and making sparkles over their heads. He was stripping with his tie flying away and his shirt's buttons bursting out.

Riser was like a bomb. Flames spread around his legs as he gave his all with Asia who clung to his side like glue. She was drinking vodka from a bottle and was loudly proclaiming she'd fuck them sweetly, just the thought of seeing her say that was so damn broken and wrong but was really fun. Riser spewed flames out of his mouth in one dirty chuckle as his eyes shone with perverted glamour.

Xenovia jumped from the roof into the inflatable castle near the fence with praising the Lord for this great happening. Irina was just drinking shots and swinging her twintails over Heracles's side with Georg dancing around her. The Phenex girls were jumping on the inflatable castle in nothing but their underwear or swimsuits with happiness in their eyes.

Cao Cao and Jeanne were nowhere to be seen, it was a heroic night after all!

Vali was calmly sitting at the chairs over the other side, since she may have had a great singing voice but her dancing skills were beyond atrocious.

Koneko had it worse - Rias's hands knocked her out and she lowered herself to grab the girl by the legs and lifted her as an impromptu baseball bat to wave over her head.  
Rias was having fun by swinging Koneko like a baseball bat all over her head and using her as some weapon.

It was Isabela who grabbed the garden gnome and tossed it at Rias's way to use the catgirl as a bat. The gnome flew above the people around them, Rias closed one eye and aimed to the horror of the paralyzed Koneko - she swung hard as the gnome met face to face with the hard head of the Rook, bursting into pieces and ecstasy flew everywhere. Just as Marion said it would - it was just like in the movie.

People rushed and began grabbing the ecstasy on the floor, damning it all to hell. Some didn't as they didn't want to get messed up so badly. Actually only 5-6 of the people who numbered now over three hundred, but it didn't matter. It was free!

As the song progressed to the wonderful things it spoke of, Issei was standing in the center alone and drinking until he saw Matsuda push Xuelan to him, acting as a good brother and moved away with Siris who growled like a tiger in one sexy grrrr. He felt awkward when he saw her - she was wearing cat ears which made her irresistible! Flustered and meek he stood in one place.

Xuelan looked around at both sides, stepped forward to the host of the party and shot him one pleasant look. She was still in her swimsuit but had attached cat ears to her head. It was in a way her present since she didn't think of anything good in the last moment. The black haired Rook, while normally reserved, was totally different now. She grabbed his arms to his protests, pulled closer and pressed against him with shaking left and right her awesome legs. Issei humored her intention to dance with a light tap on her back as he tried to match her moves. Those legs were marvelous, he left all concerns at the back seat of his mind and placed his arms on her waist and she in turn twisted to see him better.

"You like it?" a coy grin plastered on her face when she looked up to his face. There was fire in her eyes, burning passion like the hottest flames of hell.

"Damn right." squinting in some weird mix of delight and elevated mood, he moved his arm away but to his surprise the Chinese Rook did not clearly think of it like that.

She pushed herself up on her toes.

There was something between them that Issei could pick up easily due to being a perceptive bastard. A silent conversation was being shared by their eyes in winks and other gestures, Xuelan was surprisingly sexy when she put her mind to it or felt in the mood. Grabbing his arm, she pushed it over her waist and closed her eyes, turned around and puckered her lips anxiously and waited.

He hesitated for a moment, waited for the people who mattered to turn away and tried... But stopped midway in disbelief and disgust with himself. It wasn't out of any feelings, she was just sort of drunk.

 _"I knew it was going to be like this. It's not real, fuck it. The problem is in me,not her."_

Upon that reluctance, the girl felt insulted - she was basically giving him permission and he backed off! She knew him and his conviction and appreciated it, "Actually I'm not even drunk. Don't be a wuss,damn pretty boy!" her angry face was cute as well. Just the way she said it was the right mix of sexy and mad, that voice was irresistible.

Still on her toes, she took a hold of his neck and Issei's eyes widened as Xuelan gave her happy birthday congratulations in the way she knew - not wasting any time she leaned forward and closed her eyes once more.

 _"You sneaky little Harunoshita! It's not my fault i like you!"_

This time he didn't chicken out and pressed his lips to hers but instead of one small kiss, she pried his mouth open and slipped him her tongue. It was sloppy and sexy, she tilted her head to have a better angle as she gave a soft moan when they touched. For a moment they stopped and opened their eyes to look at each other - it was weird and yet nice. There was something gentle, something ravenous into those eyes. Hunger.

 _"Shit! The thirst is real!? Oh,no,no,no I'm not ready yet."_

Something told her she was being watched and she knew this abhorred presence well. "You know...", she spoke softly but couldn't exactly finish her thoughts, turning around just a little to see with the edge of her peripheral vision one Akeno Himejima looking at their direction while dancing with Kiba.

Without paying attention, she closed her eyes again and leaned forward for another kiss. The Pawn took the invitation and like the man he was sprawled his hand over her rump and pulled her closer to do what she wanted. With more passion and desire she grabbed his neck and moaned in pleasure, her eyes opened to see his meek expression to which she squinted with ravenously sucking on his tongue as she spun him around and flipped the greatest of birds for the Queen to see.

Moments later after having lingered, she moved away with one full of embarrassment face and hid in the large crowd of atleast three hundred party goers, leaving him alone.

Kiba was jealous. His pride as an legman was damaged! He had to have those legs for himself!

Motohama raised a thumbs up before he moved away with Mira. Next in the crowd found him Marion who looked great. Red dress,high heels and the devil's smile and an angel's eyes met his gaze as she made her way through the crowd. From the other side came up the other birthday girl, Sayaka who skidded to her friend and Matsuda came over with Siris as the song reached the chorus to be near them.

 _"Fine. Let's do this,you guys!"_

Grabbing both girls at this left and right he jumped when the bass dropped. He first danced a little with the brunette with warm droopy eyes to her delight, she deviously giggled when she clung to his side and jumped with her fist pumped in the air and singing just the right words off the bat. Marion locked her fingers with his and pulled both hands in the air, quickly switched her footing and rested her arms over his waist and started dancing. She had the moves, she had the style. Issei for the first time in his life didn't mind it at all. He appreciated all of her effort in organizing this wild gathering. Even as shaking a hip or two for her, her eyes shining like a miniature sun.

Then he hugged his friend under his arm and let the other girl free, to dance with the one he was most comfortable with. He was a decent dancer, having taken lessons from Arthur and Cecilia on all kinfs of dances when his work required him to be an escort and guardian at events. The three bottles and coctails he emptied dry had affected him in feeling slightly drunk but fully understanding of what he was doing. It would take 5 bottles for him to get drunk due to his metabolism of a dragon, it was something of a curse and a blessing.

Dancing provocatively, both soon immersed themselves in the fun but did not leave the Phenex Pawn out of it.

"That's better! _Let's get it crackin', bottles we back in town, we so plastered, so meet her in the bathroom._ " both sang together while they were having fun. His friend danced with such an ardor he could not help but feel elated and grinned like an idiot when his eyes glanced straight at her, it was like he was comfortable when both said dirty words abd such, "~ _She just turned 18, she calls me baby, cause she's been waiting, all night to_ " ignoring the last part of the chorus the brunette turned around with one wicked smile and merrily slapped him on the back for the sake of difference. He let her this once, it was her birthday as well but still didn't resist to smack that ass in retribution.

Atleast they had grown comfortable with that sort of greeting, blame the White Dragon Emperor for that.

Mesmerized, copying each other's moves and going left and right, it felt like that one time but there was no need to worry about it. Or to hide his gaze. Marion even hugged him from behind and purred like a tigress, "Grrr... Shake it, you creepy eyed bastard! Shake that ass for me, birthday boy!" and landed one kiss on his neck with enough smugness to fill a bathtub, full of smugness.

Fate was for once nice. Too nice for it to be true.

Sona,well, she was an all natural at it. Once she let loose there was nothing to stop her. She left all restraint and had fun for once, dancing with the Lion of Bael who graced this merry occasion with some homemade apple rakia made by his brother Magdaran. The dude was quite chill and fun loving, considering it training of the highest order. The fitness maniac as he was known to be ditched Kuisha to have fun with the Sitri Heiress. Yet it was funny when his hair,it was a wig actually fell down on the ground and his shiny bald head did luster under the lights. Training, that was the reason for it. Kuisha had a heart attack when she saw the truth.

He was seriously bald. And the rumours were true!

And the song ended within time. It was time for some break to drink and play games. The spin the bottle game and for others. A few hours had passed since they were outside and there was so much to do. Let's just say it was going to be one heroic night...

And somewhere Cao Cao's crotch was still glowing with a bright light.

XXX

Hyoudou Residence, Secret Room, 23:16 pm

After having gone inside, both Kiba and Issei were dragged along by Rias and her Queen to the hallway on the third floor through a secret passage located near the left wall of the corridor. It was made sure no one would know of this place no matter how much they would search for it, the entrance was located behind a small picture, which upon being removed, revealed a secret compartment in which there was a small key that went in a rotary mechanism to open up a small corridor.

Before the mechanism, Rias held the key with both of her hands securing it tightly in her grip in the moment the mechanical lock shifted gears, removed it's camouflage capability and spun open for a dark corridor to appear before their eyes.

Issei was nervous, Kiba was terrified by any of the possibilities that might lurk in there while Akeno was somewhat sober now but not exactly, she still drank a bit from the spiked drinks Azazel sent but didn't quite exactly know of such an occurrence. The enthusiastic girl slid her arms between the Pawn and Knight's armpits to secure them in one place, surrounded on both sides by the men she loved dearly.

 _"Maybe i should knock out Rias and just have them for myself? That wouldn't be bad but who cares... I want a 3P for my birthday. Which is pretty soon."_

Just the face Akeno made told them this wasn't going to be something good. Especially for Yuuto since she sort of zapped his buttocks with electricity and one time tried to stab a bamboo stick in him. Atleast she was dressed now in normal clothes, she wouldn't sog the carpet with water. Same for Rias. Issei was still angered by their handiwork of remodeling his house without his permission but his thoughts still lingered to the pool. For obvious reasons.

"Please follow me to the corridor. This will only take you a minute." with her usually sweet voice, Rias made a gesture to follow after her in the dark corridor before someone would see them. It was something suspicious no doubt as Kiba created a sword in his free hand while Issei morphed his hand into a scaly clawed arm of red hardened scales and charged some mana through his fingers in order to react fast enough.

It did hurt the King that they didn't trust her, even till this day but she bit her lips anxiously and stepped forward into the dark space in a leap of faith.

Akeno pushed both to walk with one mirthful smirk, taking the first step herself to show them it was nothing to be afraid of. "Do you not wish to receive the _Red/Black Special_? And i did a lot to make it happen. Come on, i just want to celebrate with the men i love. Is it that much to ask for?" acting like a puppy she made those heart wrenching gazes which still felt fake to the house owner but it was going to be super annoying if it wasn't dealt with. Atleast they carried some bottles of Azazel's present to freshen up since some of them had a dry throat.

"Fine. But I'll kill you on the spot if you try anything funny on me. And I'm not stupid, it's something that i don't think I'll like..." venom he belched with his words. Nevertheless he was dragged along by the Nephilim into the corridor where they all dissappeared and the door locked, the mechanism sealed the room and everything went back to how it was before the opening of the secret tunnel.

XXX

After a short walk inside the dark corridor, which wasn't really pleasant but it wasn't like they could say anything since they could see, the four were in front of one medium sized room which couldn't possibly be in the structure plans of the house due to it's sheer size.

White tiles sprawled across the floor, peach colored walls greeted them from every side. From what could be seen there was a small section with a wall that separated the medium sized jacuzzi which was able to fit atleast ten people in it or atleast half of Fafnir, maybe. That wall acted as a makeshift changing room for whoever was going to use it. The illumination was soft and nice, not too bright nor too dark. Just the right amount of light to make it feel somewhat romantic.

The jacuzzi was state of the art, brand new and filled with everything there was to be. It was a bit deep but thankfully there were small stairs that were designed to help those who were shorter not to drown, a few good bottles of wine and of course there was foam over the water. It felt more like a bathtub than a jacuzzi with that foam over it.

 _"What the fuck is this? A secret room inside my house? When i get everything back to normal... I might keep this one for myself. No more waiting for to use the bath."_

Issei clapped his hands together and looked towards the jacuzzi with a approving gaze like this was the present itself. He almost had forgotten why he was here for it was a good idea - another place to bath without having to wait any of the three girls he lived with to wash first. And even better since Riser stayed from time to time and he sort of had the habit to take over his room so it was a good development in the long run.

"You like what you see?" the question was delivered quite cheesy. The volume of smugness was extraordinary but the voice was quite restrained. Rias had sincerely hoped he would like this one atleast, he never liked her at all and avoided them a lot so maybe it was the time to somehow reconcile and make it work. "Though it is not the present itself. I assure you of that." she was as if lecturing a little child with her index finger raised like she was some tutor or something. Sona sometimes did the same thing but it wasn't smug, it was bland but welcomed.

Before Issei could even say something, the pretty boy Yuuto took the moment to clear out his throat and ask straight to the point. "So what was it that you spoke of earlier? I thought it was only for me!", jealousy lingered in his delivery. He was jealous. It might have been his birthday but he believed it was only his right to see what was in store.

"Taking those damn perfect legs away from me. And on top of it i regret not having taken up Takeyama's request... I hate myself for having let that slide..."

A man's jealousy was ugly. From all of those conversations he had with the brunette he found something of a kindred spirit who understood him on a deeper level past his exterior, a gentle, nice, normal girl who deserved only the best in his opinion. He once told her that her parents should have named her Shiori out loud due to the joke of rearranging the letters to form the Japanese word for buttocks, he had balls of steel to say that to her face.

Akeno moved away gracefully to the makeshift changing room but not before saying something encouraging to him. "Don't you worry, my dear. You are what i need. I need both of you to be honest because... I love you the same." there was a pause in her voice, it felt rather awkward to say it but she meant it from the bottom of her heart. It was sincere. "...and i want you to love me just the same." she went behind the wall in fast steps,leaving Rias alone with them.

Kiba smiled. He only smiled with something real in it, not the fake pleasantries he graced people with all the time. Rias found herself hurting but she knew her Knight loved her dearly, going as far as to do anything to make her feel better. And that threesome he had with her and Himejima certainly did the thing and made them even closer than before.

Issei was still the outsider of the group.

 _"Don't you declare your feelings like that cause i might really actually feel something terribly wrong for you_ _,I don't want to fall in love again._ _. It's not even nice when you look similar to her but fuck it."_

"I did put up a lot of effort into doing this, you know... So love me back too!" it was so funny when Rias puffed her cheeks and left her hands on her waist. She was a spoiled brat but learned a lot this past year and became a better person who did what she wanted and didn't put up with any expectations placed on her. Still, some things never changed.

The crimson haired Rias threw the two a set of blindfolds in their direction and instructed them to put them on and wait for the right moment. Both agreed somehow and sat across the two chairs present with the blindfold on.

 _"I wonder what it is? I hope it's not another one of those bamboo sticks she tried to skewer me with last time. I told her i don't want the bamboo treatment but noooo! Better be good this time."_ Kiba mentally prepared for the worst, hands shaking in fear and clutching the sword tightly.

 _"I hope it's not some bullshit. And it's good that nobody would notice me being gone. I really like this aspect of being a loner. But why do i feel tense and awaiting for something cool?"_ _,_ Issei remained calm in the face of the unknown, reasoning it was something atrocious so it wouldn't be unexpected. It was her after all, skinship was her modus operandi. And telling you to wear tight leather pants on every occasion.

"You can take those down now. It's fine." Rias's voice was lacking any embarrassment. It was the hardened voice of a commander addressing her troops for their next mission. Still it didn't help but make them feel something was wrong. When necessary they would tag team to deal with it when it got way too out of hand.

There was a small splash of water.

Kiba and Issei somehow removed their respective blindfolds at the same time, one eye free just in case to cover it up if it was horrible.

But it wasn't horrible at all.

Both removed their blindfolds fully, stared like stung with no words coming out. It was something different, maybe it was disappointment.

In the jacuzzi sat Rias in a red polka dot bikini that was a size smaller than necessary, leisurely sitting in the water with her hair tied in a ponytail. It was something rare of her to do but it felt nice, it was fresh and somehow made her shine in a new perspective. It was kinda hot, the way she looked at them with her bewitching expression. It was like a story being told just by looking at those eyes of her, one of attraction and appeal. In her hands she held something wrapped with a ribbon, it appeared to be a sword judging by the shape of the present. Or worse. A bamboo stick...

Next to her sat Akeno, this time clad in a black and indigo polka dot bikini which was basically the same as Rias's, ravenously staring at the two frazzled guys in one evil, sexy glare of temptation and desire. Her hair was left to flow freely, adding magnitudes to her appeal since she rarely did and it was just so nice to see her like that. In her hands she held some box in birthday wrappings with a black and red ribbon, since she wasn't fully submerged in the water. And the added bonus of bath foam made it really sensual.

It was nice. Truly nice and a bit creative but it was sort of lacking. It may have been a pleasant sight to the eye but it wasn't what the Knight expected. It was normal, it was tame and not horrible.

"Well? What do you think?"

Yuuto tapped his chin with his left hand, dissipated his sword into motes of dark light and stared dispassionately like he wasn't even amused. Raising one brow in boredom, having had his expectations crushed so easily and being foolish in thinking it was something special, he silently made one sigh and looked up towards the ceiling.

"It's not bad at all. It's really nice and all but it's not exactly what i had expected, to be honest." he was blunt and didn't like to lie them. He was honest with his reply, took out his phone to take a picture of it and brought it back in his pocket. He wasn't even excited; he had seen already how they looked like so it just something normal to him.

Even if he was drunk it didn't impress him much, it still hurt when people thought he was on the other coast when he liked girls only. "But still, thanks for your effort. I appreciate it a lot."

Issei remained calm and drinking from that booze Azazel sent. Every time the Queen let her hair down it triggered memories of Raynare which in turn the dead used to haunt him and break him further to take control and resurface into the living world by using the appearance of his killer to destroy him. She reminded him of her, there was a resemblance between the two he could not deny. Especially when she didn't tie her hair up. But the booze somehow kept him relaxed.

"Well, let's go down already. I like presents and thank you for that surprise but let's just have some fun and relax." Kiba prepared to stand up and run away from here. He wasn't in the mood yet so it was better to leave and take what they brought.

"Oh, i see...", Akeno replied savory.

"Check this out." she caught their attention easily with the following, "I lift. They bounce." and pushed her breasts up and let them down, directing her words towards the better parts in them, "I'm not done with you just yet." only the perverse giggle was left.

"I mean, what did you think? Like i wasn't going to try something different and surprise my dear men?" the red haired girl was seemingly offended by his words. Her face soured, feeling like they didn't trust her at all. And she had done her best at that!

"Let's be honest", beginning in a new direction, Rias wagged a finger, "...nobody can resist the Himejima Special but what about the Red/Black Special? I mean the _real_ one, this was just the warm-up." confident and conceited suddenly, the busty heiress implied something about it. "But you didn't seem to be interested... So you lose."

The brown haired boy gulped down in some nasty way, he was feeling uncomfortable at hearing these words. He wasn't scared but mostly annoyed as usual with the superficial conversations and situations like these which where a waste of good time to read some good book, relax and enjoy the silence and hit a beer or two before bed. But that was denied tonight, even on this day he couldn't help but feel dread and in this moment - weirdness.

 _"Don't tell me... It's that, why is my spidey sense tingling like mad? Not the scars, the other sense. And earlier i almost messed up. Thankfully nobody actually noticed since they are drunk."_

"Fine by me. Show me." Kiba went away from his chair in careful steps.

 _"My Bitch Sense is tingling. This damn fuckin pretty boy! At one point you were ready to leave and now you stay? And it's not my fault you handed your contract to me. We have to take what we get, not to be 's what my mother always said - if they give you something you take it and if they chase you gotta run."_ Issei rolled his eyes at the sudden change of mind the blonde Devil had.

"Fine...But it's only for you. You don't tell anyone about it or show anything. Got that?" with a blush like her red hair, Rias ordered. The threat was serious just as much as she was sober. It was easy to see she had been intoxicated and possibly was an idiot to take some of the stuff from the gnome she smashed with Koneko's face as a bat but... It didn't matter.

Whatever they held in their arms was gone - the lights glowed with a dampened white light over the whole room, which made it somewhat cozy as much as a jacuzzi room could be.

With a hesitant turn, Rias slowly moved closer with embarrassment glowing like a neon sign on her face. It felt so strange and despite what she said earlier, she had put up a front to make herself appear decisive and to rile up both Knight and Pawn for the giggles but it wasn't like that actually. Her eyes glowed with the signs of hesitation but a willingness there was which added a layer of extra depth to her already existing crimson red blush.

Akeno was rather straightforward and collected in comparison to her blushing like a tomato King. Her look was coy and with perverted glamour like the stars but yet that reluctance that she could not mask so well. Atleast a few emotions were intertwined into one feeling that was like a mask on her features, spiraling and coiling like a serpentine until the moment they would explode like napalm.

There was this weird feeling. This anxiety and beating of the heart that raced like crazy.

Rias was sitting close to her and leaned over to Akeno, turning around to meet her gaze with her own in what could be said to be a gaze, full of intoxication and tenderness. Akeno swiveled, placing her hands over her waist gently with pulling herself to be even closer, she was just as drunk as the rest but it wasn't something to be ashamed of. Her right hand found it's way to Rias's neck, using that moment to send one dirty look at both - making their knees weak with just that gawk of promises of something forbidden. It was passion.

In that very moment that followed, she turned back to Rias and soon both exchanged one weird look with one another, the black haired girl glanced once and then she sensually pressed her lips to Rias's very own.

Just right before their eyes.

At first before any of them could register what was happening, from a light peck of lips it went to a full blown kiss. Rias's eyes closed and she tilted her head to the right with her slender arms wrapping around the other girl's back, ignoring the rest of the world around her to indulge in this unexpected moment. The Queen's left hand slipped down to the outer side of Rias's thigh as she stuck her tongue deep in her mouth and moaned in pleasure.

It was gentle. It was sensual and forbidden passion in one at the same moment, both raunchy but yet tender and full of love.

 _"What the fuck... Gotta tape this on a video!"_ before Issei would try to take out his phone he saw Kiba standing there like a man with his phone in both hands, calm and reserved but very much a lecher.

For a moment they stopped and switched angles when one of them saw the Knight holding his phone and shooting a video. Rias wanted nothing but to make her peerage happy, even if it meant having to sacrifice what she had. So she twisted her body and pulled Akeno a bit to the side with the girl brushing her hair behind her ear and opening one eye to wink while still being like drunk in her kiss. It was definitely hot, it was no secret both men had imagined this not just once but many times before.

It was so much better now. From a slow indecisive kiss, both were now enjoying it judging by the twitch in Himejima's brow and her expression. She was like going to burst in laughter and embarrassment but didn't quite care for it was actually rather nice, ravenously sucking on her tongue and moving her hands to grab ass while the red haired Gremory continued to moan in delight while pushing over her best friend and squeezing her right breast underneath the black polka dot top she wore.

Issei was stunned. Rather he was like a hot dog, burning with fire from his eyes and the same flames bursting from mouth and couldn't quite process all of this. But he approved of it! It meant he would be left alone and free from the suffocating feelings Akeno Himejima had for him which was the best present ever. Freedom...from an everyday terror was the best.

Still it was hard to contain. Like who could actually resist the Himejima Special, but take it up a notch and have the Red/Black Special? Nothing in the world could really stop that!

After enough fooling around, both girls just parted away embarrassed with some distance between them. It was probably the first time Rias actually tried that in front of someone willing as one time it was by accident but that would be left for another story. Her breathing was hitched, panting hard and heavy as her arms stretched out towards the Knight.

Hungry, egotistical and desirable, she sought out the aid of her Knight with love filled eyes of desire. "...I can't... I need you..."

Kiba couldn't quite resist so he stripped his shirt off and sort of slipped into the jacuzzi hard.

"No. I know what this means and i refuse." adamant about not wanting to participate in this event, Issei turned around and went straight for the door to save his mind but... Fate was too kind to let that happen.

Into him bumped the Fallen Angel girl who barred the exit. Moving a step back to get some space she denied it by moving a step forward and her arms were going for his back, he knew what she was after so he covered himself with both arms to save himself from the everyday abuse. It wasn't enough that the White Dragon Emperor begun to do it from time to time as confirmation of his identity but this girl... She did it incessantly and whenever she liked. Oh,and she loved to yell things like "wear tight leather pants!" at the worst moment possible.

"Come on...it's my birthday?!" she purred like a cat with her tongue touching her teeth and her predatory eyes eating him and undressing him like the lust driven girl she was. "Everybody knows that we go together. The people love it and i actually do want you... Grrrr", she growled softly but those eyes were dangerous.

"Look here, Himejima. My balls are already in vice as it is so don't make it harder for me. And it's not your birthday." meekly muttered Issei with a lecturing tone. Fate was a bitch. She wouldn't let him have anything nice but giving him so much in one day was surely so she could hurt him even more. "I don't want to hurt you, okay? Plus i don't think i want to make things worse."

Not even listening, she leaned over his shoulder and whispered, "Issei...my body is soaking wet right now."

"Oh, you sure are...", he slipped with a serious voice that didn't quite match his face at the moment, "...wait, it's like in that abridged series i watched. That's not the point! No,no,no seriously. Stop. Or i might not make it out alive."

She paused for a moment and tried to keep her balance by grabbing his other shoulder.

 _"Decartes, tell me what should i do? Give me strength."_ he checked his phone and asked for help. But he didn't quite expect the answer to be like that, he was probably hearing things.

The picture of Decartes spoke back at him with a dignified voice, not sparing any of his wisdom as it intensified violently.

 _"Give her the D!"_ , based Decartes gave him his best advice he always told people of - through dick, unity! Or whatever that meant. Dank memes, could you blame them.

"Oh,I'm gonna enjoy this so much." tilting her head to bite him on the neck, she whispered something more but it was not heard since her jaw hurt like hell because of the red scales that manifested on his skin as protection.

And by accident, fuck you Fate, both slipped on the tiles and she landed on him with a kiss. It didn't help at all that she began to try to strip him of his clothes. If it were any other guy, they would have killed to be in that situation. Issei, not quite sure what to do, tried to push her away but the damn girl wouldn't let him. It was going to be something he would love/hate to happen to him.

"I'll never forgive you for this..."

"I don't want your forgiveness. I want your love so sweet, so sour. Punishment!"

And somewhere else, Barakiel was drinking his cup of tea while Shemhazai held his phone and giggled like a little girl on the sofa.

"Is it done yet?", sipping from his cup Barakiel sternly asked his friend in a cryptic way.

"All set and clear, Lord Decartes." saluting, Shemhazai left the phone and went to the kitchen to grab some food.

"Excellent. Now i shall await the birth of my grandchild and teach them the way of the M when they grow up. Shuri, you would have been proud." he was so proud of his deed. "New stock on the Wallstreet broker market coming right up. Andrenomics it is." and like the good masochist he was - he summoned a pair of glasses and placed them on his face and then smashed the table with a pink cattle whip.

Fallen Angels, can you blame them?

XXX

"Truth or dare, Shidou-san? Choose wisely." Xenovia smirked at Irina who was the lucky girl on spin the bottle. She landed on her a few times already but always screwed her over by denying her any dare that involved the host of the party. Xenovia was a trickster when drunk. She always had fun by messing around with her former comrade, one time with Lucca they slipped some tabasco sauce in her Coca Cola and took a video of it to sell at the higher levels.

In the room they were, which was located on the first floor, in a circle were gathered Kuroka, Arthur Pendragon, Irina,Xenovia, Ravel,Bikou,Dio,Rias,Sona, Issei and one nasty yandere Gabriel who made his day go bad. And many more who chose to spectate this ritual.

"Dare. I chose dare so please don't be so cruel with me." pleading with puppy eyes, Irina glanced at Xenovia in telling her something only they knew by that short moment where their eyes met.

Everyone was awaiting the dare Xenovia would think of. So far it was just normal, boring stuff and so on with most choosing to be dared to do something than to tell the truth.

Xenovia smiled thinly, "Very well then. I dare you to take the brunt of that technique and stay the way you are for 10 minutes."

Everyone kept queit when they heard those words. Nobody dares to snicker since it would ruin the fun, only Irina didn't quite get the situation behind what the cobalt haired Executor inferred. This was going to be fun.

Issei took the cue immediately and leaned towards the twintailed girl who sat opposite of him with a dull,boring look in his eyes that scared her to no ends. Everything in his movement was precise and carefully calculated to make it seem harmless but little did she know what was in store for her.

"This will only sting for a moment", monotonous as a rock, Issei placed his right palm on her leg and casually smiled to the best of his ability to not make her feel creeped out but it wasn't very effective at all. The small circle popped up on her leg and in one moment of silence - all of her clothing was stripped, sans her knee socks and panties, in one big puff of smoke and shredded clothing bursting into every direction.

"YEAAAHHH!", Bikou's voice rose to the highest when he was presented one naked Irina in knee socks and panties as a feast for his eyes. Giving the thumbs up, he said, "Damn girl,you stacked. Is it because of the KFC?"

Irina was paralyzed with fear. She had to stay like that for 10 minutes before them and she couldn't do anything about it. The rules were absolute. She covered herself to the best of her abilities and made one loud shriek of embarrassment. "How would i be a bride now? What am i going to do? Gabriel! Help me!" through teary eyes she stood up and ran away from here to change clothes.

Still, it was nice and like the man he was, Issei squinted his eyes and proclaimed, "That's what you get for getting me all emotional on Christmas. Still, thanks for the treat." and waved her off as she ran away. And he was proud of it.

"Okay... Time for the next dare." Ravel picked the bottle and spun it around, awaiting the poor soul that might be subjected to do her bidding. It was none other than Bikou who got the short end of the stick.

"Show me what you got, little miss Phenex. I can handle it but don't you dare make it disgusting. So dare me!" drinking from his wine, even if he didn't drink on the job, he was careful with his liquor since they had to drive back home and driving safely was essential.

Ravel giggled delightfully at this declaration. "Then so shall it be, Monkey King Bikou. I dare you to hug Kuroka like you hug your spouse."

God, it was something he didn't quite like to be honest. He and Kuroka didn't like each other at all, barely getting along together because of Vali and by no means were they secretly attracted to each other, by no means necessarily for it to be true.

"Fine. Just pray you won't get to be next." annoyed with this turn of events Bikou moved up from his spot to go to Kuroka who stood up hesitantly.

With some abominable effort both attempted to hug each other but it was like mixing water and oil. It did not match. It was the briefest of seconds did they hug and separated like they were toxic chemicals, sitting back at their respective places and muttering curses under their breath.

Diodora next took the initiative and spun the bottle, hoping it to be someone who was worth messing around with. Rubbing his hands in anticipation, he watched as it spun and pointed at the Sitri Heiress whose complexion paled in terror. The Astaroth Heir hated her for how she treated her sister as a nuisance and her icy exterior but mostly since she was in his way of taking Serafall as his bride/sister, whatever the crack ship dictated. It was his time to play.

"Truth or dare, Sitri?"

"Since everyone else picked Dare then i shall i. I have no secrets to be embarrassed of." dignified and mighty, Sona casually waved a hand at the challenger in admitting she was the best there is around these places.

"Then for my dare you shall –

He couldn't finish as someone got ahead of him. "Wear a swimsuit and wave and bite through this metal pipe while singing My sister is the best. On my lap." it was none other than Zephyrdor Glaysia-Labolas himself who stood behind Diodora.

"What the fuck dude? You're dead!"

The tattooed man did not seem to be frazzled with being told that. He just grinned. "Being dead is boring. No booze, no boobs on my butt and definitely no fun. But atleast i don't get annoyed by Christina." it did not help at all that Hades was behind him and Vali was using his flaming skull to roast marshmallows. "And i came here to see boobs and butt! So show 'em what ya got, girl."

His decapitated head was in place and held by a lot of duct dead, improvise!

Arthur Pendragon shot a glance at the Sitri girl in one slow look from head to toe and calmly concluded on his analysis. He wasn't wearing his shirt at all, just his tie was left to dangle around and he was cool with it. Caliburn he held like a mother owl between his legs and still looked so serious and cool. Even when drunk he was respectable.

"If you have legs, nice knockers and butt... You gotta show 'em, beautiful things must be flaunted." he calmly responded by holding his sword and rocked a glass of whiskey in his other hand. Even that was done cool, "I'm sure you wanted it to be something special. But the king's rules are absolute! And, I am King!"

Did he mixed it up with the King's Game? Nevermind, he had enough swag to compete with Yu Narukami and get away with it. He was the King after all, the handsome beast of the Vali Team.

Everyone begun to cheer Sona loudly, demanding she had to do it or she would lose. They wanted nothing more than simply to watch the show and since it was necessary, Diodora handed her his goat leg shaped crowbar to shred into pieces as they all waited for the show.

"Very well then. The Sitri Perfection i must display!", this was so unlike her. She was stiff,modest and reserved in everything she did but to agree so easily with this was quite terrifying. Alcohol was truly the greatest sorcerer. "Watch, you uncultured men. I shall allow you to see the body of your King!"

She broke a bottle and used it to slice apart her dress in one careful slash, said dress falling on the carpet and revealing her morphed body to the world. Proudly she stood in her swimsuit, a dark blue halterneck bikini that earlier she was embarrassed to be seen with, looking down upon these people like a smug Ice Queen over her subjects.

With her shoulder length black hair that had grown even more within time she looked really great. The aura of a sexy librarian was quite the matching description for her, a fetish of many gathered here men. Her previously lacking curves body was shifted into a curvier body frame due to the process of turning into a Dragonette, those nice legs were slender and attractive but what finished the look and making it quite exotic was the three scaled Brand that resided between her breasts. Only a few had ever seen it, it was kinda erotic in Arthur's opinion as he nodded appreciatively to that.

Ravel was jealous - before Sitri had a bust much smaller than her... But now... She was rocking the number of B:90 and she flaunting herself like it mattered! Damn dragons and their shitty genes! This wasn't fair at all,that was cheating. But in the end Issei just shot her one deadpan look that said "I love you" but it was really because he was decently drunk .

"Fuck. I seriously should have lived if i knew you'd turn out to be like that. Now come and meet your future husband." Zephyrdor gasped in awe. His tattoos glowed the same in response. Those were like the notification light on a Xperia phone, who would've guessed he was just as lecherous as the rest.

The crowbar she held and snapped with that angel smile of sharp fangs in a slasher grin, said metal falling down in perfectly even pieces. But then again she chewed once or twice before sticking out her tongue to show a black heart made of the metal she so neatly destroyed. And the best was if you were stranded in a desert you wouldn't die of thirst, she could fill your pool with mineral water or make ice for your margarita. And that was one of the best things you could get - no more paying bills for the water!

But she didn't say the rest. She couldn't as her mental defenses kicked in to save her from this act of embarrassment.

"What is Hades doing here anyway? And who's that?" Rias pointed at the robed figure with the rebar rod chilling on the couch and watching their bullshit unfold.

Hades just nodded in what could be said to be approval.

To that question the robed figure left his weapon aside, grabbed the hems of his cowl and tugged them down to reveal the truth. It was unbelievable. It was impossible, there was no way it could have been true...

X's identity was actually... It was none other than Michael Jackson...

"No way... You're alive! How could this be true!" in unison Kiba and Tiamat growled in excitement of getting to meet their idol in the flesh. Crossing the distance and pushing down several people to get to him, both Kiba and Tiamat threw themselves at the King of Pop and hugged him dearly in one embrace that could not be escaped.

"How much I've missed you, your moon walk lives forever in me and my soul. I have all of your stuff back at my apartment. Could you sign my head, please?" a permanent marker popped into Yuuto's hand as he glanced at the King in awaiting for his autograph. He was a big fan of his music and dance, those moves saving him many times in his battles where there was no hope of victory.

"The Billie Jean's not my lover, you're just a girl...victim i am the one!" Tiamat sang in glee as she hugged her idol even tighter than before.

"Do not fear my child for the King of Pop can never die. It's just a publicity stunt to hype up my return, i was reincarnated by some Devil called Sirzechs Lucifer seven years ago and we've been working on my new album ever since." the now revealed Michael Jackson signed Yuuto's forehead with the marker and tried to catch his breath from Tia's hug.

"What about me?" Sona could only mumble incoherently afterwards before Issei covered her with his jacket and made her sit down.

"Moving on. Next challenger get ready!" like nothing had happened, Rias spun the bottle and hoped it was someone she would have had her time in torturing, ahem, challenging. And it was glorious Diodora Astaroth that got the chance. "Truth or dare?"

"Fuck. This won't end well for me. Whatever." the dirty blonde haired Devil waved off her question and left her to choose.

"Then", Rias's eyes glowed with evil, "do that arm thing on Vali! And kiss her too!" she was evil. She was truly an evil mastermind, giggling dirty at the reactions they all made.

"Well i guess we have to do it then." he moved away and with a push cornered Vali to a wall. His hand was on the wall and he was leaning closer to her, she was sort of uncomfortable and meek but she knew her heart skipped a beat! Like who could actually resist the Astaroth Sexy Beast? It was like in those movies with the guy blocking a girl's path and trying to seduce her but it was rather tense.

He leaned over to her ear and whispered something. Something only she knew. It was kinda cool watching that attempt if not for her raised hands in imitating a squeeze to which Arthur immediately hid behind Ravel, Bikou summoned his staff and snuggled into Kuroka and Kuroka jumped at Rias to hide.

She was ready and rolling, flustered or not she would hand out her judgement to these people, her fingers were twitching and somewhere inside Albion was crying.

 **[I'm not faaaaat! I just have big hips!]**

It wouldn't end until the hands of the White Dragon Emperor had taken their share of judgement, proceeding to smash the sides of the snake eyed man with a deranged look, and for the final touch she kissed him on the cheek before he fell defeated on the floor.

But Tobio Onii-chan was there. And he saw everything... _Everything._

And Vali was nowhere to be seen.

"Okay. Let's do this again.", It was time for Xenovia to have her turn again. Carefully choosing the amount of strength to use for her spin, the bottle was like telekinetically adjusted to point towards Ravel Phenex, who glowered at the cobalt haired girl with one sorry look. It was a way to express her fear at what might come to be. "Truth or dare, young maiden?"

"U-um... Truth?", unsure whether she had chosen correctly Ravel immediately caught on and tried to change her mind but to no avail. It was too late.

"Confess your true feelings to the person you love the most. Right here,right now." commanded Xenovia.

Nervous, boiling like a tea kettle, her cheeks were marred with an extreme shade of red when she looked at every corner and saw people staring at her. It was something dreadful, something so vile as to being the one who had spill out her heart's contents before so many people. Shaking and sweating in trying to calm down, it was of no result when they began to cheer her on louder and louder.

Those howls were maddening. Ravel would explode any moment now under the pressure. There had to be a way, there had to be something. But there was none.

"T-the o-one i lov...ve is..." stuttering, i-it's... It's... Him!" she pointed towards the passing by Rivezim with Serafall on his shoulders who curiously winked back at them.

"How great it is to be well then, young lady. This old man will respond to your feelings."

"HOW COULD YOU! I trusted you. I carried you when you were a baby and snuggled with you when there was thunder. And you... How could you do this to me?!"

She turned around and only saw her brother, crying with burning hot tears strolling over his cheeks. He couldn't take the bitter truth, it was beyond reason for how could she betray him like that. He wiped away his tears and only said something nobody really knew, "And i gave Hyoudou my blessing to marry you... Mother wanted you to marry him! Not that old geezer!"

"I-i...I'm sorry brother! I won't ever make you cry again." like a bird she flew over to her brother's side and hugged him dearly in a bear hug.

Everybody stared at Riser in was flustered.

"Needs some Yosuga no Sora-ing if you ask me." Sona spoke clearly to act as the straight man to this show.

"Like you're one to talk, So-tan! Your sister just wants some lovin' too but you never give me enough! Carry me away, a faraway land where i will be appreciated." Rivezim Livan Lucifer snickered and handed Serafall another ignited roll of weed as he strolled away to the door with Maou.

"Okay. Who's next?"

"I will take this,thank you", Issei took the bottle and did what was necessary to keep the game going. His victim was Gabriel. "Truth or dare? Please be the dare."

Gabriel held a small book in her hands as she closed her eyes to think well on her chances. It was no sooner than the next moment when she answered with the truth.

"Why do have to make my life so miserable?"

"It's because", the book was raised over her head, "~i love you! And i want to kill all of these people to have you only for myself. My third book is ready - what she held was a handprint copy of 50 Shades of Dragon Part 3 starring Issei and the spear wielding creep with the mullet Cao Cao on the cover.

"This one is better than the second one with the fitness maniac. I assure you of that. Here it is." handing the book out to the triggered Dragon, he avoided any touch with the cursed object of blasphemy for it was something that would break him further. The first two were atrocious bestsellers up in Heaven and down in the Underworld and gave him a shock but the third would damn his soul forever.

"It's quite good actually, i bought one yesterday." Sona knowingly mentioned her purchase which only brought more pain to the house owner.

"My sister read all night about it. Said it was a fascinating book to which I cried and still forgave her for it." Arthur added.

"That's it! I'm calling the police.FAFNIIIIR! Red alert, i repeat, red alert. We have a yandere on board.", through his last shreds of strength Diodora called forth the Dragon King Fafnir who arrived in his dwarf form and proceeded to comically carry away the Archangel digging her fingers in the carpet and revealing she had the manuscript for a forth book, detailing the adventures of one perverted dragon and a burning Phenex brother. He smashed her on the head with a stunned Koneko bat with no mercy.

"My love is so puuure. I won't let it get away like that. You're mine! Miiiine i tell yooouuu!" and the yandere Angel was no more.

"Can someone do something sexy for once? Enough with the mental trauma." Akeno squeezed the right shoulder of the devilish dragon, and trying to kiss him despite his barrier for personal safety.

"My turn! Oh, you're going to love what I've got in store." perverse laughter was heard.

Kuroka was the one who got the short end of the stick, again.

"Dare it is. But no Monkey King, we have some time to catch up with him later. Nyaa" her tongue traced her lips, further enhancing her mischievous expression as she raised a brow.

"Alright then", wagging a finger, Bikou smiled mirthfully, "kiss that Switch Princess. And make it good." were the exact words he said.

It was much better than having to hug Bikou and it wasn't like the catgirl didn't hold any curiosity about that fact. She grabbed Rias by the neck and kissed her like it was nothing. Just a fast kiss with no feelings at all. Still it wasn't bad at all, Issei nodded approvingly in his mind after it ended.

The next dare was unreasonable - Issei was to kiss Rias and he didn't even say dare at all. People were doing just whatever they wanted, be it his house,his backyard, everything.

"Do it! Come on, Red Dragon Emperor. Don't ya want that feisty redhead to give you a kiss?" asked the Monkey King politely.

"I don't wish to be her toy again. I nearly had my back shanked with a bamboo stick earlier so i don't." painful memories resurfaced when he said that.

During the time in the secret jacuzzi room Akeno tried to stab him with a bamboo stick in her drunken frenzy of trying to strip him naked and finally get what she wanted from him - his love. He had given in finally and tried to embrace her under the great advice of Decartes but in the last moment backed away when she tried to skewer him with the bamboo stick that was masked as a present.Rias tried to do the same. Kiba ran away too.

Rias didn't care at all and took liberties with crawling up to him and smacked his cheeks, which only damaged her before she rose up to finish the dare she was given. Her lips pressed against his in what would be one normal kiss until he pushed her away with his tail swinging dangerously, "Don't. I give up. I'm not going to be harassed anymore. I'm leaving."

And soon the game ended with Ravel being the winner, Diodora and Bikou severely traumatized and going for a drink with Arthur who was still shirtless and holding Caliburn between his legs. Overall, it was one fun game.

For some, that is…

XXX

25th June, Hyoudou Residence, 00:13 pm,Saturday

"…Seriously, how did this happen?" Issei was both puzzled and frightened over what had transpired. It was chaos that took over his house. The music was still rolling outside but he stood inside the house on the pretense of getting some rest.

On the sofa sat Rossweisse who was once again bitching about not having a boyfriend and all of that stuff she usually said to any unfortunate soul who'd lend her an ear and then would regret it. She was cursed by a fellow Valkyrie who was jealous of her status as Odin's bodyguard to never find a man who could be hers. She was mostly annoying to deal with.

Luckily, Siegfried was close by and sat near to her. Ever since Cao Cao stole his thunder and took away Jeanne from his advances, the poor bastard was left alone and branded the forever alone guy by every single enemy who recognized him. And the guy needed someone to love!

"It kinda sucks being alone,don't you think Valkyrie?" he asked, seeing the opportunity to strike a conversation with the girl who was still mulling over the money Odin spent on alcohol and strip clubs. Presenting himself in the best light he could, Siegfried gave her a cup and poured some brandy to help her ease her mind of these worries.

"Tell me about it.", she downed her cup in one go to feel better. "Nobody likes me! Being called the cheap store Valkyrie is so rude. It's not easy to save up when motherfuckin' Odin drinks up all of my saved credits like it was no big deal."

"Yeah, i feel you. They call me the _Sieg Forever Alone_ guy..." so said the punching bag of the Hero Faction. "But you kinda seem like you want to be entertained. How about it, Valkyrie?", he made a proposal, "you love heroes, do you not? And i think you need someone who understands you and likes you just the way you are." serenity blazed in his gunmetal blue eyes. He was sympathetic to her fate and wanted to make, wanted to do something about it.

"What can you do,Hero?", when she tried to act all serious and raised an eyebrow in a playful manner, she was so much better than being a Monster of Complaining. She still held the cup in her hand and shaked it as a sign for more. "Entertain me, Siegfried. Show me something that can please me."

"With pleasure, milady." as he said that, four extra limbs ripped through his t-shirt and wiggled in motion like waves. The man was also a big Michael Jackson fan and had wanted to show Leticia, Jeanne's real name since she hadn't yet thought of something cooler than use her ancestor's name. Or a.k.a the sheath to Cao Cao's spear. But didn't get lucky.

"Ok. I'll take you on, Hero. You seem to be a man of many talents.", she glanced at the extra limbs and giggled like a little girl. Siegfried had just found a new use for his sub-species Sacred Gear, one that would certainly let him win all of the ladies. And after some more talk both dissappeared to the second floor. The house hady many, many rooms.

Gasper was sitting in Kuroka's lap when Elmenhilde Karnstein tried to act all nice with him but he rejected her nicely with some friendly advice from the King of the Fomorians, Balor of the Evil Eye, as in the only way he knew. Balor was called the Evil Eye because of his habit to peek at the exact same time during night when females took baths and one of his eyes was badly damaged on one occasion by an angry lady, hence the one eye. He was just an voyeur to be honest.

 **"The King of the Fomorians will show you why they call me the Evil Eye. Are you prepared, little miss nekomata?"** Gasper/Balor spoke with dignity to the girl who held him in her lap.

"Meoww. We'll see about that,my dearest King. Are you ready for a girl like me?" sassed back Kuroka as grabbed Gasper in her arms and carried him away to have a good time. And no one would ever dare call the Dhampir a girl for he was a glorious man. A true player and a man of worth.

Le Fay was drinking some wine until the moment her brother saw her and fell to his knees. He was still shirtless by the way and Caliburn was nothing but a crutch to hold on.

"IMOUTO! Do not go to the dark side, stay with your beloved brother." letting out one intoxicated yell, a howl of the most dreadful dog there was, Arthur opened his arms to prepare to catch her, "Do not leave me, beloved sister or i won't live without you. Now,come! Come and fly to your brother's breast!" and he awaited her to jump.

Le Fay placed her shutter sunglasses and with the speed of light flew in the air and instead landed on Caliburn after colliding with his bare chest, having her with the strength to mutter one wish.

"Take... me to KFC... I want to eat chic...ken nuggets...", and after hearing that Arthur carried her away to the third floor of the house in one of those unoccupied rooms.

People just went along with people, all sorts of unimaginable pairings. Atleast Issei's friends scored which was about time, but one blonde Knight was trying his luck with one Phenex Rook with perfect legs on the other side.

"They ditched you, didn't they?" the charming handsome appealed to the dejected Xuelan with a warm smile but behind it - he had always been captivated by those beautiful slender legs of hers as he was a proud LegMan and he wanted those! So he played his cards straight.

"You know, maybe you should have a walk outside for some fresh air."

"Don't you dare use honeyed words, you damn pretty boy!" she batted an eye in a tsun fashion, but like everyone else who drank from the spiked drinks - she turned around and only said, "Come with me. Let's walk then." pulled him by the hand to Himejima's dismay.

Akeno spotted Riser and intended to back the Rook dearly for taking one of her own...by taking one of her men. Still, Riser was a bro and turned her advances down for he was to marry soon. So what was left was for her to call out Bikou and Diodora since they were left. This girl was just so much to handle...

People were hooking up left and right before the host's eyes, some pretty weird couples were born but he didn't really care about it. Issei spotted Cao Cao leaning on a table and grinning like an idiot with the True Longinus resting on his shoulder as he drank beer from a can while Rivezim and Serafall were playing beer pong with the Executor girls in the kitchen.

 _"What the hell? Why is that guy's crotch glowing?"_

Truth be told, Issei actually understood what everyone was saying perfectly due to having the Drunken Devil language skills that automatically translated whatever gibberish they talked into coherent speech. From his point of view it looked normal but in reality most couldn't even say their names right, barely even talk normally.  
Nobody even noticed the extreme bizarre occurrence with the leader of the Hero Faction, it was like totally normal for him to be sparkling like a vampire from Twilight, only that his pants were glowing with each smile he made. Issei was already close by when he heard him mutter something.

"...literally buckets...", Cao Cao murmured under his breath in one jolt of conceit,rather it was more on the scale of self-appreciation, looked at the people all around him and snickered giddy. There was something more to his words than they spoke of. It was something of the likes of an atrocious act only the spear wielder could have committed to show his bravado and finicky tendencies of the highest level.

…That comment made Issei suspicious. Like what in hell did he mean by that? It was vague and abstract but there was something terribly wrong with it, like how did no one even notice the damn white light emanating from his crotch?! For the alcohol from Azazel he knew it was spiked due to having taken a gulp from it and felt his restraints break down one by one. But... he didn't didn't give a fuck about it.

"No way... Oh no, it can't be that... Shit!", it took him a few seconds to understand that reference for he knew very well from where it was. No amusement was left in those eyes, they became dead and soulless like those of a filthy yandere bitch with serious stalking problems. It was that! It must be that.

His legs raced to the second floor to get to his room as fast as he could, and open the door to his room to find the horrifying truth lying in wait for him to take.

Gut wrenching screams of horror and agony were heard from the second floor to everyone's attention. Just the sheer magnitude spoke of the dread of the dead the in that sublime moment of suffering and defeat.

It did make those who were inside the house wonder on what had happened but they still continued to have their fun.

Cao Cao continued to drink from his beer like nothing had happened, he was not even moved by those spicy curses and swears he heard coming from the second floor. It was just totally fine for the spear wielder for he had managed to bust the multiple seals,locking mechanisms,explosives and whatnot defenses to that room. That very specific room with posters of idols, a nice book collection and many more. He and Jeanne had their sexy time in that room.

...it was Issei's room specifically. On his very own bed...

The Chinese man took one sip from his can and exhaled, his eyes had a evil spark to their shine and his smile was thin but one of pure joy and evil. He raised the can again and leaned back, saying the words he could only say after that sweet sexy time with Jeanne.

"Literally... buckets of cum..." and he gulped down the contents of the can in one gulp, smiling with wicked thoughts of joy and afterglow and just repeated the same words over again, "Literally buckets... of cum. Happy birthday." with a disgusting grin he wished him a great birthday.

Another scream was heard and Cao Cao just blinked deviously towards Rias. It was just like him to be that way to spite his rival but it wasn't his intention at first. At first, he would say.

Not only did he ruin his bed and had sex in his room with Jeanne, the Hero even left him a bucket... He was a fan of Onani Master Kurosawa after all...

...And yet, his crotch was still glowing with a bright, burning bright light of a thousand suns.

XXX

After the trauma suffered by the hands of Cao Cao, Issei drank more and more until his unnaturally high alcohol tolerance was swept away under the intoxication that followed afterwards.

It was something despicable. Horrible but there was the gentle Phenex Pawn to comfort him and somehow try to remedy the pain. A tender and loving hand was all it took to heal the pain of so much rejection it would have been unbelievable on first glance.

Issei was outside with Marion, drinking together near the pool while some were inside and some were at the backyard. He didn't care what was going to happen anymore, there were around 1000 people atleast but it was still intact, the house. Those drinks were mixed with something that unleashed the beast within, unbridled the chains of restraint in people and it led to some quite unexpected couples here and there.

"Feeling better now?" taking a gentle approach, the brunette passed him another drink to help him out and poured one for herself as well. Her nature was that of a really sensitive and caring girl who tried her best to help as much as she could so she was worried about him. "Don't... worry... I hope ya liked the PBR-sama i made for you." through some embarrassment and stuttering from not knowing what to say she patted him on the back nicely. She wasn't as drunk as the rest and Issei was still in a good condition, just more relaxed and outgoing than normal.

By this time around, the Phenex Pawn had changed from a short red dress to a hot two piece top with magenta and a frilled black piece with a white edge sewn over the magenta cups and a large tied knot rested between the two pieces that connected to form her bikini top. A pāreu of white and flower motifs was wrapped around her sides to cover her legs and she didn't wear the headband this time.

If anything he could say - she was quite charming. Not only her appearance but her personality, if contrasting to his, was nice as well. She was his second choice after Xuelan in regards to the bet but still she would come from time to time to visit Ravel and the Chinese Rook at his house. She was a client of his who paid well so he always took up the jobs she offered and rendered his services in cash.

"Thank...you. It means a lot actually." there was sincerity in his words. He didn't seem neutral at this point, "and it's wonderfully crafted at that. But what's even more..." he paused to drink, "it wasn't so bad as expected. Still, Huang Chen probably forgot about the 5 minutes gift i was offered. That pretty boy took her away but if she's happy then it's good." he always wanted his partners to feel good, it didn't matter if he was unfortunate if he could try to make them smile even if he couldn't.

"That's one of the things i like about you. So how about a dance, birthday boy?", Marion left her cup and stretched her legs to stand up while waiting for him to get going as well. There was no pity in her words,she just wanted to brighten up his mood and enjoy the party with him. After all,she did put effort with the rest to make it happen and even goaded Gremory to participate.

"I see. You're not bad either.I'll take you up on that offer then." it felt like a compliment but his dull tone killed off any attempts at it sounding nice. Still, did he get back on his feet and instead of walking he grabbed her hand and rushed over to the pool.

Since Bikou wasn't present to play music, Dulio had to take up the challenge and spin the records like a pro. Who would've known he was the top DJ among the Vatican's finest and he was still chill about everything he saw.

The music was playing, the lights were on and it was time to heal some trauma.

Issei was in his waters - the alcohol gave him a confidence boost as he swayed boldly around the Phenex girl, wrapped his arms around her waist and shaked them in rhythm with the beat. She was overjoyed, swinging left and right with her best moves in a trance under the lights. It was getting hot, Issei's dress shirt was unbuttoned and only the short sleeved undershirt was underneath the fabric, he still wore his jeans but the temperature was rising. He moved his hands away from her waist and turned around in a spin, the girl in turn swerved back and moved her back to his as both threw their hands in the air without a care in the whole damn world.

Exalted, electrified were they in their dancing with the Pawn grinding on his back and both yelling like idiots, like everyone else. If there was a good moment - it was without a doubt, this atmosphere and this sweet girl with him. "Leh leh,hey hey give it to me! Hey hey,got me singing!" both sang to each other as they turned around and at swung opposite sides. Those were the only lyrics they knew anyway, the rest was simply improvisation.

People were dancing, kissing, doing shit all over the place and yet it sort of felt like the right moment. There was no other moment but this one - upon watching most of the party goers kissing, there was this tug that pushed him to take the initiative and just let it go.

"Having fun?", the brunette tried to raise her voice to be heard but it didn't quite happen to her expectations. The dragon did not even hear or understand what she was saying and just hugged her in a warm embrace.

No words were exchanged, not that it would really matter though. Spirits were a magician that brought out the best out of people. Most of the time, usually...

And just like everyone else they did the same. One kiss under the effects of inebriation, nonetheless by his initiative. Neither of them found it unpleasant, rather it was quite nice and both liked each other enough to be all fluff and mushy under the lights flickering above their heads.

But due to some botched attempt to have him married into her family, lady Phenex accidentally signed the papers with Ryland's name on it, instead of her daughter or one of the girls. So legally Issei was married to a dude...

Never trust a high Mama Phenex when on the wine and crack. Like never.

After parting lips, he looked at her with the most pervy, fabulous and lust driven gaze he could make in trying to be cool. Almost everyone won so it wouldn't be fair if he didn't, atleast once he didn't care and could worry about it in the morning.

Those angel eyes and the devil's smile matched that gaze perfectly with both going for another kiss but... Instead he grabbed her and carried her away princess carry towards the door with Marion holding herself tightly by the use of her hands on his neck. He finally realized he couldn't resist those gentle eyes and still he looked down at her chest while carrying her.

"You like what you see?" raising a brow in a playful manner to rile him up a bit,she bit her lips slightly and looked at him ravenously with the intent of a predator. Greed. She was greedy and always managed to get what she wanted in the long run.

"I do. I'll be in vice if Himejima finds out about this but i can handle it." they were already at the door before another distraction would ruin the mood.

"Kiss me, you idiot. When a...ere we going to ma..ryy. Shooo hawt.. I wish this would never end."

"Fine fine. I...mah gonna make you my waifuu. Da best one! Theh're isssh."

"I'm really digging the act you got going on right now." words were heard from the door. "Tall, dark and handsome. All the ladies love it,right?" sultry and seductively were those words delivered.

"Oh,god no..." Issei only said that when he saw Asia with her eyes squinting and leaning on the door with a pair of big tweezers in her right hand. Both Dragon and Pawn her terrified of the blonde Bishop at this point for she was the craziest bitch he had ever met.

She looked at him dirty with the tweezers clamping, "Don't you worry, my boy." she sassed so much like she was Kanye West, who was here actually as he heard of the party and snuck in with his entourage.

"Dance with me, pumpkin!" she reached out for the terrified girl and boy like a boa constrictor. But what was the most dreadful thing she did was that smile. That very smile with the closed eyes, the very sensation felt so familiar to him. It was yet so charming but so disturbing to even think of it.

 _"Oh,god no! Not that Furuta smile again!"_ he thought because he knew what would follow.

"I specialize in balls." and Asia pressed the tweezers once more to the horror of the couple.

"Not on my watch! Nobody's gonna ruin that time for our brother!" two figures charged at the blonde former nun and a third one smashed her in the head with a makeshift Koneko bat in one clean swing.Loud thuds followed when the girlf fell down with hitting herself with the tweezers.

Matsuda and Motohama pinned her limbs on the ground while Jin sat on her face when she tried to stand up, revealing the based Tobio Onii-chan! behind her with Koneko held by the legs in his hands like an impromptu baseball bat. The power of brotherhood saved the day once again! Both men nodded for him to go while Asia was still trying to get up and yell she was going to fuck them all until Jin sat on her face again to keep her queit. The bro tag team was strong in this one.

"May the Force be with you, young Padawan. May you be in peace."

The wisdom Tobio imparted was simple - "Vali is waiting for you to give her present. In twenty minutes. Do not disappoint me, Hyoudou. I still need to get my 2 million from that bet."

"Twenty minutes are a lot. Shall we finish what we started?" Marion finally found the courage to speak after the nun was neutralized.

"Always..." he just spoke with wisdom.

They moved away while pinning Asia on the ground to make room for the two to enter. Tobio gave him one last patt on the shoulder before he went away and still he heard Asia mumbling stuff under the sitting on her head Jin.

"I'll have my fill. Mark my words, dog for i am the..." she made one hiccup before trying to finish the sentence, "...hottest piece of ass right here. Take me to McDonald's, young man. Take me to the KFC..." and she clamped Tobio on the foot with her tweezers.

Aisa was still laughing at this point for she was finally amused. And yet she was crying out loud due to the bullshit she had to witness. Asia took her spotlight. She was not amused.

XXX

25th June, Hyoudou Residence, Secret Room, 01:03 am

After twenty minutes of some hot lovin' with the Phenex Pawn, Issei followed the instructions and it came as a surprise when it led to the third floor of the house, exactly to the secret jacuzzi room where earlier he was molested by Akeno Himejima once more in the daily routine they had built. He was a bit tired but not enough to fall down and sleep, it was just the beginning for this night.

There he was in the jacuzzi, in nothing but swimming shorts and the short sleeved variant of his undershirt on, soaking in the water and relaxing for it was the only place where he could get some peace and quiet. Soundproof walls were the best and just in case he couldn't get out he took his phone with him. Anything could happen,right?

 _"This isn't bad after all. I will surely keep this room after everything settled down. But why do i feel tense and scared of what might happen? I don't want to die yet in some stupid brawl with that headstrong, battle crazed girl."_

His draconian nature had kicked in and automatically made him sober after drinking so much - the regeneration speed was remarkable as any foreign substances had been pumped out of his system and he was in his right mind and thought rationally without any problems.

It was just so great to be able to have some silence in here, he designated this spot as his new favorite place to stay after any long spanning battle for the sake of relaxation. He did enjoy the water a lot and much more when he didn't have to pay any water bills since Sona helped him out with free water. And nothing that you had to pay with money was awesome.

As he was relaxed and leaning on the edge of the jacuzzi, an almost silent creak of the alarmed him to take a stance to be prepared for anything that came out of the door. His mind was already in preparing for combat for things always went downhill at the end. It was proven through many circumstances and he would rather be prepared than to suffer from that once again.

To his comfort, or not really, it was Vali who entered the scene with one bag in her hand and she was still in her white dress. And she looked great in something like that - she should try to wear more of these dresses at times for it was quite the fresh gust of air in seeing her embrace her self more and more. His scars produced the regular burning sensation as they glowed red under the black garment but remained unseen due to it's nature.

She looked quite normal and not fucked up like atleast 98% of the people around the house, she avoided drinking much even if she was a good drinker. Or so it appeared to be but the smell of alcohol was there, no doubt. She was even carrying a bottle of wine herself in her free hand.

 _"Oh shit. Stay calm and don't mess up. I should've drank again if i knew i were to deal with this."_ lamenting his own misfortune, Issei tried to make himself appear as normal as he could with the added benefit of using Presence Concealment to maximize his chances of not being spotted. He didn't have much of a presence naturally but always made sure to be on the safe side.

"No one's here? Maybe, just maybe he isn't here yet? I don't know", she was in a state of confusion as she looked all around the place in one quick glance, ignoring the dragon who had occupied the jacuzzi beforehand. "Thank goodness this room is free from people. England, you're like the best wi-fi finder in the world!", she made the mistake of using the Vanishing Dragon's name as what it literally meant - he was the one who's name was used to christen the British Isles as it was his domain before the Second Faction War, and much earlier when the Original Being was called forth to the material world from the other side by someone or something for some reason yet unknown.

 **[I do not enjoy you calling me that way, Vali.]** , Albion spoke with a lecturing tone towards his partner in condoning her choices and much more her habit of mistaking his name. She was always at remembering names and was actually embarrassed by that trait **. [Why do you humans always have to act like this, get drunk and do stupid things that i don't really approve of? I won't allow you to affect me any longer with those spirits you drank.]**

"Oh,shush it England! Why don't you go visit that fat dragon of yours and have some fun or something?", the silverish blonde girl with cold ocean blue eyes chided the Dragon with annoyance and actually found a remedy for their squabble. It was pretty simple; Albion wanted to have fun but couldn't since he didn't have a physical form anymore - he was left with his essence as an Original because they had the precursor to the soul, the very essence which other beings lacked. Even those gods who lurked around the world were soulless fucks as Albion call them.

[ _DIVIDE!]_

Upon having touched her shoulder to use Divide upon herself, a blessing had happened - Albion manifested into the mortal plane in a form that resembled the girl to a degree.

Albion was a tall,hunky man with short at the sides, long at the top platinum blonde hair in a spiky hairstyle that appeared silver under the ambient light of the secret room, with deep yellow eyes with slitted pupils and Slavic features that somehow reminded the White Dragon Emperor of her mother, Lyudmila who was from the Balkan Peninsula and lived in Sofia before being married to her piece of shit father.

He was clothed atleast - the gentlemanly attire of a black suit jacket with a magenta blouse, slacks and jeans of a dark bluish hue that somehow made her think he resembled her quite well, only difference being in their genders.

"Now, have your fun and let me relax. We have an hour at max before we'll have to merge back to avoid anything gruesome due to the separation." she was basically pushing him away through the door with some haste to get out and leave her alone. She just wanted to be nice for once and give her present as expected, nothing more.

Issei silently observed this situation like a cold blooded tactician in finding out any potential blackmail material to keep her away from annoying him. They did play some UFC and Street Fighter in the living room before time since the Professor demanded it. And yet,once they watched some quality pornographic material in his room. Again requested by the nice professor Adolf K. Mayer a.k.a Azazel since why not? No harm, right?

"It's clear. You can come out now." it appeared she was calling for someone with a low tone, curiosity sparked in the usually moody and meek perverted gentleman Issei who still tried to make sure nothing embarrassing would happen.

Shit. He forgot to take a towel. This was one small mistake that could cause him a lot of pain.

From the door responded a female voice he knew very well. "Yeah,yeah I'm coming in."

What did you know, a familiar brunette with a high ponytail and dark green eyes entered the scene after Albion was kicked out. She looked around and noticed nothing was wrong because Issei had moved away from the jacuzzi quietly like an expert to avoid any eye contact as Presence Concealment worked only for as long as you wouldn't be spotted in the enemy's field of vision. He had to use his visual distortion ability to make himself appear static on the wall for a moment before he could run away to safety.

Even if it was nice chilling around here he wouldn't take his chances with this development for he despised things like these and just wanted to have some peace after everything.

"This seems to be the only quiet place in the house so it's natural for him to be around here. Given how it's a secret spot." the brunette calmly deduced the whereabouts of the host of the house since she knew him rather well and it was obvious he should be around here. "Your friend is the best wi-fi finder,truly. He even gave me the password for the wi-fi which was kinda cool."

"Perhaps i should wait but still...", there was some disappointment in Vali's tone, "i did my best to make something nice and from the heart... So he should atleast pretend to appreciate it and humour his rival with respect." not so much as a complaint, rather more of a natural response to people being late, Vali stomped on the tiles once and left her bag and bottle of wine on the floor. "I don't usually wear these fancy clothes but i wanted to atleast once be recognized as being a girl and spend some time with that pesky Red Dragon Emperor because i enjoy his banter quite a lot. You could always learn something new from him..."

 _"Something from the heart? Definitely not good. Last time she brought a goat for dinner and it was a two headed mutant that ate clothes... Ok,the goat was badass but why did it have to die?!"_

"Let's get changed. No time to waste.", a deadpan look and a matching tone were directed at Vali with a single nod following afterwards.

Issei was constantly changing position to get into their blind spot but there was an inkling, a change of heart that made him want to stay here and try. What did he had to lose? He felt quite awkward and somewhat bad but was it really necessary to avoid these people out of fear? They were rotten like him - a kindred spirit he had found in the face of the White Dragon Emperor and his only female friend.

Sayaka was behind the wall to change clothes while Vali sat on the floor and waited patiently for his arrival, not knowing he was already there. Just before the door, something in her head snapped like a twig, a lightbulb of flashed and with a mighty turn of her body - she pressed the invisible Issei to the wall in a lock and slammed her arm onto his lower body to inspect.

"My sixth sense was right. It is you, i would never mistake these buns even in a crowd of hundreds." serious and intent on wrecking hell, the blonde girl squeezed like a titan only to receive a quick jab to her left side by a black construct arm that materialized from his back.

"Just let me go, you damn touchy Ass Dragon. Or i will put your ass in a coma this time." he turned around with the horrid eyes of the Welsh Dragon staring at her with carnage and murder in a threatening gaze, some scales forming on his face as his visual distortion was dispelled to make room for the fear factor to kick in. Even going as far as showing her a few of the worms wiggling under the ridges of those scales.

And thus she released him.

"Oh, you're here already? You love to be late for everything. Tardiness is justice, right?" behind the wall the surprised tone of the younger girl was heard as she went out before them.

All of the changes receded back to normal flesh, the construct dissappeared and Issei turned around to see her standing there with her arms on her waist and a cheesy smile he spotted on her face. But much more the swimsuit she wore - the same one as in the picture he had in his phone during the first day in Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas months ago.

His eyes never moved away from her but he somehow made a thin, faint smile unconsciously which didn't go unnoticed by her sharp gaze.

"I'll go change then if you will excuse me." politely asking to be excused, Vali went behind the wall and it would take two minutes for her to change.

In that time the two went to sit in the jacuzzi and relax, and he actually couldn't relax for some reason which was quite obvious. Both sat at the opposite sides of the jacuzzi, in what would be considered a safe distance to him in avoiding her eyes and he leaned back to stare at the ceiling with boredom.

"Ok. I'm ready now. But just so you know this is the first time I've worn something like this so don't insult me for being not so feminine."

Vali finally went out after replacing her white dress with a white and blue ruffled triangular top and a pair of cut off denim shorts. She was so enticing, nice smooth skin and a slender attractive waist, her legs were marvelous and contrary to what she thought - she was attractive and looked like a normal girl which was a plus since he wasn't really into the unnatural beauty most of the people he knew had. She was just normal, kind of cute too and oozed confidence with each step.

Tobio had chosen the best swimsuit for her to stand out and highlight her body in the best way possible - ruffles really suited the usually stiff and somewhat brutish girl and still... It did a great job at accenting on her breasts and derrière, she did put effort in looking great and that string that held the fabric in place just made the cleavage better.

Funny thing. Both girls had the exact same swimsuit but in different colors. They had shopped at the same place it seemed to be.

One thing stood out more than the rest; namely the cross like scar that resided on her back. She didn't like it when it was in the open and she had tried to heal it many times but it didn't happen at all.

"And one more thing", the bag and bottle had teleported to her hands,"...happy birthday, Issei. I hope you enjoy your present.", truth be told, Vali was conscious of whether or not he would like what she had made for him. It was something personal, something from the heart. And she stepped into the jacuzzi to hand the bag over in his open arms.

The present was a handmade, sewn and crafted with precision Red Dragon Emperor plushie with all of the details of his altered Balance Breaker spot on. The other one was a red hoodie with black accents and a tail on the back in imitation of the Scale Mail armor, even sewing horns to the hem to make the dragon crest Ddraig, Albion and the Nameless One all shared as Original Beings. It was her hobby - sewing and crafting articles and toys ever since she was 13, together with Tobio who taught her how to craft beautiful souvenirs and toys. A hobby she dearly enjoyed.

But just the act of saying his name right was the best present ever for Issei since she didn't seem to remember his name. In fact she did but did it out of habit, names weren't her strong suit.  
It brought a real smile to his otherwise frowning face and he could only say, "Thank you for this present, Vali. I really mean it. It's so awesome, we should sew and draw sometime together." and he neatly placed it into the bag to avoid getting it soaked in water.

"I'm sorry i couldn't get you a present for today. I'll make it up to you somehow, i promise." the other girl felt bad but his dull voice reassured her it was fine. He wanted a cat, and she was a cat person and had atleast four back at home so he told her it was a cat he wanted, a fat one like Kamakura.

After some minutes, he was made to remove the sealing mechanism over his back as it wasn't quite fair since they were in swimming apparel and he wasn't exactly in the right one. He was scared for their safety and didn't quite wish for them to see the ugly scars on his upper body but those warm eyes broke through his defenses and he finally removed it.

Only four people had seen him without the undershirt - namely his three closest club mates and Sona. Not even Rias saw what was the state of his upper body as he instinctively covered his body with scales to hide them and the Brand on his back whenever he slept. Those scars burned in the presence of the supernatural, his house had an energy signature which made them burn and he learned to subconsciously manifest scales with that reaction at night to create a tough armor of red scales to sleep at night without being fearful of getting stabbed while he slept. It took a month of training until it payed off.

Scraps,claw and bite marks, a long slash on his chest, various carved lines and scratches marred his back and a part of his triceps in ugly scars that were burning red due to Vali being present. Burn marks,deep slashes and various more scarred tissue was laid before their eyes as he clearly did not like it and he turned away to avoid their glances. He felt disgusted with himself for having revealed his ugly body, this scarred, unattractive and yet trained body of his.

"Everyone carries scars. You shouldn't be ashamed of having them,you're a fighter! A survivor just like me so stand tall and never lower your head to anyone." even if she was a bit distant, Vali found it in her to sympathize with the guy and couldn't help but move closer to his right side and hug him while Saya hugged him on the left.

"There, there Ise, it's fine but don't be scared because you know it's alright and we're not some trash to ridicule you. After all,we're friends. Aren't we?"

Unable to say anything he hugged both under his arms and sighed deeply in pain. It was uncomfortable, it hurt but he endured it. It was painful but he ignored it and lingered like that for a moment until he relaxed finally. It had taken a lot of effort to even try to showcase his ugly side and he felt like he wanted to die, but he let it go and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere undisturbed.

After a few minutes the Pawn released them from his grip and leaned back once more to stare boringly into the lights above his head. It didn't matter anymore for he was comfortable with those two around, he could just get what he wanted all along - peace.

 _"Why do i feel like i want to see something like that earlier? Just why did i suddenly get all of these thoughts right now? Sometimes it just sucks being like that but not really."_

"Atleast you got great presents and a nice company, didn't you?" Vali asked in anticipation.

"Indeed i did. Those were really cool and i really like them but..." the words were lodged into his throat and never to be able to say the rest of his sentence for he was cut off with no tact or delicacy for the situation.

"Basically he just wants to see us make out.", if there was someone who knew his train of thought well, it was his female client and technically best friend Sayaka, who stated the fact like it meant nothing. Perceptive and astute she was and mostly guessed correctly what he was thinking and judging by the light twitch, she was totally correct. "He's a disgustingly big fan of the yuri genre." that hit the nail on the head, precisely.

No response. Both Dragons were stunned by that revelation. It became quite awkward as the silence took a hold of the atmosphere.

 _"Shit. Shit. !"_

"Wait. Like seriously?", stunned by the time, the silverish blonde girl's eyes widened in a state of confusion as disbelief racked her head harder than the alcohol she drank. For all of her chasing two years in a row she did not know of the fact that he exercised the passion of moe,and not even once did she check out his gallery which was full with fanart, Kancolle pics,anime and other lewd art that made the Gate of Babylon pale in comparison to the treasures lurking with that Xperia E1.

Even Gillgamesh would have wanted to covet that phone from him if he were not a Servant in that Fate Stay/Night series, thank god he was.

"No." just a simple denial did he use as an answer _. "It's yes,it's yes damn it. I even had to steal that pretty boy's phone to send myself that clip from earlier. Somebody, shoot me in the head please_ _.'_

"I see. Aah, I've never done this before since it's weird...", uncomfortable, embarrassed and still willing Vali looked puzzled and somewhat weird.Her arms were under her chest and she was neutral at first but then she lost it. Flustered,uncomfortable and definitely somewhat angry.

 _"On second thought she looks kinda cute when flustered. But that's not the point! It's the wine! It's the damn wine...Azazeeeeeelll!"_

"I mean,it's your birthday. I didn't give you anything..." meekly and somewhat drunk, Sayaka raised a brow before thinking about everything and glanced once at his creepy eyes intensely before she concluded on something. Removing her scrunchee to let her hair fall down,it was a fresh look he hadn't seen before.

The weird warm feeling he felt in his chest - it was the wine! Spiked drinks that included some strong aphrodisiac which made people rather straightforward and inclined to their desires, removing whatever restraint there was as intoxication took him by surprise and he felt rather elated and lax with everything.

Then he saw it. That deep sense of inebriation and fire, whatever the professor had slipped in was way to effective to be true.

Vali glued herself closer once again to the burning pervert and leaned over to whisper something dirty in his ear, afterwards she licked his cheek with no shame due to the wine and left him all flustered and messed up as she moved over to his lap and boldly gripped the brunette with her hands around her neck and pulled her in to his side.

In no time she tilted forward and closed her eyes before she would grace her sworn rival(actually somewhat of a future slave since she would have him submit to her bidding) with this one time deal that may never happen again in hundreds of years. Unsure at first but not backing down, the girl tilted her head to have a better angle as she slyly smirked before her lips pressed against the charming girls very own.

It felt weird, so strange and funny until the second she pressed forward and her tongue found it's way into her mouth, spiraling and coiling up and down as she played with her best friend's tongue in swirls, before she moved away with a thin line of saliva running down her lips and connecting to the human girl's lips.

 _"Damn gracious! I should've taken a picture!"_ he rusted with his hands to grab his phone that lay behind him. A changeable bastard he was under the influence of booze. Vali sitting on his lap was nice but dangerous!

But this chick hadn't even finished yet! She knew what he wanted and he would pay quite a lot for it so again she dropped from his lap to the left side, squished her friend until they were on even ground and skidded closer to press her chest to do a symmetrical docking with matching swimsuits as her flip was turned on - tilting to the left and brushing her hair behind her ear, she began to kiss to ravage her lips with a dirty lick before a single rub between the breasts and one on the ankles made Takeyama weak and gave in to her advances. Vali was a hidden lecher all along and just needed a slight push.

If earlier it was quite seductive in what he saw here together with Yuuto, Issei was actually left surprised, knees weak and excited but conflicted. It was hot alright but to him it felt unnecessary, he didn't want many things... He was a filthy liar, of course.

"Stop! I don't want this to be like this." and like a badass slid his hand between them, gripped Vali's neck and chose the most idiotic, illogical course of action to try to put an end to this... Namely to kiss the White Dragon Emperor, actually Empress as she had done enough - but unbeknownst to anyone he used a memory erasing 6th tier spell to erase these memories and dropped her paralyzed before he did the same to Saya, knocking her out cold after having done his work.

He knew their weak spots well so he just erased the memories from the last two minutes and calmly strolled away with carrying his rival and friend on his shoulders since he actually did care about them and didn't want anything weird to remain in their memories.

 _"This day is so much bullshit i can't believe i survived! Fate,why are you so great today? I know your work and i would gladly bitch-slap your face but we are even for today."_

Only that Soap-kun knew his job and made him trip over.

"Note to self - i hate will hate soap forever."

But he was succumbing to the effects of the gift from Azazel. His vision was blurred, his heart pumping in being ready to burst and only knowing that his cheek was licked by Vali was real and something to never mention to anyone on this wretched site forever. It was quite a night so he had to get a grip and survive before everyone would fall down like flies and sleep. If there was a house to sleep in...

"W-wha...what happened?"

"Time to sleep. Permanently." cold as a stone, the brown haired devilish Dragon karate chopped the first one to wake up in order to accomplish his duties as a courier better. Deliver people at rooms. One thing was certain - he didn't quite have the chance to get up with the host of Albion gripping his shorts in her natural habit of delivering her hobby, err...punishment.  
"Oh, crap. " thus he resigned to his fate, lying on the tiles with two girls by his side sleeping and one raging spear glowing brightly like only master Cao Cao could do. He was a fan of Kurosawa.

Much more because of the bamboo stick that was stabbed in him from a compartment in the wall.

XXX

25th June, Hyoudou Residence, front door, 01:45 am

Issei was sitting on the stairs before his front door, reminiscing about everything he had witnessed and smoking a White Dunhill cigarette to keep his nerves in check. Nobody saw him going out aside from Riser who helped him get out of the secret room unscathed and offered his assistance but was turned down and told to relax as most of the house was ruined anyway - a fire was set up by Rias on a whim and in her attempts to remedy the situation Serafall had casted vodka over the burning veranda and had helped the fire spread out further. Luckily Riser saved the day once again, Tobio and his best friends had extinguished the fire and Ravel repaired the porch back to pristine condition.

Suddenly a large rift in space was torn apart into the fabrics of reality, a somewhat tall figure around 1,76m in a black leather jacket with spikes, a white v-neck shirt under the jacket with a sword pendant dangling, military grade boots and wearing black jeans passed through the rift to find himself confused when he spotted the miserable Dragon. In the darkness Issei spotted pure white hair like snow, deep red eyes in the shade of blood behind the black sunglasses he wore scrutinized the place in a calculating manner in trying to understand what was happening. He tilted his glasses with his left hand in a simple,black leather glove to adjust them on his face.

A chocolate cigarette was in his mouth and he had the aura of those infamous, filthy rich guys with a lot of capital behind their backs. Good looks, nice clothes and confidence was the first thing he noticed in this stranger, said rift closing behind him.

 _"Another damn handsome guy? This is just what was needed to finish this night. I must be careful with this unknown being for he may be an enemy."_ puffing out circles from his tobacco roll, Issei prepared for combat with every muscle in his body tightening in preparation for war. Already on his feet and still smoking, the Devil took a stance covered his arms with red scales and claws to defend. Green horrid eyes and the same scales ripping through his flesh on his face with lengthened teeth into fangs met the visage of the stranger into one pressuring welcome.

"Issei? Why are you smoking and are those scales on your face?" the white haired man spoke in a half-sarcastic, half-smiling smirk of pure neutrality. The man did nothing to present himself as an enemy but Issei did not trust him at all.

A step forward to look at each other, confusion swept both men in trying to understand what was happening or what happened here for it seemed ludicrous, given the way the red eyed man acted around him as if he knew him quite well but the Pawn did not.

"Doesn't matter. State your name and business here, and how do you know me?", coldly he murmured his inquiry, his demand for answers to the young man holding a chocolate cigarette. He didn't miss out the sheathed sword on his hip and sprouted his bladed tail to prepare, summoned his two guns in his hands and took aim to be sure, just in case. He could be an enemy.

Squinting an eye till it was half closed, the young man addressed himself like a mercenary with a thin smile that spoke of carnage, "Aslatiel Bael, i live here and i got back from the mission i told you about. Don't you remember? Ria-nee would kill you if she saw you smoking, you know that?" something in his tone spoke of the truth somehow but some details were mistaken.

"You mean Rias? Wait...", sheer realization dawned upon him. Everything made sense, the Bael name, the weird aura he felt around him and most importantly that pendant that emitted a small fraction of interdimensional travel. Issei was perceptive to a fault but did not lower his guns at all, "You're a Traveler! Of course, that pendant is your Traveler's Locket and you're probably a Devil from the second dimension, close to the Main Dimension, this one and you've mistaken me for your Issei back at home. Makes sense since everything else didn't this night."

A tiny bit relieved, the now known as Aslatiel Bael man sighed visibly annoyed and took a deep breath before elaborating. "It does hold credibility, i had the same conclusion and whatnot about this thing on my neck", Aslatiel held the sword pendant in his right hand and with a teasing grin he uttered, "and what's with the new haircut? Why do i feel like you seem like you had a rough night. Wouldn't hurt to ask, would it?" he casually replied with the intention of finding out more about this dimension.

In response Issei made his eyes go back to normal, still kept his guns and walked over to the Bael Devil with two cans of beer falling into the white haired guy's hands from his custom black seal. It wasn't the first time he had met Travelers for he was one at the past where he slipped into another dimension by accident on the 12th of September last year and had to go around in a loop of three days before he got back home.

Before being able to get closer, another burning sensation agitated his scars to glow red once more in the presence of the supernatural, a singular black construct in the shape of a blade with red eyes ripped through his black dress shirt, which he found again in the house, and aimed cleanly at the small flying bat behind his back in splitting in two separate blades with jaws on the edges and mercilessly splattered the now visible through those eyes bat into minced meat with blood splashing on the cemented floor.

"Aww... That was mean, you know that?" the sweet voice of a female in pain echoed,it was frustration it presented and a dose of ire in it's source of this noise that came from behind Aslatiel's back made him raise his guns at him… until the owner of the voice calmly walked up before the man. It wasn't hard to notice she wasn't in a good mood but she masked it not enough as the annoyance lingered still. "We go away for a few hours and you get all paranoid and a new haircut. What's that? Oh and nice clothes by the way, really makes you shine." and all of a sudden she was nice?

She was a younger female of around 1,58m with long platinum blonde hair with pink tresses at the end of each individual lock of hair, a small braid on the left side of her head while the rest was neatly styled into sections with a ornate hairclip at the back and the other section going past her shoulders. Her complexion was rather pale in comparison to a normal human, a lighter shade of red were her gentle eyes which glowed with an illustrious glint and the most important fact was she did not cast a shadow under the light of the house. Her attire of a black and magenta Gothic Lolita dress with silk white frills across the hems,something reminiscent of an magenta ensemble or a corset over it, a short black mini-skirt and thigh high socks created a Zettai Ryouki of unparalleled might for the ZR was strong with this one.

"Wait. I don't know you so just stay away please." he tried to reason only to feel a burning hot sensation on his derrière and afterwards a squeeze followed by her hands which totally creeped him out. This girl was beautiful but really did care nothing for his personal space - in response he created two arms from the spot where his Brand resided on his back and held down her hands away from his rump, slowly taking a step back to her frustrations. And reacted by throwing her away from him and aimed for her heart since her lack of shadow and the tiny moment he saw through her smile were just enough to tell him she was a vampire."I'll consider that as a grave mistake you did,little Miss Muncher."

The white haired man just laughed at that mention since he used that term to refer to any bloodsuckers in not the nicest way but vampires were never nice to begin sort of reminded him of the past,good memories those were…

"You know the drill, boy. That's our greeting, every time i skip on it a slap and a squeeze is necessary to make it a good day. And why are you smoking?" this girl was scary. Her antics reminded him of that punishing Butt Dragon Emperor and the greedy Himejima Queen who just loved to see him squirm like that under her squeeze.

Even more when she made that dazzling smile of a pervert with her eyes glowing red in approval...

"Mina,what are you doing here? I thought you stayed back at the hotel. Why am i surprised? This girl knows no delicacy or when the solo mission has solo in it." Aslatiel could not but complain over his Bishop's antics. She was a really nice girl, if not for being sheltered, but even he couldn't feel like he could take her shenanigans at times for he was a victim as well. He slapped his palm into his forehead in annoyance before reminding her of what could be the truth which would probably faze her a little. "We're in a different dimension since we somehow passed through that Gate and i repeat, that is not the same as our Issei, you got it?" he stressed on the words 'not'and 'same'to make the emphasis. Especially when he made a serious, deadly glare.

"Seriously? This one is just like him, aside from those creepy eyes which i noticed just now. He has a great ass too!", acting as it didn't mean much, the platinum blonde miss Mina as she was called wagged a finger at her companion in a what could be said to be a lecturing gesture.A crimson red marred her cheecks and she felt like she would laugh despite being warned already.

Issei just continued to stare at her in analyzing her constitution for anything abnormal. He was curious of this female, judging by the way he glanced at her from head to toe. He was looking for any weak spots and creating strategies to topple over these two if they were to attack even layered himself with enough magic to buy himself time.

"My three sizes are 86-59-85, if that's what you're trying to deduce.", she bit back with a bold statement in what she thought he was trying to find out. Teasing,alluring in her moves with absolute grace that only the vampires held, she openly stated what was on her mind and it was out of the sake to get his intention or to let his guard down.

"One of yours?" he turned to the now revealed Aslatiel with the two beer cans popped in his hands to which he nodded before returning his attention to the charming lady, "State your name and affiliation, miss."once again he turned to her with a dull look of something tone was enough to off-put anyone from talking with him. He would atleast get her name and try to fish out any information about her since he had this sort of habit .

The platinum blonde lady did a graceful bow, befitting that of royalty to show her pedigree, introducing herself as "My name is Wilhemina Carmilla,a daughter of the Carmilla Faction.", back in her world she was adopted by Marius Tepes until she learned the truth and decided to do something once in her life. She was a Mutation Bishop Piece under the peerage of Aslatiel Bael and the demolition expert of the team. She spoke and carried herself with a refined beauty of an aristocratic lady, extremely polite and humble in her disposition but one thing he did not miss out - her smirk was quite perverted and her eyes gleamed with eros since he knew that face well. "But you can call me Mina." and lifted her head to look up with those burnin red eyes.

He and Riser did that in tandem many times when they spotted something they liked and those glances she made spoke of the same thing. Something of a beautiful essence.

She was a bona fide,full blown pervert... A classy one too...

"I see. A girl who was sheltered and is quite curious but actually has problems with trusting others. You have that profile, but i can't clearly say it because it is just my hypothesis." he tried to shift the conversation into a new direction to buy himself time since they seemed to be conversational and just as confused as he was.

"Hit the nail right on the head. Now come here and leave Issei alone, can't you see you're disturbing him?", Aslatiel was nice at times and tried to help out in his own way even if it wasn't quite evident to most.

"Don't you dare ruin this moment, Aslatiel. I was just going to talk with him for a bit, nothing else or i will tell Lucy and Sona you took photos of them in the shower. So don't you dare ruin my moment or will make sure you get punishment, you naughty boy~"

"D-don't... you... dare!" his composure was shattered but he remained defiant against her cruel threats. His Queen was the opposite of Akeno in terms of personality - a tsundere, the nice type like his partner Ravel. It was evident this girl had sunk her claws into him and had him around her fingers with that information which made him reconsider the chances and actually not care about it. Every man took photos of the ones he liked.

But the mention of Sona made Issei curious enough to ask about her since Sona was still his closest partner and he had to take care of her since they sort of reconciled but it was far from perfect, walking on thin ice was the relationship they had aside from trying to survive against all odds.

"You seem like people i can talk with so why don't we have a beer and talk things out. And what's with this one? Please keep your girl next to your side because i don't think i can handle anymore of this for one night." true to his nature, the perverted gentleman was a procrastinator and wasn't in the mood to deal with her at all. He was visibly upset when he throwed away the burnt cigarette in the air before igniting it into oblivion.

"Fine by me. Oh and you can take her", a hand to his face was raised, "she's legal if you're asking..." in one whisper he finished what he had to say.

"You're seriously begging for punishment, Aslatiel! I promise you that." Mina was acting sarcastic with a raised brow in planning what to do with her King. Only to receive a karate chop on the neck by the left hand of the young man in a fastidious way of slamming his other hand one more time to make her queit.

The trio sat down on the stairs to talk in what could be said to be a touching bonding moment but both men held their weapons fully charged and prepared, just to be on the safe side. The Vampire lady sat between them and grinned with various grimaces to express her satisfaction of these turns of events, her disposition regal but nothing could stay like that for long. In all of their work things like these escalated pretty quickly in one moment of being lax and unprepared.

"Still, you didn't answer any of our questions at all. And you shouldn't smoke, Ria-nee would surely kill you if she found out." Aslatiel jokingly jabbed at the drinking beer with one hand and with the other hand holding a gun Issei. For some reason this guy was quite chipper when he mentioned that second part about Rias which only made the Pawn bare fangs in a disgusting way to show he wasn't the least scared of the Gremory Heiress. From what he understood, they were quite close and she was still just like this one more suave and teasing.

"Sooo", beginning with a bright smile Mina tilted her head in curiosity over what she was going to ask next, "do you have a girlfriend, other Issei? You seem quite moody and depressive, did you have a fight with Rias?" not knowing of the circumstances,Mina asked in a curious tone with her lips curling in a teasing smile.

Gasping and making a weird face that basically said "are you serious?", Issei was monotonous in his speech but there was this sense of melancholy in his brown eyes. "Do you honestly think any girl would take me? Given what i am... I'm just trying to put my life back on track and I'm single. Rias i would never take as my girl for nothing in the world, Himejima is dangerous and her feelings are due to the bridge suspension effect and i", he gulped down from the can to help him continue, "...just don't think it's possible for some piece of trash like me to be around with people. I just don't belong there..."

"I know that feeling, man. I know that feeling. There are times when they always tease me about being single but it's not easy!" Aslatiel was affected by this display and felt like he could share something about himself as well, "At times I'm asked, pressured actually to 'take' a wife but it's not so easy to find someone who's willing to be with me truly. Yes i do have people i like but i don't want to mess things up with them."

There was an understanding between these two, each one recognized the pain in their respective words and manners which spoke of past experiences like in a story for another time.

Just as they were talking a drunk Sona opened the door to see what was going around outside and to search for her partner to have fun together, holding the wig of Sairaorg Bael and waving it like a Kazuma after a successful Steal! in the air. The Bael Devil turned around and noticed the Sitri Heiress and could not believe it. It was impossible! The Sona he knew never wore a halter neck swimsuit and had never been with nice long hair! But that Brand got his attention the most, actually the great difference in physique compared to the Sona Sitri he knew. Especially that beautiful long hair and that bountiful chest, that couldn't be possible!

"L-lett's pley... A chess geim! Yas, a chest...gaymmmee! Merriege! And dat suit", talking gibberish she barely held on the flank of the door,leaning on for support and looking drowsy as hell. Sona shifted her footing and tripped over the unfortunate host ,to his pushed herself barely and with each move did they bounce." Y-ya k-knnow i love m..e men in das...sezzy suit! Saji was a filthy bastard, he was a beetaaa! Murrige.Che-sshdh game…Merrigedd...Meeerregee!"

They were caught of guard by the drunk Sitri Heiress who swung left and right and placed the wig on Issei's head before Gasper with his wife to be Kuroka pulled away the girl from the door and closed it shut.Mina was awed by this Gasper and the serious disposition he carried himself with. He was serious,dead serious like he had gone on a trip to Hell and came back a different person.

"And now you see why it's hard. Damn it, Sitri! I have to deal with this mess later,they trashed my house, i nearly got shanked with a bamboo stick earlier and what more."

"That's Sona, right? She seems so different from the one i know, my Sona." Aslatiel responded with a snickering and much more disbelief in his tone when thinking about the Sona back at home. "Let's make a deal. Any pics of her? In return I'll give you something in return and if you happen to have other pictures i wouldn't mind doing you a favor." he switched to his business mode like sliding a mask, they totally forgot about Mina by this time around. The prospect of business, information gathering and,of course,some relaxation wouldn't have been bad. This place could actually be more peaceful. But he knew it was hardly the case.

It was an alluring prospect in Issei's mind, it could be quite beneficial to gain a new ally and who knows, they might even know something about the Apocalypse,The Harlot and the ones pulling the strings. Leaving his beer can on the stairs, he flipped out his phone from his pocket and went into the gallery to show him some of his collection. He had pictures of Sona, Vali, Akeno and other people which made the white haired man curious when he spotted the pictures of Vali and that Red/Black Special video.

"Wait, that's Vali? Vali Lucifer!? No way,i can't believe it. You gotta be kidding me. Is that Ria-nee?" curiosity swept him under, "she's my cousin, you know? Ok, i want that one too!" he changed his mind fast.

"I am not. Everything is real as you can see and i think you would like it here for sure.", he turned on his bluetooth to send him some of his stash in exchange for a favor he would need in the future. The shock was big with the red eyed man, he was seriously contemplating on staying here a bit longer than before and still they ignored the platinum blonde girl with pink tresses.

She had to make herself to not be ignored,tapped on the floor once to get their attention and asked right away. "Are your parents ok with this? It's getting a bit late so they must be worried about you and the house." Mina spoke with dignity to the Red Dragon Emperor but little did she know his parents had passed away violently, this October would mark the third year of their passing away and leaving the dragon all alone in this world.

"They wouldn't have... If they were still among the living..." neutral at first, it made his mood spiral down into misery. It was obvious he was hurting but he somehow hid it behind the act of being neutral in his response. Coldness seeped from his words, distant and detached from reality was he in speaking so calmly about his life that it made the young girl feel bad for having asked such an uncomfortable question.

"Don't worry about it. I'm used to it anyway." he coldly supplied.

"You remind me of him quite a lot, just more damaged and cold but it's still there.You've probably seen many things just like us,both bad and way …there is always something better waiting for us,I know it…" she sympathized with him, genuinely seemed to be in the know and patted him on the shoulder in a friendly way. "You're not alone. Being alone is painful as nobody truly wants to be alone in this world." a sympathetic gaze she sent to him in telling him it was alright and there is someone who cared about him. It was like a beacon of light in the darkness.

"We are born alone and we die alone but while we live it is nice that there is someone who would be with you till the day you die. Or so they say." Aslatiel voiced out his opinion in knowing it was probably true but he wasn't quite sure. He was more on the silent side.

"And let's be honest, i like intelligent and astute women with whom i could converse on many themes that are beyond our mortality." wisely nodding down, Issei just felt like he wanted to talk for once and give his own words on what he liked, changing the subject. "A smart girl is the best! If she's wiling to do yuri... That's a good 30 extra Hyou points on my counter.", truly he was a fan of the yuri genre. Like who wasn't?

Placing her hands onto her lap and responding with smugness and sass, the girl who sat between them purposely wrecked his mind with her teasing words and cute winks of the highest level of cute. "Very well then, i may consider it if you act like a good boy. Nothing is free in this world so you have to earn it." she was acting like an S to mess him up with an unlikely promise just for the sake of seeing his reactions unfold before her eyes. It was quite funny when he paused with nothing left to say, she even squinted in a dirty look for she could not be contained.

"It seems you guys need to have fun tonight." from the right side of the street came in Azazel with the Mercedes Benz he had lent to Kuroka and inside, they spotted Shemhazai and Barakiel on the back seat and waiting.

From a portal before them went out the Castor and Arthur who looked around the place and waved politely to the trio. Sirzechs Lucifer teleported from a magical circle near Azazel's car and like everyone else he was dressed to impress. From the other side a black Lamborgini Murcielago arrived with the Doctor and Riser on the seats before they went out of the car and joined the rest.

"Time to go, gentlemen. We have a poker game to play and i intend to win." Sirzechs had ran away from his wife and work to have some rest - Serafall left everything to him and it wasn't even cool, no matter if she was his lover and he wanted to help. He just wanted to spend some time with the rest and enjoy some quality time with the leaders of factions in a Gentlemen's Night for he deserved it.

"Gambling is a sin, my child" Michael stepped forth with a graceful bow to signify his respect, he was so calm and serene as if he were water.He had arrived a minute ago but stopped to stare at the three and eavesdrop a bit,fluttering his wings back and forth.. After a second he delivered the opposite of what he said,he had actually lied for the first time in his milennia old existence with such a straight face – you couldn't even are say he was a liar. "Count me in,my child for the Lord works in mysterious ways. And I'm the big boss around here and you'll be paying me big time on me of the old days where I played with Luci and crew up in the Heavens."

Even Shemhazai's son, Samuel was there. From the door behind Issei came out Tobio who carried Vali, Matsuda and Motohama who held Saya princess carry and Rivezim was rolling as well. Diodora would never miss out such an opportunity so he dragged Bikou with him,leaving Fafnir to prepare and follow him after a few moments.

"Get in the damn car, Hyoudou! We're going to Ibiza! I've reserved us a spot so we gotta hurry or we'll miss the fun." Riser murmured from the open window of the Murcielago.

"I Shall not be left behind…And you're all going to be my toys until I get to that boy you ain't stopping me this time."

Gabriel showed up to enact her plan but Michael didn't clearly think raised his hands in the air ,made a gesture of a cross and with the appearance of a thousand doves he roared with the cry of a pidgeon. By the mighty battle cry of a thousand doves Arthur Pendragon(still shirtless), Fafnir with a Koneko bat in his hands went out, Tiamat lunged forward to tackle her, multiple Angels and Khaos Brigade members leaped to opose her and a Cao Cao dove forward and jumped on the yandere angel to stop her in her tracks. A fast and effective brawl happened before their eyes with th roof of the house exploding,debris falling and various things flying like conffetti. But she was subdued and the house was being repaired by the nature of the barrier.

"Ibiza it is then, it's my birthday so let's party!" Issei gave the signal,too traumatized from what he was no longer a sane man,if he was actually,he had seen things and came back of things while he was inside the house before going out for two minutes to have a were better left unsaid."I don't care if you people want but I'm taking you with me." he grabbed Mina in his arms to carry her princess style, to her surprise, snickered with evil when he looked at her and she bared those lenghty fangs in response."Ibiza, here we come!" and everyone gathered around in one spot before the transportation sigils would activate and send them to the spot.

Azazel's smile promised a night to remember. The infamous Furuta smile he had as everyone was ready to go and he just kept smiling. "Truly this is a special night to remember."

And they dissappeared into the bright light, leaving nothing behind them.

A smile that promises a night to remember….

XXX

 _The following events are semi-canon and any character that appears in this Omake is with the permission of their respective creator. Plus alcohol and drug use are implied but it doesn't matter still. Aslatiel Bael and Mina Tepes make an appearance as Travelers with the permision of their creator – demonicjester01 in this Omake._


	20. act18

Act.18 Midori & Curaçao: Remembrance from the Netherworld

12th September, Las Vegas, Nevada, Caesar's Palace, Issei's room, bathroom 01:22 am

Issei was back to his room to take a big rest after all of the commotion at the pool, trying to relax and enjoy his time here as much as possible because he had work at night to be a bodyguard but he had a plan to visit the desert before sunrise. That memory was hazy but it clearly meant something greater - otherwise why would his mother even mention about going to the Valley of Death in Nevada? There had to be something more to it, just like with the mention of _nowhere_. It was a place he could understand, being anywhere and yet nowhere where the answer lied in wait for him to unravel.

He was sitting in the bathtub, with having removed his sealing mechanism off his back and dipped into the hot water to try to sleep a bit for an hour or two. All of the scars on his upper body were out in the open, scraps,claw marks, deep slashes and burned skin on many places. His scars he covered with red scales to avoid someone seeing them, his Brand was covered with a series of red scales to cover them as well as he didn't want anyone to know about it. He had trained himself to be able to manifest scales subconsciously while he slept to create a defensive reaction in order to avoid someone trying to stab him while he slept. When he would wake up they would recede back to normal skin and he would continue his day like it was nothing. A tactic out of paranoia and being crazy prepared for everything.

He casually leaned over to the edge and immersed himself in deep thoughts to try to occupy his mind with some planning to avoid thinking of what he saw in the pool. His pills were next to him on the floor, he had taken his pills already and had locked the door with various seals to avoid anyone disturbing his sleep. He clearly didn't trust Asia and he had an inkling she was connected to everything on a deeper level - hence his hypothesis of her being the Harlot, the Whore of Babylon but she probably didn't know. Otherwise why would he be tasked to keep her close by his side? He had to find out, a way to discern everything that entailed.

 _"It's quite possible that Asia could be the one i need to stop. It's no doubt the chances of her being that would be 50/50 but rash judgement isn't my way. For now...let's just get some sleep and finish the job well."_

The Devil slumped back and felt his eyes slowly closing, his thoughts were becoming silent and lowering in quantity as sleep was taking a hold of him gently,to as far as it actually could for he had nights where he couldn't sleep well at all.

 _"Another nightmare for tonight... There is no peace for someone like me...it seems. I can't stand this but... I need to sleep soon..."_ _,_ his thoughts were drifting away until there was nothing more than silence in his head, just the voices of the dead were whispering something quiet but he did not pay them attention with his arms slouching into the water and his eyes were closed. It felt so peaceful. So nice and yet so terrifying for peace was just an illusion... There was always something more behind it, something lurking and awaiting for the moment to strike.

Normality was a subjective concept that shifted towards the general rule of each era, dictated by the way of society which in turn despised anything out of the cookie cutter norm they wished so much to uphold. The normal for him was the abnormal, he couldn't wish for a boring, mundane life of ignorance for it was what destroyed him in the past. There was no going back. The only way was to keep going, no matter what and where it would lead you at the end of the road.

XXX

Rubbing his eyes to rinse of the sleep, Issei woke up by the sound of a familiar voice searching for him in the room.

He yawned as he stretched his arms wide open, "I've must have slept for quite the time. It is time for me to get going then." he gripped the sides of the bathtub in trying to stand up but when he heard the sizzling sound of the seals being undone, he stood up and covered himself with a bathrobe while still maintaining his scales across his body to be sure.

He unlocked the door carefully and slightly pushed it to see the familiar face of the Phenex Rook, Xuelan who was still in her swimsuit and walking around with flip flops. She looked rather elated and not with a serious expression, her relaxed features did make him feel safe somewhat but he shoved that thought to the back of his head and peered through the door hesitantly.

"What do you want?", tiredly he responded in a mechanical way. His face looked weary as if he had been through hell and returned, his strained voice was lacking any emotions whatsoever when he stared straight at her face in a manner of being a machine.

Xuelan grabbed her hand and tried to keep it together, there was a sense of discomfort on her face but she had came all the way here to talk with him. "Sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to do that since i know how much you hate being touched. And can we talk?",she addressed him with serenity and couldn't help but stare at all of these scales on his face and neck. She did try not to stare, which he noticed easily, and she waited for his answer patiently.

"Fine. So what did you want to talk about?", Issei pushed the door away to take a step forward and moved towards the bed to sit upon and prepare. He wasn't exactly in the mood for conversations, he wasn't at all but watching her stand there like that made him feel slightly uncomfortable. Even more when he remembered what happened earlier this night, it was something he despised and wasn't quite comfortable with but he understood her intentions quite well and relented to hear her out.

Sitting herself comfortably, the black haired girl glanced once at his direction and scanned the whole place as if searching for something. She appeared to be quite moody but there was still a pleasant aura around her that somewhat made him feel better but not enough to treat her as something more than a business partner.

They were just people who stuck together in a bid to survive what was thrown against them, to uncover the horrifying truth around these murders and each with their own agenda to follow. A common goal they had, just like he did with Sona but it was no more. Everything had an end, there was no escape from it.

"So it's tomorrow, right?", she raised a brow in a curious manner in trying to get his attention, "...i guess it won't be bad since i could win some money for myself at the casino.", she tried to make a smile but it felt off. He was used to her usually serious or frowning face and a smile like that was strange to him since he usually didn't smile. Atleast in the normal way everyone did. "It must be hard having to pay for three more every day and i wanted to somehow repay you for your hospitality."

"I see. It's no big deal actually. I was wondering on whether you w–

Something caught his attention. He looked past her left shoulder at the wall with a neutral gaze,masking what he really saw with a bored, sleepy yawn. This of course made her look at him worried, her gaze wasn't fixated on him but skimming through every corner of the room in some sort of scouting.

"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?", clueless, Xuelan patted her cheeks in a really quick way, trying to find out if there was something on her face that she needed to immediately clean up. She wasn't known to use make-up neither did she drink usually but she did still try to check out what it was that made him look past her like that.

"Nothing, really. I just doused off since I'm sort of sleepy.", Issei shrugged it off as some sleep deprived instinct to try to keep himself from falling on the floor, he was deadbeat tired and couldn't really keep himself going much longer. But the truth was totally different - he had lied with a straight face or actually told the truth in his own way which would make even a filthy lie sound like the very truth.

It was something more when he stood up and proposed to get some water from the bathroom.

"Want some water too?"

"No thanks, I'll wait for the rest so we could plan our next move." she replied courteously.

Issei nodded in response. Moving away from the bed to slowly stand up and skidded to the vase on the table in the room. He looked at it as if it were some foreign object in a calculating gaze,looked over his shoulder and noticed the clock once again. There was nothing strange in his actions until the moment he swept his arm on the table and knocked the vase down to the floor.

Instead of breaking as it was supposed to do, the vase rewound back like in a movie tape and ascended back to it's previous position, unaltered, unchanged and certainly not broken. This action puzzled the Rook as it was not an accident but a calmly planned move on purpose because Issei turned around and bared white fangs at her with a dull glare that still had aggression behind it's making.

"You made one big mistake. Rather _t_ _hree_ , if we had to be honest." his voice was unnaturally calm and cold with the faint whispers of the dead echoing around these four walls. Issei turned around fully to face the puzzled girl and raised his hand to point at her direction, making a half smirk appear on his face as hardened red scales appeared on his face and his eyes changed to the abominable green eyes of the Y Ddraig Goch with them peering through her very being on the deepest level.

"And what did i do to make you feel so threatened?" she replied through fear, shaking and sweating in trying to understand what was happening. She was scared, indeed she was when he let out a snarl from his lips but then once again returned to neutral and silent.

"You forgot to adjust the time to make it believable." his position changed to one of preparation for any incoming attack which was somewhat strange since they were on the same team. He raised his finger in the air like a gun and with a swing imitated the cocking of a gun before once again he pointed at her. "And my scars burn when you're around but now they don't. You got the legs wrong too."

 _Everything changed._

 _No more was it a luxurious hotel room for it had shifted into a plane of vast darkness where the mind could stretch. There was nothing but darkness around them and only his eyes were there glowing in the pitch black gloom like a beacon, his presence was overwhelming but the truth was... He was not alone. Whispers, curses, screams, pleadings and every possible human and inhuman voice was heard from every the vastness of this shadow like prison._

 _They were howling. The past possessors were screeching in the silence, footsteps echoed through the spot as he dissappeared into nothingness like he had never existed before. There was nothing. It was nothing, it was empty and yet so full of malice and hatred to drown in a ocean of ichor, deep and permeating through every inch of existence she was to be devoured._

 _Only that it wasn't the Chinese Rook at all. A seductive, malicious and vile beauty stood there in trying to take control of the situation and drive back the voices she was hearing. Her hair was vibrant red and long to the shoulders, a black outfit of straps adorned her inhumanly beautiful body as her true identity was revealed. It was nothing more than a Succubus, a Dream Devourer who had taken the guise of his companion._

" _YOU! You will pay for your insolence, fool! You shall be devoured by the dream-_

 _The Succubus couldn't finish her thoughts as a large sword was hailed at her legs from the darkness, a man of great renown had appeared before her in armor. Bloodstained armor covered his body up to the neck, black long tresses adorned his twisted face as a mane of a fierce lion and his expression was nothing but a void, a blackness of shadows and a single grin stretching up to the sides of it's non existing face as he took slow steps, changing the terrain with each move he made._

" _ **Let's play, little miss Devil whore~**_ _ **"**_ _ **,**_ _a sickening cackle was whispered to her ear but she could not escape. Her neck craned to the left to notice the silverish hair and disgusting eyes of Freed Sellzen, who was joyously licking her cheek while he pressed a light blade at her tried to escape but something held her in place._ _A part of him was devoured before so he was here._ _ **"~Ooooh, we're so gonna enjoy this little show. Do you think you can go here inside this mind and get away with it?"**_ _a permanently frowning face with multiple eyes greeted her by breathing into the Succubus's face, clutching her arms in a impossible to break away from grip, teasingly mocking her futile attempts to free herself. "_ _ **This is our sanctuary. Let us see who shall be the one devoured - not us, of course!"**_

 _This foolish creature had dared to enter Issei's mind_ _to_ _feed on his nightmares as she had been here the whole time. Lurking in the walls of the room, awaiting her prey but she did not know anything important about him or what he truly was. He had known she was here - he purposely had lured her in when he appeared to be in his weakest but that was far from the truth._

 _There was no time, nothing could reach her as more and more began to knit themselves from the shadows. Faceless, eyeless humanoid shapes clustered around the Succubus in a macabre dance of death, abominations of all shapes and sizes glared at her with no eyes. A past possessors pulled her hair to make her stare into her visage - nothing but chalk white skin with black marks_ _smeared_ _around the_ _inhuman,vile_ _yellow eyes and bloodied teeth. It was a nun, a demonic visage of unholy smirked at her face and opened her jaws_ _like a cobra_ _for two tongues with eyes to lock_ _gazes_ _with_ _hers._ _Even as far as going to lick the Succubus with those tongues on the sides._

 _ **"Give...Give... GIVE US WHAT WE SEEK! Your flesh, Your blood... EVERYTHING! Give us everything!"**_

 _They screamed in agony. Howls of the dead rose to match that roar of hatred in equal bounds of curses and swears littered towards the pitiful creature. It was maddening, it was devastating... This was the abomination. The beast, the wretched souls of the damned were erasing her from existence with each touch, each pull of meat in bloodied hands was fresh and sizzling with splattered blood. They were nothing more than shadows, phantasms of the past and yet to be of the future with their features blurring into a single smile of teeth and an eye splitting from their bodies to once again split into tongues who held eyes and mouths to whisper more and more of their foreboding anguish and the bloody feast they promised to the Dream Devourer..._

 _*Get out of my head! Get out. Get out. Get out!"_ _hallowed shrieks boomed through the nightmarish landscape of the long dead. The roar of a Dragon could be heard in every direction despite there being none. Issei was being dragged down by those who resided here, pulled in closer and closer to submerge and they resurfacing back into the real world. He was nowhere to be seen but he was there..._

 _It only further aggravated them to be as vicious as possible in their attempts to hasten the corrosion of his mind and soul, breaking down despite the struggles he endured in fighting them. The Succubus could only watch in absolute fear of what was happening... It was futile, it was hopeless she would break free from these abominations as another one began to break her wings, ripping out chunks and another one was scrambling her mental projection with it's sword. They were no people. They were souls- thousands of them were tugging and fighting but there was one larger presence that they detested with every fiber of their immortal souls..._ _ **The Dragon**_ _._

 _Yet Issei manifested. His rage swept away the past possessors back, his form was not one of a human but a distorted shadow of the pitch blackness that oozed from everywhere around them. The dead were taking over but he fought back and yet he was the Shadow, sprouting a wicked smile so vile on what should be a face where there were no human features. A body full of eyes and jaws stretched out with a sickening glare from all of those eyes directed at the dead who held her._

 _ **"Begone, you filth! L...ets... P**_ _ **..**_ _ **lay! A game!"**_ , _he was screeching as he launched himself at those who held her. With just a wave of his hand they backed away, retreated into the nothingness for they would wait for another chance to return to the living_ _world_ _but not today. Their influence was affecting him but he remained in a fragile, almost akin to a thin glas_ _s,_ _control over the rest but the strain was growing exponentially. He would not be able to maintain this state of the Juggernaut Drive for so long, he was eroding away fast_ _er_ _and the only thing he could do was wrestle for control._

 _The Shadow was already in front of her, unimaginably fast it was in it's speed when it grabbed the maddened Succubus by the throat and it's smile parted to reveal a set of white teeth with blood grinding against each other to terrorize her further. By this point she was already insane, all of her fears and insecurities were branded into her mind forever, she could only see what she feared the most into that distorted visage._

 _ **"…Get out. GET OUT! Out of my Head!"**_ , _he crushed her neck but it was his mind so she would not die for the dead did not wish that. She would be left to witness more of the insanity to be branded with fear till the last day she would walk upon this world._

 _The landscape was changing - a monstrous prison of steel, a citadel of black stone was around them. Cold and holding no_ _semblance of warmth it was a world of anguish, misery was a companion and everywhere in this city were the shadows of people, long gone, walking around but never stopping for a moment._

 _There was a place with life in this monotonous, gray world with nothing cold. A sanctuary of life where there was color and sound, the last spot of warmth where a blue butterfly danced in the air, shining bright and calling for him to run away for the dead were whispering something dreadful in every language of the world and were beginning to reappear once more to fight. The butterfly flew through the open space, landing on the Shadow's shoulder and glimmered like the sun with a ray of hope in this long forgotten city. The shadows were dispelled, chains of blue hellfire burned around him to protect him from their wicked game. There was hope, there was a calling to follow the butterfly while the chains kept at bay the deceased. It was a warmth that was pulling him to run away and resurface back to the real world where someone was waiting for him._

 _In that patch_ _of land_ _was a female shrouded in a blue dress with a thick transparent veil with blue butterflies waiting for him with open arms. She was_ _showing_ _the way, the route of escape for him to thread on._

 _Issei dragged the Succubus and ran with everything he had to that place. He would return, he would persevere over this world with everything he had. No matter the cost. He would be free. The distance was shortening, he was already inside that place with the butterfly glowing brightly colored in blue with a healing light of salvation. It was time to go_ _. But that woman was no longer there…_

"Glad you could make it... Phenex", Issei was back into the real world, still in the bathroom and yet he was holding the Dream Devourer by the throat as she tried to leech his nightmares to break him. He was calm and unassuming but his grip tightened almost to the point of snapping her neck.

The Succubus squirmed in trying to free herself, her eyes fearful and screaming of dread and terror with futility when she felt a great heat around her neck. Issei dropped her off, swung his left hand to her chest and breached her ribs to grab a hold of her heart,pressing his claws against it's walls as she gasped for air and erratically tried to bash his face with her weakening punches.

"Nothing escapes your sight, Low Class Devil." stern words did she hear past her shoulders as she tried to turn around to see for a moment what was behind her. Only a flaming sword did she see, aimed at her neck by the hand of Riser Phenex who swiftly, with one decisive blow in the same timespan Issei clenched his palm around her heart and with no mercy, burst the beating organ into tiny shreds of flesh while the flaming sword decapitated her in a fraction of a second, swiftly lumping off her head from her body.

Issei threw the headless corpse away and generated something to cover himself with by the piece of fabric he had hidden near his pills, stood up sogging wet with water dripping down his body and with no problem moved away from the bathtub to greet the frightened Phenex.

Issei cleared his throat loud and grunted for a second before returning back to his normal disposition of having his scales recede not to frighten the older Phenex sibling.

"…It went well better than expected. This bitch wouldn't have gone out if i didn't lure her in." Issei said after his eyes glanced at the bloodied corpse. It was a sight he despised so much but had gotten used to. "Our plan went well. Good job, Phenex. We need to dispose of the body right away. Argento wouldn't like it."

Riser glanced between him and the corpse. His flame had dissappeared by this time now and he was still scared but stood tall and unwavering. "If my sister hadn't noticed this imposter walking around and entering the room, i would have missed this possibility by a hairs length. They had to bust the door with various types of magic so we could enter and do this." there was no arrogance in his tone, a clear and understanding face did he made when he moved away a step back and knelt down to grab the corpse by the legs while Issei lifted it by the shoulders.

"Before the sun rises up we need to go to the desert. So i will act as patrol so get a few hours sleep because in four hours we leave. Tell everyone to gather in this room." he responded in a dull way like it was a trained response. He lifted the dead Succubus and with his help dumped her body in the bathtub.

Riser took the cue, knowing what he meant by that look and ignited his hands to evaporate the corpse, burning the water into mist to erase any evidence of her ever having been here. There was smoke for a second and after it there was nothing left of the body. No bones,no ash was left but they still had to take care of the head so with a low tier spell of the second tier, Issei made the head combust into flames for a few moments and let it fade out till there was only ash.

"All done. Now we just need to clean up this mess and fix the bathtub. I'm not paying for that since I'm almost broke!", in the end he was about the money. They did plan to play at the casino to gather some extra finances for everything they needed. Even with the support of the House of Phenex, Ravel wanted to handle herself responsible and contribute in earning money in order to prove her capabilities of being independent. Plus the satisfaction of having earned your cash was quite rewarding.

"Let's go. I'm sure the enemy would try again tomorrow so we need to be prepared." calmly responding back like nothing had happened, Riser opened the door to walk away and meet the three girls who were waiting inside the room. "Plus if your client is a cool girl... I'd like to meet her. A contract as a bodyguard wouldn't be bad and would bring me quite the renown if they are famous."

Riser was intelligent and a good brother when they were in private. He had his arrogance but he was slowly returning to his humble self and had gained a respect for the Gremory Pawn for everything he was doing for their family. Issei knew in turn that the third son of the Phenex was a good guy at heart and respected his attitude towards family a lot, he never doubted he was smart hence the idea of using the Evil Pieces with cutting off his power to connect them with his King Connector Piece and share his Sorcery Trait with his whole peerage. And this was a secret only two more knew about and how it was possible to accomplish.

Just the thought of having Hilda meet him made him slightly worried about his welfare. The girl was rather quirky, annoying to deal with when drunk and dangerous at times despite being really sweet. And especially when she would read out loud various smut fics of questionable taste. Her closeness and habit to strip was another concern to be taken in account. As well as the teasing he would usually get about being the Admiral since she was the real life Prinz Eugen, the basis for the in-game ship. She always hated the fact that people referred to her as Eugen instead of using her real name.

"You don't want that, believe me. She's a handful to deal with." expressing his thoughts he followed the blonde man outside the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

 _"I can't remember exactly what happened but the only thing i remember is that butterfly... Someone helped me and i don't know who it is but it could be anything... I shouldn't risk too much like that..."_

XXX

12th September, Las Vegas, Nevada, Desert, 05:56 am

"Watch out for anything above the unusual. This place isn't like any other on the face of the Earth." Issei whispered to the rest for any lurking dangers around these parts of the desert. He had chosen to remain extremely vigilant and careful when preparing to enter the place in where the spirits of the desert dwelled till the end of time.

Many strange occurrences had happened here for this place to earn it's title, many inexplicable things were in the abode for unnatural, illogical and beyond the scope of understanding as rumours were spread wide about this damned place all over the globe.

The five of the Bloodstained Cross unit were in the middle of the desert after having taken a few hours to sleep in rotation, with the dragon and the older Phenex having not slept at all to guard the three girls with them in one room. They hit the road when it became around 05:00 and left Caesar's Palace as quietly as possible in unconspicious clothing and flew over the desert until the forces that lurked around made flight uncomfortable and in turn they had to walk their way into there to wait for the liminality between the realms during the rise of the sun, which was going to shine upon the horizon any moment now.

It was quite the disturbing night for some of them, Issei couldn't help but wonder upon everything that was happening. All of these hints, the questions that rose in his head were giving him no rest at all, especially in the possibilities of how his parents were connected to all of this. What if they knew all along and because of that they perished that night on the ninth of October 2013? Or what if that thing was someone he knew well or even the chances of that thing being him were no doubt reasonable for he kept an open mind for these reasons. And it wasn't even the end of it - they still had a trip to that chapel in France and a visit to Road 666 on Halloween in October for which he had believed something big would have happened by that time around.

The sun was already rising above the horizon when the unit stepped forward on the sand before them, feeling a strange resistance preventing them from entering no further than where they stood. The winds were blowing gently and yet there was this sense of dread with each wave of the otherwise normal wind, it was a desert like any other desert there was… but just by judging from the disturbances in the ley lines of this land, it was obvious something here was waiting to be found. Issei and company were in the middle of nowhere, perhaps this was what the riddle of Irina Shidou spoke of or perhaps it had a deeper meaning to it for there was always something more than meets the eye.

It would have been great if things stayed the same as they were but it was not as it was supposed to be.

Flashes of dark and light blindingly glowed from each corner of the desert, the winds blew violently in one place but not in the other side of the desert as their origin was not of natural order. Specs of sand breezed in the air, a sandstorm was beginning to form when everyone took notice and covered themselves to avoid any sand hitting them in the eyes. It would have been useful to cast magic but the nature of this liminality was quite of a fragile essence so they opted to use conventional methods as it could create a imbalance in the spot between everywhere and nowhere, so the Phenex sister and Asia snuggled together under Riser's arms to protect themselves from getting lost while Issei had to hold the Chinese Rook and shield her from the forming sandstorm by getting closer and wrapping his arms around her, which was uncomfortable for him but had to be done since Riser was not that big to effectively shield three, knelt down and awaited for this unnatural wind to pass.

Yet there was something else in there - the winds were lowering the speed they circled in for a flashing light to take their place, a darkness followed the lights as they died out after a few moments. There was nothing at first but upon a closer look there could be seen various, charred and twisted black humanoid shapes with ghastly pale featureless faces lurking around the horizon...

Those were nothing more than the wraiths of long lost souls who died in the desert and were drawn to the liminality of the Valley of Death to act as it's guardians.

The wraiths of the Valley moved like the shades of the Underworld, predatory in each step they took with their nonexistent feet to surround the living for passing through their domain. But something was keeping them at bay. Something was happening at this point with the wraiths stepping away from Issei as the whispers of the dead somehow found their way to the world of the living. Even more as the Valley _revealed_ the forms of those who were trapped inside it...

Ravel's body looked humanoid no more for she was a swirling mix of flames and air with the features of the immortal Phoenix being unraveled as her skin had dissappeared before time, until she noticed that recently. Two burning wings of fire sprouting from her back waved to dispel the friction the winds created as they stretched further and further to be able to cover her whole body in a defensive reaction. The Valley of Death was causing this phenomenon in each one of them for those who stepped into the place between the lines of life and death were bared of their own identity within time and were lost to the sands of the desert. It meant they had a limited period of time to stay here before it would have turned fatal.

Riser's form changed accordingly as well, similar to his sister in every way possible except for the pure white eyes that manifested from his eye sockets to replace the deep shade of blue. Four extra wings formed on his back in a brighter orange shade, he was beginning to look like the legendary bird more and more.

This phenomenon was known as the ley line interference where each being who stepped into it's perimeter would have their **Affinity** manifested onto them as a way to create a counterattack and quickly finish them off since most liminalities were nothing short of a fragment of displaced time in the form of a prison.

Unlike with most Devils, the Phenex's Sorcery Trait of Flames,Wind and Regeneration was branded down to the very fiber of their existence and was the only thing that dominated over other Sorcery Traits inherited from non Phenex members of the Household. In essence they were the very Sorcery Trait incarnated into shape, they had internalized their distinctive gift into their beings just from the day they were born. Other cases of _Internalization of a Sorcery Trait_ was the renowned Ruin of Extinction belonging to Sirzechs Lucifer who had become one with his family trait and was likened to a mobile, sentient form of Power of Destruction hiding in Devil flesh.

"What's happening!", the strained voice of Xuelan rang into Issei's ears like a thunder, she was extremely confused and felt dread just by being near him but had to suppress her fear in order to function properly. Her Affinity was something obscure at first glance: she looked like a walking mass of darkness with small traces of fire and tiny,coiling chains,that were almost invisible, were wrapped around her body like a snake ensnaring it's prey. She had a few strange appendages on her back,chained and formed from some strange her hands were crooked and chained by the same invisible chains that glistened upon meeting the darkness of these fiery wraiths of the damned.

There was something awfully wrong with what they saw - Issei was a colorless body with no set properties, almost like a glass canister with it's transparency exposing all of his organs in plain sight and the worms that lurked underneath the skin.The worms were moving around in every direction in one disgusting reaction to the wraiths. There were red scales over this abominable,translucent monstrosity in uneven patches at various areas of his body, his tail sprouting in retaliation but that was not the biggest change there was in him. Since August he had begun to grow a draconian crest of horns over his head with atleast two small horns stretching over his brows in hardened scales and a smaller set growing between them.

His Affinity was not Fire, one of the Classic Elemental Affinities defined by Paracelsus, but the very fifth element that constituted the other four elements and sub-affinities of each one. The source itself - the element of Aether/Soul.

Asia remained calm as she took notice of her form changing - unfathomable darkness was her flesh and blood, her features were nonexistent for she was pure chaos in a humanoid form, she was the very Void itself with her black eyes and time flowing through her body. The primal state from which the Material World was created by the Demiurge was contained in the petite form of the blonde former nun as the revelation of her natural element, the very same element that she was born with as the Witch of the Void.

The anti-thesis of Aether, a state of primordial chaos in which space and time had yet to be created. The substance that held and shaped the world in the false creation by the hands of the false creator-like being Yaldaboath.

The Irregular Affinity of Void,the opposite of Aether in giving birth to other Affinities.

 _"You have just 5-6 minutes at best if you hurry up. Otherwise you would get trapped in here forever or the rest that is."_ Aisa spoke to her from the Throne Room with a expression imitating that of a worried human. She was collected and unflinching but her tone dictated her concerns for the safety of her host and her companions. _"Don't arouse suspicion. Proceed carefully and make sure you move slowly to avoid the wraiths_ _._ _"_

 _"I understand well, we need to be vigilant for that thing might come once again. The Red Dragon Emperor was already attacked by a Succubus earlier which was a mistake i made of not having noticed that. Thank you for what you did, Aisa... It means a lot."_

Issei flexed every muscle in his legs to prepare for a big jump, shifted his position to make a successful leap and grabbed the Rook under his arms to carry over ahead of the storm. She held tight onto him in fear she might let go and fall behind, she was afraid of what she saw but held it down from escaping to the surface. Too much was at stake here, the sense of duty overwrote the sense of fear with a steeled resolve to succeed in this endeavor.

"Phenex! Jump. Jump!", a loud yell did he make when he swayed his tail left and right to signalize the other man behind him to follow suit and prepare. Two black constructs emerged from his back to snatch the older blonde man and drag him further as the sand beneath his legs was blasted away by his titanic jump ahead through the storm with speed surpassing that of the non physical wraiths could ever muster, even if they did not fall under the same laws of physics. Something else was keeping them at bay.

Through the sandstorm they rushed with no set direction other than trying to avoid the wraiths who did not dare get near them due to the black ichor of the dead permeating the very ground on which he stepped, poisoning the air with miasma of darkness with the echoes of those long gone. It was Issei's step that made them back away from them and grant them safe passage as though bowing before the eldritch abomination which dashed forward until the lights died out and before the very eyes of the group was nothing but a small library with a multitude of books stacked in rows and a small desk of mahogany.

If this wasn't quite peculiar, on the desk there was a computer running which made it even weirder since this was a closed space and the clash between ancient and modern was so crystal clear it made him feel seriously creeped out.

No longer were their forms distorted; upon entering this small sanctuary of sorts they had returned back to their natural forms with their Affinities being back to normal like it had never happened before, leaving no traces of the drain caused by the other side of the liminality. This was no ordinary place - this was a small section of the Ancient Library of Alexandria which contained a large amount of forbidden and tainted knowledge from all around the world. The feeling of ancient magic was all around the place, the very air felt like it was laced with the arcane knowledge of the past ages.

...Only that it was nothing but an illusion. There was almost nothing in the library, those were illusionary scenes to trick people into trying to take something from here but this was nothing more than a simple deception to the eyes of a Dragon who could view the world in a multitude of spectrums.

"Don't touch anything here. It's a trap so be careful." through a throaty voice the Pawn urged everything to stay alert and avoid touch by any means possible. His mood wasn't the best as he hadn't slept at all, irritation and fatigue were starting to take their toll on his mind and body so it was nothing short of an alarm for him to do things fast and get rest as soon as possible for tonight.

"It's pretty obvious. But a computer?", by the ludicrous gods of weird, Riser couldn't help but question his sanity over what he was seeing. It was way too weird for a modern piece of technology to be in such a place of the old ages, he couldn't help but make a weird face that instilled disbelief. "This is just seriously bullshit! Can you believe it?!"

"I agree.", Xuelan was a no-nonsense type of person who was rather reserved but this time she couldn't help but agree with this fact. It was way too much to handle for the mind, she took a step back in respite and made space for Issei who was holding her and forgot to let go.

There had to be a reason why it was there. And curiosity was stronger than common sense as the Devil took a step forward carefully not to trigger any traps in the floor, rushed to the desk and booted up the PC, what did you know, it had electricity here so it was another thing to question by his skeptical nature but he left it for another time. There was clearly a message. The screen lit up, and there was a video loaded and ready to be played so he clicked on it and the rest came closer to inspect.

The video started playing; and there was shock. It was no one else but the mad priest called Freed Sellzen who appeared on it.

There sheer dissonance between his crazed state and what was portrayed here on this video was like the distance between Heaven and Earth for he appeared quite sane. Too sane for it to be true. The priest was standing before him on the screen, a pensive and morose expression greeted them as he took a moment to take a breath and predisposed himself to talk. It was an old video before his accident and spiral into madness over the death of his wife and child, before it happened he was a man of kindness and benevolence, a protector of the weak.

 **"If you're probably watching this video log i might have been discovered by now. This is the only copy left of my research which has proven to be quite enlightening and if you're watching this..."** he took a deep breath as he seemed to be in a hurry, **"It means it has begun already. They are here. Those who lurk in the shadows, the ones who were not born. Be vigilant for those who have no blood, the unborn..."** his eyes hardened with a serious glare.

They couldn't believe it. Issei was having so many thoughts right now he couldn't stop but question himself - _"Did they really knew about this? What if they actually knew... This man was on our side... I can't believe it. I need to find out more."_

 **"I've been doing this research for quite the time so i don't think i have a lot of time left. Paladin Shidou found out about something sinister behind the Second Faction War... The real reason was the usurpation of the Keys of the Gate, one Angel fell from grace and stole the Key that Celestial held in possession while someone on the Devil's side hid their Key and the tracks were lost. They say the ones who hid it were either the Bael,Gremory, Astaroth** **,Belial,Phenex** **or Sitri... One of those families had stolen the key and hid it for safekeeping. And that Angel who stole another one was Raynare but it appears that her memory was wiped out and the other keys are missing. No matter what, the keys should not be gathered by any means necessary. Do not let that happen for the Calamity will sweep the Earth once again..."**

This was something they had never heard of before. Ravel's eyes widened over having heard this information; the previous Maou had hidden the truth from everyone about the War and it made sense for why there was the Civil War that begun in the ninth century, three centuries after the Battle of Camlan which happened at the same time during the Second War... From her knowledge the Evil Pieces were conceptualized shortly after the War and their production begun in the 13th century as Devil society was under heavy duress and first had to secure a foundation for recovery.

But Asia's reaction was sour. She couldn't bear to see this man... In her whole life she had never hated anyone as much as she despised the man named Freed Sellzen. Her hands were twitching violently with wrathful shakes and fear seeped out of her whole being upon seeing his face. Her delicate face was contorted by extreme anger and there was no stopping her from trying to break the screen. This man destroyed her, he broke her until she was mutilated by the hands of that Fallen Angel, every last piece of innocence she had was stripped down from her and left away to rot like a gapping wound with worms festering through the flesh. Hate was eating at her heart in this moment. Her teeth were bared as she fell down on her knees and tears began to form on the corners of her eyes.

Issei was no better either way. Even the slightest mention of that name brought fear into his mind as her visage would continue to haunt him as the dead always used it to taunt him into breaking apart further. He could feel the whispers in his ears, it was stressful and maddening but he had to endure it. It was something that he had to see till the end, find out what he sought even if he was losing the battle against them. The very battle for his eroding mind and soul, his human form changing until the very day he would be unrecognizable.

 **"I wish you luck. Do not trust anyone, neither the Devils nor the Angels... The enemy is everywhere, constantly watching, always observing and hiding in the shadows... There is another thi-**

Freed couldn't finish his words as a glowing mark of golden sizzled on his chest. The light was dim but gave off an archaic power, something from beyond this world it was as the priest begun to scream and spasm violently in trying to tear out the black mark out of his body in mindless gestures. He was trying to resist it's influence so much but he knew it was a lost battle for he could not contain it. His eyes glowed red as the pigment changed to the familiar one they knew. He was being twisted into something dangerous, something vile slowly but surely...

And what was etched on his chest was the _Brand of Dominion_...

 _"Dear God... Twenty years ago, the Gate and everything till now is connected... The culling... That's why they're killing out anyone affiliated with the Pureblood families. Someone from the 72 Pillars is going around and killing the rest. This is only the beginning."_

Then another video popped up on the screen.

 _It was a video log from 2010 which somehow was procured by unknown means and was another detailed documentary of an experiment. What was on the screen was a gathering of children who were placed over a large transmutation pentagram with the inscription of the Archangels on it's multiple frames, a lone girl who was located in the center of said circle and chained with links leading up to every child on every conceivable angle._

 _An arcane ritual detailing the prototype creation of the Holy Sword Project, which was then known as the Savior Project to create a defender of humanity to fight in the Apocalypse. This girl in question was none other than Irina Shidou, the daughter of the Heavenly Summoner Touji Shidou as Issei recognized._

 _The light element was slowly being drained from the rest of the children and absorbed by the chains leading to the sedated Irina, the pentagram glowing brightly with divine light which was nothing more than a mockery of the names of the Seraphim. It was vile, it was despicable to even attempt that but the Bishop hastened the process in his hopes to create someone strong enough to protect humanity. To give them a chance of survival in what was known to come by any means necessary, even if he damned his soul for eternity for the sake of his intentions._

"This is disgusting! This is beyond cruel!" the black haired Rook was affected by this sight. She turned her head away in grimacing with bared teeth and fists clenching. She had the highest emphaty and sensitivity of the five and it was something she could not forgive. She moved away from the screen and gave Asia a hand to stand up, hugged her in a comforting embrace and gave one short response with enough venom to kill a Bahamut. "Let's go... We've got work to do."

Issei drove his hand through the screen, burned the computer in one moment to erase all evidence which was probably pointless and stepped away with a heavy stride but not before taking a small grimoire hidden beneath the surface of the desk. It was the only thing that was a real book in here. Everything else was just an illusion, from the grimoires to the scrolls. Even the room wasn't as pristine as it looked: he could see behind it's concealment the ugly truth. There were bones scattered on the floor. The library was up to the brim with human and inhuman skeletons in the walls but he didn't mention it.

They didn't need to know about it.

They begun running away but somehow he felt the unsettling feeling of being watched, it felt like nothing he had endured before but yet there was a miniscule sense of familiarity if he could ever call it like that. He turned back for a moment and saw nothing but the illusion of the library back in it's place.

 _"Must have been my imagination again. If i don't take my pills soon it will get really... Really ugly. But then again... I'm sure there is something or... someone watching us..."_

...And they dissappeared. The whole library was nothing but a world of gray skies with no sound or any signs of life having existed there. Scorched black soil to where the eyes could see, unmoving clouds contrasting with the lifeless sky of gloom and darkness. There was no time present for it was nonexistent in this hallowed land of somewhere else. Thorns were the only thing growing as their blackness devoured the tiny slivers of light into fading away, if there was light to begin with...

It was always static with no motion.

 _This was not the fragment of the Library of Alexandria. This was an altogether different place if it could be called a place. There was no proof if it had ever existed or if it actually did exist. There was nothing._

In that garden of black thorns stood a woman. A woman of unnatural yet so human beauty was looking beyond the thorny road that no one could see. Her hair was the epitome of the blazing sun, her eyes were vast and deep as the ocean in a calm and serene expression as if she was gazing back at the leaving party of five. Her posture never changed even once, she didn't blink once as they were running away from the library, the woman in the white dress continued to watch behind the cover of the thorny garden, forever shrouded in the motionless world of thorns as she stood there silently in wait. Nobody could see her, this was not the library but somewhere else and no one knew where it was...

She was the most beautiful girl there was, she outshined any goddess with her shapely figure in terms of pure perfection. Something so impossible to exist while yet so real it was in existing. Her dress fluttered by the light breeze of an ephemeral, nonexistent wind that blowed through the fog in light gusts. Her golden hair as the sun was waved by the winds but yet it did not flutter at all. She was like an ideal, a definition of beauty beyond the scope of normality bordering on divine and yet so mortal in it's definition. It was a place of motionless stagnation and silence. It was a place of blooming life like the gardens of Eden.

But there was only the maddening silence and black dirt and smog below the dark sky.

Somewhere far away. Somewhere closer than ever. Everywhere and yet nowhere...

Only the woman was there, staring towards the endless path of the garden of thorns in peace. Her eyes did not waver at all during this moment, she was as if frozen in her expression which was so beautiful that you could only stop and stare. A thorny vine surrounded her arms in coiling around her like a snake, alone and as if awaiting in the world of static and silence...

And yet the only thing she did was to narrow in her gaze mysteriously, both implying and concealing her intentions at the same time.

And a thin, satisfied smile appeared on her face...

XXX

There are times when the line between the darkness and the light is substantially blurred beyond our wildest dreams, beyond what your conscience could even dare to fathom. And yet some deny that very idea as it doesn't bode well with their beliefs. Concepts such as goodness and kindness are redundant in this harsh hellhole of a world where you are nothing but a meager speck of dust in comparison to someone else. A meaningless spark of dust in the grand scale of events. You are not supposed to strive for excellence but for the console of a mere mediocrity in a society of hypocritical liars, avaricious and cruel bastards because that is the natural order for everything.

The weak perish, the strong live.

But who said that the weak should only die, to perish under the crushing weight of those born with power?

Not me, because i am weak and despite my weakness, i know there is something even someone like me could do and grasp before them to achieve something far greater than our mere start in the beginning of life. Most often what one may consider to be good for them is an evil for someone else but that's where it all lies... It's those with power and authority who write and say what is wrong and what is right even if it were nothing more than a filthy lie to make themselves more dignified and to justify whatever horrible deeds they had done to get to that position. I was always the best in losing, i was never given a chance despite being born in this world like everyone else.

Even when i wanted to do something good i felt like no matter what i tried to do... I was always slated to be the villain for the sake of everyone else's lives. Just because i was different than them, because i was weaker and in someone else's shadow for my entire life. There are no heroes neither villains in this world for that is just a mask, a title grafted onto people who are bound by the circumstances. You may be a hero for some but a despicable evil for another due to the circumstances that arise from each choice.

But what if your only choice is not a choice at all?

I didn't choose to be the villain in my story, sometimes i feel like i was nothing more than a spectator in my whole entire life as it unraveled to the actions that made me who i am today. They wanted a monster, something to detest so greatly so what's better than to give them a reason to do that? What i do is something i feel like doing because that's the only way left for someone weak like me. I know what I'm doing, i know where this road leads to and there is nothing but death awaiting for me at the end of the crossroad between life and death.

Even so, even i am nothing but a speck of dust in the grand cosmos of life... I wish for something more. Something better, a place under the sun like everyone else wants to have for themselves.

I was never right, in fact i am quite wrong but that's just me. After all, it all leads to the cycle of hatred and retribution with pain and suffering being the driving force of this wicked game we all fall under. She was right... I am hurt but not anymore. I wish for something better, i wish for a change in the status quo. Power is not something you are born with. Knowledge, skill, effort and intelligence are true strength even for someone who had nothing. So they could rise by their own effort to new and unparalleled heights.

I will reach that place, i will change everything from the bottom to the top. If not me who else would take up the task?

As they say, wait till they get a load of me...

XXX

11th September, Some unknown place, 19:35 pm, Wednesday

A whole week had passed since the attack on one of the Khaos Brigade's meeting points had taken place, resulting in unexpected events that proved quite beneficial to Azazel. The Governor had retrieved his daughter during the operation and had since then kept her away from the outside world, along with her teammates who were located in different rooms.

In a room with black marble as the floor, gray walls to where the eyes could meet, a single light bulb flickered was the only source of light in this place where nobody knew if it was day or night, how much time had passed and it appeared to be a room with no exit. A closed space where magic was cut off on the inside, there was a big bed on which Vali Lucifer was sleeping soundly. Undisturbed by anything, the silverish blonde girl with cold ocean blue eyes was sleeping like a princess in this room with no exit, no windows to peek at the outside world.

She was in bandages and her wounds were treated from the damage she had suffered from the unexpected attack during the meeting of the Vali Team and the Magicians which took place a week ago, resulting in some casualties and the kidnapping of her team, sans the Monkey King and the Astaroth Heir who weren't present at the time.

A small door wove itself in existence on one of the walls of this prison like room with sparks of light glistening in the dim illumination of this closed sub-space, located somewhere only the owner of the complex knew. Two figures entered inside, waking up the White Dragon Emperor from her sleep with a casual greeting.

"Good evening there, sleepy head. How's our little princess doing?", the first figure who said that after the door closed and dissappeared was the Doctor. The Italian man carried food in a bag, fast food perhaps from the size of the packet, and looked around every corner for any possible traps that the girl could have prepared during their absence.

Vali rubbed her eyes sleepily - she nonchalantly took a good look at him with nothing but spite over their meeting... But much more with concern when she noticed that Tobio Ikuse wa also present and on his guard around her. Clearly she did not expect him to have joined their side and the way he carried himself showed nothing but caution and worry over her condition. Even his expression said all she needed to know...

"Good evening, my ass!" she said in outrage. Her response was erratic at best with her displeasure spiking high as the blue skies. Vali tried to stand up but lacked the strength to do so as her wounds ached enough to put her down back on the bed. Somehow her access to her Sacred Gear and magic were cut off, perhaps due to the nature of this room she was kept in. Which in turn meant those two were powerless as well or so she would have hoped to believe in.

"Where the hell am I!? What were you thinking?!"

Tobio didn't seem surprised in the least. He had been called by Azazel to assist them in what could be said to be a clean up of dangerous elements, tracking them down thanks to the small tracker the African soldier had placed on the Excalibur Ruler fragment that was returned to Arthur Pendragon by the hands of Vali. Even though she did a full scan she found nothing out of the ordinary and returned the piece to be reforged to it's rightful owner with a sincere apology for having stolen it from him.

"Please try to remain calm,Vali. There is no need for violence so rest easy. Nobody's going to hurt you.", switching to his big brother mask, Tobio gave his best in trying to reassure the disturbed girl of her safety. Just the way he said it was enough to calm her down as he was like a brother to her, he was one of the people she cared about a lot so maybe she would have listened to him.

She didn't say anything as she just checked herself for anything weird attached to her. She was dressed in a different set of clothing than the ones she usually used, a black tank top with thin straps and gray booty shorts as her sleepwear at home. There was nothing odd with her, it was obvious despite being locked in this room that she was taken care of.

"Though you guys were fuckin strong, i admit it. Hell, Roman died atleast three times back in there.", the brunette man with glasses stated the obvious like it was some kind of news to her, she probably didn't remember much as she was knocked out before combat took place. "I mean, i nearly died back there", he pointed at the white lab coat he had on himself, specifically the chest area in trying to portray something. "A broken arm, pulverized knee caps, one smashed leg and atleast 7 broken ribs for me. Sometimes i really envy Issei and the big guy with the spear." he said with a sigh.

He was just a normal guy like anyone else on this planet. He wasn't the best fighter as most of the 7th Daze club members turned out to be, though he could swing a gun when necessary and some military training but he was too busy saving lives back in the hospital as a surgeon. His job as a physician came first, the duty of being an Apostle of the Apocalypse came in second but he tried to maintain a balance on each side of his life.

He was neither a true regenerator like Issei nor an immortal like Roman, the First to have awakened as an Apostle.

In the end of the day he was just a squishy,fragile human as most people were in this world.

"That's hard to believe, you know that?" Vali couldn't help but find that thought ludicrous at best. Not after their meeting at the restaurant about a week ago, after he told her all those things he knew about her and having shown her something atrocious. In her words, he was just like the Red Dragon Emperor, only more normal to a miniscule degree if she could ever call that. "What you told me i don't understand enough. Albion has been queit and doesn't want to tell me anything about this! Why is everyone keeping secrets from me? You, him and even Azazel! I demand an answer..." her voice tingled with confusion and dejection. Her eyes squinted in one distrustful glare directed at the eccentric doctor but more so at herself.

Tobio Ikuse took this as a sign and turned around to the wall, opening the now manifested door in this sub-space to leave and give the two some time to clear things up. With nothing furthermore, the big brother left the scene to rendezvous with the rest outside but left a small pocket watch with a throw on her bed. He passed through the door and it closed behind him, erasing it's outlines as if it had never existed.

For some reason she felt a bit scared and insecure being left alone with this eccentric man. Her gaze raced back and forth between the place where a door was opened and the Italian man who stood there at a safe distance, sitting on a chair that came out from nowhere. He didn't seem annoyed at all, rather he felt elated and curious about her and her motivations so he presented himself as to show he was not a threat to her but more as a friend.

He then took a deep breath to prepare himself for any questions she might have had. Sitting comfortably, he threw her the packet with food and she caught it carefully and he then waited for her to continue with this conversation.

"You probably don't know anything about it because they never wanted to burden you with this knowledge. But maybe it's time to learn a bit more about what's really going on." Doctor MonBlanc waved a hand at her to prepare herself and eat while listening to what he was going to impart to her. Truly he had only the best intentions for her so he wanted her to relax and enjoy the meal that they had brought.

She took the bag and dragged it closer with whatever strength there was left as with each move she made her body ached with pain. Under normal circumstances she would have used the passive Divide ability of her Sacred Gear to halve the wounds and pain but that was stripped from her due to the nature of the room. She could only try to escape but never make it past the bed, it took her a few tries until she gave up on the forth day and resigned herself to solitude... And books. There were books left for her to read if she felt like it.

"Talk. Begin with what you mentioned of Albion and these Original Beings you talked about. The Gate and everything you mentioned about returning here. Talk!" she made a demand but wasn't prideful as she usually was. It was curiosity. A thirst for knowledge was the driving force behind her command but she still hated it how he blazed past her facade and saw a part of the real her underneath. Not as the descendant of the Morning Star but as the scared and lonely human girl Vali. It always drove her to no ends since their meeting more than a week ago.

"As i said before", he took a deep breath, "they are a part of the True Creation, beings that predate the creations of the Material Worlds by the Demiurge. Albion right there is one of them. The Gate is like the link to the Other Side, a place that could lead you to an alternative world or directly to the very Source. As a Traveler i have went to the Other Side and i was one of the very _few who had returned here_..."

When he mentioned that fact he felt like his stomach was churning, twisting and feeling like he was about to return his lunch. Just the very moment he remembered that place made him scream internally in pain, which clearly showed how much he didn't wish to talk about this topic. It was beyond painful, it was something he never wished to anyone to ever experience in their life. But he tried his best to answer in a somewhat cryptic, yet satisfactory enough way to show he was never her enemy.

He was not any normal Traveler.

"Each one of us has a Traveler's Locket which allows us to travel through the dimensions and not get lost. Without one of these you would never be able to return home until you found it." his eyes hardened with the same blunt look he gave her awhile ago at the restaurant. He clearly wasn't going to show her his Locket as those were more precious than aa lot of things in many worlds, it was something that would have given any enemy the chance to gain advantage against them by taking over another world. That would have been true if the Lockets weren't coded to their users which made them useless without their user unless they were drafted to the enemy side. And even then the Lockets would self-destruct to prevent any possibility of being used like that.

Steal one and you won't be able to use it. Kill the owner to take it and it would throw you through the Dimensional Gap into some farther realm beyond your wildest imagination or kill you in a moment, throw you in another world where it would kill you again and again.

"What about aliens? That's something I'm curious of." Vali took out the fries from the package and began to munch down like a little child as she leaned back on the bed and gazed at his direction with a question she was curious of.

He looked surprised for a moment and then went with the flow. He humored her with an answer she hadn't quite expected.

"If we go by the way of the Demiurge, created in his likeness, therefore since he has many shapes it means aliens are just another form of a human being. It's not like we are all alone in the universe, it's conceited to believe such drivel by people who think they're special. Aliens are another form of a human because the artisan has many forms, it was never specified which form he would use as a template."

"What the fuck?!" she could only mutter in surprise, disbelief and lots of excitement. The look on her face was priceless, she didn't have a reply to that.

His expression was still blank at this display of bewilderment. "Evolution is totally true as well. I mean, it's undeniably a part of life as it's pretty weird how everything is structured so well, orderly in the cycle of life. It's like a designer set if i had to go by examples. Big Bang Theory,Quantum Strings Theory,Multiverse, the Never Ending Expanding Horizon Theory... Hence the let there be light thing. Big boom! It's all about interpretation."

She made a crooked smile as she took another fries from the bag and rested her head on the wall. But she wasn't happy; her demeanor changed all of a sudden to one of brooding and doubt. She actually got a bit emotional and her voice was strained with a miserable tone.

"Honestly, sometimes i feel like I'm lost in the world. What i wanted but couldn't get, what i tried but couldn't do... I hate it. I wonder if there is something about me worth caring for." she looked down at her feet, reminiscing the old days of her past. Only a bitter smile did she make upon looking back at him.

"There are so many things beyond us. So much pain and suffering it would make you question yourself if there's any meaning to life." a rather compassionate tone he used to address her worries. "But still... We finite beings who embody an infinite spirit are born to both experience pain and joy. But some achieve joy through having overcome their own suffering. Even if we are but a speck of dust and there's no meaning... Then why not make one for ourselves?"

Something in her snapped. Gritting her teeth, her hands were clenched into fists, but she remained calm. However, deep down she was having her doubts about everything and each decision she had made. She hated herself for not having been able to have done something, to have been so weak and fragile. She truly hated how she had turned out to be but she didn't regret it; she had a wish so much as to drive her further. To show them how wrong they were, to show them she was much more than a monster...

"Nice words you got there but it's not enough to persuade me to work for you. And just you wait, once I'm out of here I'll be after your head." her pride never left her fully, her arrogant tone of promise was a mask to hide her embarrassment of having been knocked out cold and detained for around a week here. She was planning her escape but it wouldn't be easy unless she played her cards right. "Thinking you got it all right about me. I've done many things I'm not proud of so don't you think you could appeal to my good side." she snapped back and ate another fries.

He just looked at her weird. It was like some mix of understanding and a brow raised before he waved it off completely. However his gaze was sharp behind the plastic rims of his glasses, nothing less from a cold, distant gawk that peered into her eyes.

"Work for me? You gotta be kidding me? I don't want that, no, rather _work with me_ instead. And why did you decide to join the Khaos Brigade in the first place?" his tone was austere, somewhat distant and yet bustling of curiosity. "To show them just how bad you could be? To fight mindless fights against strong opponents just for the sake of your ego? No, it's probably something else. After all, you're a smart girl so mind telling this guy about it?", tilting his head to the left, he leaned comfortably on the chair and pulled out a cigarette to have a smoke.

He bit the roll and with a lighter ignited the tobacco, took a deep breath and exhaled vapor. "Want one? Being stuck with no entertainment for a damn week must have you nervous like a bull at a corrida." and he offered her one.

She scowled at him. "Why should i tell you? And fuck,throw me one since i can't stand up." Vali pouted a bit as her attempt to lean forward was futile and painful. The man threw her the whole Marlboro White pack and the lighter since he wouldn't risk getting close to her as she was physically stronger than him due to being a Cambion.

"I mean, you sort of ruined my chances of getting closer to that shitty bitch-ass bastard..." murmuring with venom, she took one of the pack and lit it up to have a smoke. She wasn't a smoker at all, she didn't usually drink and if she did it was a rare moment. But for this occasion she felt the need for it. "Those were Magicians from the Hexenacht and Qlippoth, connected with the person i need to kill with my own hands. And you ruined it!" the silverish blonde girl's fists clenched, her face twisted in one wrathful grimace of rage and sorrow for the cause of her pain.

"Revenge. That's why you're doing this. You don't really care about the Brigade's goals at all. And neither about that one..." he puffed out a circle from his lips and continued on with his sentence, but adding more impact on specific details.

"The Nameless One and it's delusional dreams. After all it's Nothingness, Emptiness itself as cruel as it is. And thank god your friend isn't another Saberface, it's refreshing to see a non-Artoria person from the Pendragon family." he jokingly mentioned about the siblings with whom he already had a conversation earlier.

She stared at him without saying a word. She didn't have friends actually, those people were just her comrades and nothing more than a band of strangers, at best, who all had their reasons for joining the team. She wasn't the type to make friends easily, she was actually reserved, and to a degree awkward with lots of quirky habits. An oddball.

"I never gave a damn about the Brigade's intentions. I don't really care about the world domination plans and that shit, i just want to serve some payback to that bastard who destroyed my life. If anyone gives me better chances at getting close to him and cutting his head off, then I'd betray the Brigade in a blink. Especially if it's for Azazel." malicious and vengeful as she could be, she always went home to Azazel's house and shared her thoughts and feelings with him and never once betrayed him. Even after that attack on the Rating Game on 14th August, she returned to her house and jumped straight into her father's embrace.

He huffed once, crossed his legs to shift his position, giving but a thin smile that made her nervous for she had seen what he was. Even if it was just a fraction of what was behind the visage of a man.

"Then i think we can offer you that possibility or atleast create the foundations for one. But you must have noticed something was way off by now, haven't you?" with such a tone he directed his question at her, implying but yet not saying anything of importance. A simple question anyone would think of suspicious but perhaps he was just messing around with her.

"It actually does seem a bit off." she was racking her brain in order to find what she felt was out of the ordinary. However nothing came to mind to solidify her suspicions but she knew there was something more than the purpose of driving out the Great Red out of Ophis's domain.

The eccentric man with a funny beard nodded knowingly at her pondering, puffed out more smoke and continued with a tinge of satisfaction, if he could truly find it, in his delivery. "The Brigade is just a pawn in the game. Every faction is a part of the hunt in one way or another, the true enemy is everywhere around us. Hiding in the shadows, or walking right up to your face and you would never know it." he closed his eyes for a moment to gather his thoughts. And in the next moment he did something else entirely...

His eyes instantly switched to pure white pupils with no irises in them. Nothing but pure white pits that were supposed to be irises greeted her with the sclera fully turned to a bloody red coloration in just a blink. "Because... **They**... are already here. Lurking, watching everyone else. They can be anyone you know, it could be me or even you but we wouldn't know that. And the Witch is here as well.", he blinked once more,returning his eyes to the dark brown color they had been and continued to smoke his cigarette in spite of the frightened Vali.

The briefest of moments she saw his eyes she averted her gaze immediately with the speed of light in shock.

It was like she wanted to puke; ever since the first time she had witnessed the change he showed her, she felt like she had seen a real monster, something she couldn't understand nor describe despite how much she tried. Completely foreign, out of this world and yet so natural that it was nothing short of a paradox. Whatever she was doing by now didn't matter - Vali glued herself to the wall in an attempt to make the distance bigger between them, she was feeling threatened and instinctively raised her guard despite the pain to try to protect herself.

"Come on! I was messing with you, girl. I don't bite, i was just joking.", he made a pleased look, "but i wasn't joking about the rest. If you are an enemy i would try my best to get rid of you. However that i believe isn't necessary; i could have you forget everything so nothing would leak out from here. Or just imbalance your Gear back to it's normal form, overload it and snap! You go bye bye!" he was rather expressive in his gestures, placing emphasis on the 'snap' part of his sentence.

"I would but i just want to live. You want that as well, don't you? I don't want people to die meaningless deaths because of some fuck's ambitions. So I'll offer you the same deal i offered to your companions - work with us since we could benefit each other greatly. And i assure you... What you want could happen because i see some of myself in you."

"I fail to see how we have anything in common, it seems quite the opposite if i had to be honest." she was frightened. That display brought out the deep fear she held inside, locked under various layers of arrogance, pride and self-imposed drive to maintain who she was. Not to become a monster... Everything he told her was frightening; even the possibility of her team being persuaded and her being locked in this room forever were thoughts that ran through her head. Somehow it reminded her of what that deplorable Red Dragon Emperor unleashed on her mind with no remorse, bringing out her ugly side and her fears for she was a human just like everyone else.

"I...seriously hate you. And i hate myself and this cold world as well... Maybe i was never meant to stay long in a place where i never truly belonged. I am hurt and miserable, i feel so lonely at times it makes me want to cry because of how weak i really am behind the mask i wear...", her words were delivered through shivering lips and grating teeth. However they were sincere and emotional, Vali was not a machine who could go on without feeling anything all the time. She was insecure and scared as much as the rest of the world was.

"Then we just gotta make one. There might not be one at the moment but who said we couldn't make one for ourselves?" soothing as the night breeze, he directed his gaze at her with enough compassion to make her feel better. In the end he was just a man with dreams. "We're all weak. We have our ups and downs but who cares? We're selfish and want only the best for ourselves then... Why don't we take it, even if it means having to destroy the order and balance of the world. Not that there is any actual balance in it, though..."

In her eyes it only made him scarier. Not to mention she had made a hole in her bed with the cigarette she had taken from him by accident but he didn't seem to mind. But it did have an effect on her - her eyes mellowed down but never lost their fierce fire, she wouldn't let him have this one so she tried to mask it. But to no avail.

"You're not so bad after all. I give you that.", she tried to smile if not for the fact of being a prisoner. "So when i can i leave this place? I'm bored and could i get a sewing kit and some plush? I'm in the mood to make some toys." dead serious was she in her demands. She enjoyed making toys and sewing stuff together as one of her hobbies ever since Tobio had taught her how to thread a needle and the two spent hours at making custom made articles of fabric when he visited her at home.

"Tonight, actually. But we've taken measures in case you try to attack us or run away. The Professor gave us permission and thus", he lifted a finger, dropping the now finished tobacco on the floor. Nothing changed. He was sitting in his chair and doing nothing.

Ethereal chains of Emptiness sprang on her skin; semi-formless constructs made of the very mist of his Balance and the ability of the first Sephirot. During the time she was unconscious, the African Major paid the price to use a small scale version of Emptiness on her, combined with the use of Balance that assured if she tried to run away or kill them it would prevent her Sacred Gear from manifesting or going Balance Breaker and activate a lock switch on her magic to render her useless. No way was she to be left with the tools to kill them, no one in their right mind would have not taken any measures against such possibility from occurring. There was a physical block installed too, in cases she would try to physically maim anyone.

They were clearly not magic in the long run so they functioned perfectly in this sterile, swept clean of magic sub-space in some place unknown.

Vali didn't seem to be surprised much , if not at all. Her reaction was rather on the lines of dread and was petrified as those chain-like constructs vibrated with a low frequency that annoyed the hell out of her. This was so not in the plan, it was something of a surprise if she ever tried to go along with her promise.

Those bindings dissappeared with the flick of a finger. She was still feeling their presence but it wasn't in the same magnitude as before.

"So...", the young girl stopped to take a good look and concentrate fully and only on him, "is this why Albion has been queit all this time? I suppose that is the most probable explanation on his aversion to speak... And why should i do as you wish? Your offer is alluring but i don't intend to trust you people so easily." sneering as best as she could, her previous mask of arrogance and indifference slid back in it's place as it should be like applying paint. She was certainly skeptical, fearful and definitely enraged to a degree but had to think of a way to win their favor.

It wasn't surprising at all. The Italian man made a bored expression but continued on with his conversation. "Then maybe you should think about it well. We are not like the people you work with", he emphasized on the difference but his eyes hardened further. "In fact no one is a hero or a villain, most of us hate heroes and some of us are morally questionable. However, i can tell you that I've seen my fair share of suffering and tyranny in the world i ended up after escaping from the other side. I've seen brothers fight each other due to the curse of their ascended uncle. And it doesn't make it better when both of them are Demiurge-like ascended humans who further designed their respective worlds."

"What i mean is", his gaze drifted away "you remember what Albion told you, right? You are important in all of this, in some way no one knows but it's obvious things are happening for a reason. No matter how much we struggle, it's obvious that we must not give up and keep going no matter what. It doesn't matter what you are or how you were born. What matters is what you will do with the gift of life that has been given to you."

 **[Well said,** **Doctor** **.]** , Albion finally spoke up after his long silence. **[I truly appreciate what you're trying to do for my partner. What is happening right now is something we must stop, i believe there is a reason much bigger than any of us. And if we can avoid the stupid Red Dragon in the Dimensional Gap it would be great.]**

Vali gasped. "What the fuck, England?! Now you get all talkative for a reason when you kept your mouth shut when i was all alone and with no fuckin idea about what is really happening. I don't even know what you really are and now you're all down for talk?" it didn't help much that Albion decided to speak now of all the times possible.

In reality,when she slept the Dragon shared conversations with the surgeon and grew respect for him after having heard his story.

 **[We are the first, older than the rest of the Original Beings** **.** **A** **nd those false gods humanity has created. We, in a way, are the precursors to what you call humanity, before the soul was unlocked by your species. Did you think that Adam and Eve were the first to walk upon the Earth?],** Albion was dumbstruck by his host. He truly found it funny how she hadn't figured it out yet **. [Those are just the first two who were taken to the other side after evolution ran it's course and the modern age humans appeared, then they were returned and there you have it.** **In a way, they are a representation of humanity.** **However** **we** **ancient humans had fought before the arrival of your species. But that is another story.]**

It was way too much for the silverish blonde girl to cope with. It was weird, but she actually found herself at the center of something bigger than any of them. So she had one question to ask to satisfy her curiosity.

"…What about the Great Red? Is he the same as you?" she said with an uneasy, however, curious tone. Her animosity had dropped to a more palpable level.

 **[That thing is not one of us** **!** **Do not compare that filth to the Nameless One and The Welsh. It is but a Dream, the collection of the unconscious Dream of humanity's desire for destruction. And yet it is also the dream of** _ **one single man**_ **. It has neither the Crest nor the Brand we possess, it is a** **d** **ragon and not one at the same time. It's what you'll see if you ever gaze upon it - it has** **our** **characteristics and the Nameless One** **'s** **but it's not one of us.]**

"Then if you will excuse me," the Doctor said while folding the chair and going for the door that was created in the wall with a snap, "... I gotta make a run for it. I need to meet my bitch of a cousin and Shemhazai will come to get you so what is your answer?"

 **[I accept your proposal. My partner is all that's left.]** Albion made his decision and bugged the girl to make up her damn mind already.

"...Fine... I accept." she was so cute when she was trying to act tough but not this time. Her voice was really pleasant and had that gentle, beautiful touch to it despite her attempt to speak more gruffly. She was even flustered a bit.

"Then we welcome you to the team, Vali Lucifer", he didn't turn back at all as he grabbed the doorknob. "No, I'd rather say your other name as you prefer it… Valentina Mayer. It's good to work with you." and he closed the door after it.

There was a card left on the chair, a folded Hamakaze uniform and a normal girly dress consisting of a black corset dress, a white dress shirt with puffy sleeves and a black berret hat. This was the only thing possible to wear now as her magic was blocked and she couldn't alter them.

On the note she got by crawling to the chair with difficulty was a short message.

 _ **"Don't masturbate on the floor. With Love: Azazel"**_

And only a vicious shout of embarrassment was heard behind the walls of this room...

XXX

12th September, Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin, Ireland, 14:35 pm

The Glasnevin Cemetery was the resting place of many individuals - be it people of the faith, distinguished individuals or the common masses in one big mass of graves. It was a gloomy place where there was nothing but silence and the tranquility of the dead and their last resting places in this world.

On one specific grave stood a gentleman in his early fifties in a black elegant black trench coat with a white dress shirt underneath, adorned with a black tie with two pins on it. Black moccasins were on his feet where he stood over the black soil under which the dead resided, a black fedora hat rested on his brown hair with graying temples in a short haircut with neatly brushed aside bangs that were pulled back under the hat.He had left his beard and neatly styled it. The man's hands held a black cane with a silver handle in the shape of a wolf which he used as an accesory rather than for support, not that he really required a crutch to walk but more of an accessory to him it was. In his other hand he carried a small bouquet of carnations in a white wrapper with a single thread of red to secure them. Even as far as using black gloves .

He was surely here to visit someone...

He knelt down while holding his cane and rested the flowers onto the grave he stood before to pay his final respects once more to that very person. The bouquet rested on the flower holder near the gravestone while he lit a candle and carefully placed it on the other side where candles were left for the dead. After having done so, the old man slowly stood up and made the cross sign with the following words,delivered with a sense of tranquility.

"May you rest in peace and find salvation, my beloved wife. I'll take care of everything left..." and he removed his hat with his left hand to offer a final courtesy to the dead.

He would visit this specific grave every year for the past thirty years with not a single day missed through all these years that have passed. It was a sort of a habit for him to pay his condolences and pray for the sake of this person, even if he knew what fate had brought upon them. Even if it was a mere attempt to rekindle the beautiful memories long lost, the sense of happiness that was taken away by the ugly hands of death itself. He placed the hat back on his head and nodded knowingly as if he had heard a response to his prayers. He would stand here and talk, describing his everyday life and all that changes that had happened ever since she passed away.

On that very gravestone was written: **Beatrice Fairchild, 1963-1985.**

There was a unnatural wind that blew past his shoulders, it was a bit of a gloomy autumn day but there was no wind or rain mentioned in today's weather forecast which made it more suspicious than ever. The dreadful sense of time was creeping from behind, he felt nothing but a meager threat as he clearly knew what the source of this wind was.

" **You haven't changed at all, have you? Arthur...** " a dualistic voice of two elegantly asked through a mix of ridicule and brutal sincerity. It was like the voice of the possessed, one of a human being and the other of a not so human adversary, akin to that of a little girl which would always bring fear into the hearts of men. It was hardening, yet satisfactory in it's question as if it were nothing but a friendly jab at him.

The older man made no sound as he unsheathed the cane in his right hand and revealed a thin blade of silver with glowing blue runes over the edge of the blade in some indescribable language, lost long and impossible for modern day humanity to have remembered on how it was pronounced. In a second he turned around and with a series of defensive swipes to block what were silver chains dangling around him, he glared with an uncharacteristic for him gaze as ripples formed around him and engulfed the series of chains that flew towards his way, closing off these portals and severing the caught projectiles for good.

" **You haven't lost your touch, Timeless Swordsman... If only you were like this back then it might have made a big difference.** ", the dualistic voice was mockingly jovial in it's insult. On the other side was a flock of blue butterflies with black lines around their wings, a breed of Monarch butterflies danced in the air gallantly in a dance of life but time was stopped.

They were the only thing moving as the world had stopped in time, cutting off this spot from the barges and flow of time, leaving only him and what came out of the big portal. The only ones moving in this final destination of the living. The butterflies parted away with one of them landing on his shoulder to rest as from the black ripple, connected to Void, stepped forward the small figure of a petite girl with blonde patches of hair with bangs parted to the sides and a fringe, her tresses on the left side secured by a beautiful blue butterfly hairpin that stood out. Her green eyes gawked at the older gentleman with a gentle, warm feeling in them as her visage remained as possibly as calm as ever. Her demeanor was somewhat friendly, somewhat mysteriously terrifying in it's own harrowing way.

She was dressed in casual wear, consisting of a black cardigan over a white shirt, a black skirt and matching shoes with laces. She retracted the entangled chains back into the ripples in space behind her and with a swipe of her right hand dispelled them from existence.

"So it was you after all. You were brought here for a reason, in the small area of Kuoh City. And it had to be you, who else could it have been?", Arthur relaxed his hands and brought his cane sword back into it's hilt, and greeted her with a rather emotionless gaze.He was polite and courteous in his tone as he always was. It was enough to say he had already prepared himself for this day and perhaps it was here, on his dead wife's grave that he actually met the current host of the Witch of the Void herself.

"I suppose so, not that I'm entirely sure why i had to come here." Asia fidgeted in worry over this man's presence.She spoke alone. It felt familiar, it felt connected with the Throne Room for a reason she didn't clearly understand. Her voice was back to normal, no longer mixed with the voice of Aisa as she stared around and took a good look at the place.

" _I did my best to fulfill your request so please tell me what's going on and who is this_ _man_ _, Aisa?"_ she adjusted her stance and called out to her partner who was sitting in the Throne Room in the Void, eating red apples at her leisure.

"So you haven't been told everything, have you, little miss? No need to hide in there, i know you're already here... _Aisa_..." the barman called out to the little girl who wasn't present here with a dull voice, leaving out a familiarity and raising questions in Asia's head. He easily picked on her troubles so he purposely said it that way to confuse her if possible. He may have been a gentleman but he wouldn't let his guard down or try to anger the Witch.

Her eyes widened. She didn't know anything else about this other than a few more who had been connected to the Void to various degrees.There was something her partner was hiding from her. Something that she desperately needed to know. It could even help her in a lot of ways to further her own agenda and get her sister and father out of the Vatican. But what made her gasp in surprise was the fact that Aisa was really her name and not just an anagram of the blonde nun's name for easier communication.

There were other people connected to the Void as were all natural-born users of either time or space. Asia had both gifts upon birth while the older man originally had only spatial manipulation.

"That settles it. You don't know what you really are, do you?" he replied with a serious voice. Not many knew the legend of the Witch of the Void and how she came to be back then in the time of Julius Caesar, her story was considered nothing but a fabrication, a fairy tale long forgotten but it was hardly the truth. It was all real.

She couldn't read him. He was like a blank sheet of paper before her, the only thing she understood was the fact of him being in tune with the Void and being a teleporter but nothing else. She spoke his first name by Aisa's influence, a bit of a greeting and it was just that. She would have panicked if she hadn't felt the reassuring tug on her sleeve by the small hand of the blonde girl next to her.

The Witch was here to converse and nothing more...

"The one who appeared in the year 44 B.C after the death of Julius Caesar in ancient Rome. I assume you are here to speak with me, Witch." he looked in Asia's direction.

He was able to perceive her when nobody else could.

 _"What's happening?! You told me you wanted to meet someone and that i was to learn everything. So i want answers, please..."_

 _"I ask you to be patient and listen. I will always help you but i wanted this one single moment for myself so please understand this._ _I will give you understanding.I will give you knowledge._ _"_ Aisa held her hand tightly and took a step further before letting it go.

She gave a very sad smile as her form begun to morph. The black dress she wore grew in size to become a black version of Asia's attire with a few butterflies flying around her as she moved before the young girl with hesitant steps. Instead of a little girl there was a young woman in her early twenties, rather not being older than 20 as far as the former nun could tell.

It was a girl with silverish blonde hair that went past her shoulders, freely flowing and ornamented with a small blue butterfly hairpin on her right side. She was of average height and had green eyes with brown scattering around the pupils, a delicate body of a maiden with thin arms and a lean frame that was quite charming. Her features were gossamery at best with nothing but a tinge of flawed,human beauty unlike the marvelous visages of the supernatural.Still,they lacked life, they were nothing more than a porcelain doll with masterfully carved features which had no life in them. It felt more like standing to a life sized manequin than a person. The most striking feature was the fact that she closely resembled Asia and, unexpectedly …Sona Sitri with how she looked like to share traits from both girls to various degrees.

This was, in fact, the true form of the Witch of the Void. Her natural appearance was revealed to Asia's shock as she was used to gaze at her child-like form but had an inkling it was so she could feel more relaxed and elated. It did frighten her how she looked like her a lot, as if they were related in more than one way than she could have ever imagined.

 **"How many years has it been since then,old man? Thirty, a hundred or more than ten thousand? Or even more?"** Aisa chose her words carefully with the intention of getting out a reaction from the swordsman by using something only she knew.Her voice was emotionless,despite speaking with an ancient Roman accent. **"You still can't give up for which i commend you."** she waved her hand as if gesturing to something else.

The barman was visibly distraught over that statement. His brows lowered in a melancholic mix of anger and sadness, yet much more of a contemplation. "I can't give up yet. No matter how many times I'll try, I'll find a way out of this nightmare and end it once and for all.", there was pain in his weary gaze, subtle but enough for the silverish blonde girl to pick up.

He fiddled in his left pocket on his trench coat and pulled out a golden hand watch with a small chain attached to it. It was a simple one at best but it was much more than a simple time measuring mechanism. He popped the cover to take a look at the time and continued, "Time is of the essence and we are surely racing against it. We do not have much time left before it happens...", and he closed the pocket watch before putting it back in his pocket.

Asia moved closer to Aisa, her guard always raised but she was feeling the strain of using her power since she was not experienced in how to use it. She required more training and experience to be closer to the level of her partner. There was some sweat on her forehead, she was growing curious but withheld her questions out of respect for the young girl who gave her salvation.

Nothing in the older girl's face changed. Her reactions were all the same for a while, imitating those of a human being and yet she did not try to continue on with it **. "And your time is running out as well. You have changed, it is truly as if thou does not exist anymore. One thing i know is that i can't save you, my attempts to do so are futile. There is no escaping it, only staving it off for a while."** she was implying to know something only a few knew or was perhaps bluffing. She was harder to read.

"It does not matter anything in the long term. There is no stopping it but i will use what is left of it to finish my excruciatingly long mission." Arthur smiled with a resignation in his eyes. "In a way, i am similar to those youths as my fight has just yet begun. His life is certainly hard, no wonder he has bonded well with our Red Viper. Travelers... What can i say?" and he finished it off with a shrug,injecting some humor in his tone.

Aisa looked past behind him at the gravestone meticulously, analyzing the engravings and the flowers left on the holder. Something in her felt an unnatural tug as to make her walk towards it, ignoring his presence completely as she knelt down before that grave and sighed heavily as a human would.

 **"She must have been a charming lady. Such a pity."** her voice tingled with various emotions in a whirlpool. There was undeniably a hint of sadness as she continued to stare at the engravings on the cold marble. **"And so young on top of it..."** , she truly pitied him. Only that her hands clenched into fists as a sign of emotion when she stood up and turned around a bit to gaze upon him once more.It was still an imitation of one, though. Or rather, a strategy to tease him further.

 **"How much more do you have to sacrifice for the sake of this world, Traveler? Was it not enough? Your wife, your child taken away from you. What you did thirty years ago was a great sacrifice in order to give us a fighting chance; the sacrifice of a few to ensure the survival of many at the cost of your happiness.** **How many times must you live through this? Truly a sad tale,is it not?"**

Arthur remained silent. His eyes drifted into a single moment of reminiscing through his memories of the young girl who was taken away from him. He didn't smile at all, his hand went for his hat as he removed it and stared at the blue skies with no clouds as if searching for a single moment. A moment long ago when he was happy.

 _"You're going to be a father soon. I couldn't be more proud than this.", Beatrice smiled warmly as she brushed her fingers through her hair. She was sitting in the garden of their house, holding a pink and white blanket over her feet with her gaze looking back at the man with brown hair. He was standing there behind her with his hands wrapped around her shoulders in a warm embrace._

 _"Do you think it would be a boy or a girl? How should we name it if it's a boy?", she tenderly held his hands in a tight grip,fearing he would leave if she ever let go. She was a beauty like no other, both in the physical and spiritual aspects of the word. Truly she was a blessing from the skies, a fine woman like no other._

 _"How can you be so sure it is a boy? What if it is a girl?" he replied back in a jovial manner. An anxiety like never before swept him off his feet, "I'll have to work extra hard to support the family. I don't know if we are going to handle it so well as the tuition requires large sums of money. I don't know if we're going to be alright..." his voice sounded defeated, his hands were shaking with uncertainty for the fact was that life was a steady battle with slim chances of winning. He was so worried about it he could not stop worrying over the future until Beatrice left her palms on his cheeks._

 _"It's going to be alright. Trust me on this one, will you?" the dark haired mother-to-be reassured him with her cheesy smile, a smile that spoke of confidence for what was going to happen in the future. "Be it a boy or a girl... It will be alright. After all, we're two and going to be three soon so cheer up. It will be fine."_

 _"I love you, Arthur. Do you love me in return?" she found it in her to laugh and wanted to tease him a bit._

 _"Isn't it obvious. It's a given." he sternly responded with a dull voice that lacked any impact aside from his accent. As a matter of fact he outright evaded saying it out loud as not to jinx everything._

 _"Come on, sometimes i want to hear it directly from you!" she argued with passion._

 _"I'll say it when i feel like it. Maybe one day when it's the right time..."_

He lowered his eyes back to the ground, placed his fedora on his head with a single gesture. His words he directed towards Aisa were of a more personal essence, as to say. "I did pay the price…But what about your host? You always seem to have a penchant for bonding with people who resemble you in a lot of ways- appearance,personality,mindset. What a twisted sense of bonding you have there. Is she even on terms with what you want? I suppose she has her own agenda as well."

Aisa did not blink. Her expression never changed, remaining blank as that of a porcelain doll with a painted face. She confidently answered his question by gesturing for Asia to speak on her own as she respected her greatly and wanted to support her. With slow steps, the girl moved away back to her host to offer her support since she was beginning to tire out.

During the ages she had many hosts who appeared during turbulent times, each one having been born in times of great importance with her previous host having been born in Germany during World War II but like many she did not have great luck. At one time she had a host who was converted into a Devil through a Bishop Evil Piece and betrayed her for having gone corrupt and have committed mass carnage. As she had time to study the Evil Pieces, it was what gave her current iteration the knowledge on how to modify the black Bishop Piece she found after her short skirmish with the Nun Collector back at the lobby after the Rating Game.

"I wish... No,rather i will change everything..." Asia found herself anxious and at a loss of words because she had way too many things to ponder on.

It didn't help that she was growing weaker with each minute gone - she had to teleport to a greater distance, freeze time to avoid detection and mostly because the Dragon Emperor was always observing her as she did him in return.

"I want to save as much as i could. I want to live, i won't let anyone get in my way. I want answers, i want justice... And i want revenge..." her shoulders stiffened during her emotional exchange. It was painful, she knew it well. She would forever hate those Fallen Angels who killed her, that priest who broke her and everyone who took away her happiness.

"I need to stop whoever is going after us. I won't let them get to him or me neither will i let it do as it wants-

She was interrupted by the blonde girl...just like that.

 **"...the Earl made his appearance to us recently. It's just as i feared... They are here." she added. The gravity of the situation tripled. "Among us, around us, everywhere and they are watching in the darkness. You actually didn't kill her, no?"** and she lifted an eyebrow after making a knowing face.

He did not seem disturbed at all. Rather, he cocked a brow at her in defiance in order to show her he would not do as she pleased. "I didn't. Otherwise we would have lost an invaluable asset to our cause. She is alive but not here right now..." it was his way of telling. Cryptic and short but a definite answer to the question.

 **"** **Oh, yes. Another one who would grow insane by being flung back in not to the degree thou were. Atleast it was not an Angel** **"** , disgust and utmost hatred flowed through her by that very word. It was an actual display of what humans felt as wrathful malice towards what had caused them great pain through life. It was enough to make her bare her teeth in pure hate towards their kind.

She despised Angels with every fiber of her being for they were the ones...

 _On a large crucifix stood a girl no older than twenty years old, bound and nailed on the site of Golgotha. Her hands here bleeding with red, her legs were battered and broken on the foot stand as tears of anguish fell down her cheeks. She could only curse the names of the ones who betrayed her and sentenced her to death for what she did._

 _The skies were darkening with the light fading away on this hill for the woman was a witch, a walking heresy for having led the masses, for bringing something out of this world... There in the distance stood a figure, a white clad man with light blonde tresses and two sets of golden wings spread out in the open._

 _But no one could see him, he was invisible to the naked eye. He turned around and begun walking when the crucifix was set ablaze, only the painful screams and curses of a woman sentenced to death were heard..._

"What can I say?" he politely answered,"I went mad for thousands of I grew bored of being insane and returned to being sane. I started to learn,understand and mostly fight…Still, some traces are left here and there." his features sharpened by the presence of a scary smile. The one he did when he made art… "And yet there are moments which we are not allowed to change…I tried many times to change their fate but in one way or another it always ended up the same. Just like how it happened thirty years ago.."

Mystical chains of ethereal matter burst through the space behind her, tearing through the fabric of reality with the blue flames of hellfire bathing the silver chains in ardent flames of arcane **. "Do you intend to get in my way, Traveler? Thou art guilty for this..."** , Aisa stood behind Asia as both spoke as one in a dualistic voice of the possessed with her hands resting on the former nun's shoulders. There was power behind her voice, an authority that was undeniable with each sound and move she made. Archaic, ancient and lost were the only applicable terms to what she was...

Asia's hands jerked with an uncontrolled twitch when her Devil wings ripped through her cardigan and revealed themselves to the world. Everything in their gestures, intonation and intention was cryptic or much more as a threat to not be taken lightly. The chains wrapped around one another, interlacing in between with their sharp ends sticking out in the rims of blue hellfire which begun to blaze in what appeared to be two butterfly wings made of silver chains turned black by their smelting. Solid, flaming butterflies of metal and flames formed on her back, imitating the girl in front of her perfectly as they set aside the remaining chains to aim for the killing blow in one twitch of a finger.

No Void Dress was created as there was no need to go to such lengths, only the sclera of her eyes changed to the characteristic black of her alternative form. The butterflies appeared once more to dance around them in a fluid flight of macabre, appearing from behind them as her form flickered between her real appearance, the fully manifested Void Dress and her child-like form in an eerie, dreadful display of power and arcane arts of the highest order.

 _There was only Asia standing..._

But he was not scared. Defiantly he stood with dignity before he unsheathed his sword from it's cane to point before them in one dead serious glare that lacked any warmth in it's delivery. Nothing crossed his mind when he braced himself to counter this unbelievable adversary for he had fought similar beings before time and had outlasted them on many occasions through experience equaling thousands of years that exceedingly surpased his own age.

 **"I see. Thou does not wish to get in my way..."** and with a swipe of her hand she dispelled all of her chains and her normal form returned like putting on a mask. Asia's eyes returned to normal to show she had no intention to fight, it was more for simple intimidation than an actual challenge as she knew well she was yet unexperienced and had to rely on her other half to do most of the work.

"Half of the world felt it and the other half probably knows. You're a target, you're important to them." the aged swordsman lowered his sword as he responded. There was no ire or anything more than a simple twitch of an eyebrow.

"There are times when we have to fight back. To make a stand for what we believe is right." the blonde girl responded with pure conviction. Her resolve was steeled, her mind set on persevering over anything that would come her way. And she wouldn't let whatever it was to destroy her last vestiges of a normal life. Especially for the people she grew to care for.

She turned her back but never dropped her guard for even the slightest moment. Her mind was telling her there was something special about that blade he held which could certainly damage her, however she didn't exactly know what it was or it's origin. It felt foreign, mystical to her knowledge as it was something out of this world.

"Be careful with what you are doing, miss. I don't wish to be enemies with you so-"

" **Do not interfere with my owner's wishes? Is that what you're going to say?"** she blinked in surprise since she wasn't the one to actually speak. A vile sensation, akin to the strike of a scourge passed through her whole body when the memories started flooding her head. Those were not her's; they were memories from a time long lost which belonged to someone else.

 **"After all...",** the dualistic voice returned in it's full glory **, "You are but a bird in a cage. As we all are. However your cage is unbreakable for what happened to you all those years ago." it** sounded like pity. Only it was never pity to begin with. It was pure loathe.

 **"For the price of a gift the world was spared, for the sacrifice of a loved one time was bought. And on the forth day time had already stopped..."** she recited.

 **"After all... you are one of the people who brought Them here..."** to which Asia felt like she wanted to cry. More and more memories mixed in with her very own, she couldn't handle the strain over her body with the fatigue wearing her down greatly to being unable to maintain the barrier for long and time begun to flow once more slowly.

His fists clenched around the cane despite his inability to say even a single word back. There was nothing left to say, there was nothing more to do here to continue the conversation. Nothing happened - it was the anger that he didn't show that made the already tense atmosphere grow to be more than simply unpleasant. Only on this day could she find him,reach out to him, for it was the very same day he had awakened thirty years ago...

He stared at me with his heated gaze. He knew I was right. He agreed with my logic. But it was his pride that kept him silent. He wanted to argue with me but was content enough to keep his mouth shut. It was as close to an agreement I was ever going to get from him.

Arthur was quiet as he looked at her. His lips twitched, almost as if trying to make words. He scowled further and scratched at the ridge of his brow.

A large rupture in reality tore open to form a small portal while time was still frozen for the female Devil to return home after having completed the request she was made to do. With slow steps she walked into the portal but not before gracing the old man with a final parting gift and some words that came from the bottom of her heart. Turning around to reveal only one side of her face on which her sclera had turned black once more, Asia's expression mellowed down to the point of being on the verge of crying. Her emotions were about to break through like a dam and imbalance her control.

It was not her emotions that were the cause of this. Yet, her body was reacting to it in synchrony with the extremely impossible to express human emotions girl who only imitated those expressions and feelings. She had never felt much of a semblance to anything human in all of her interactions with the other one... Only that at this moment she fully understood what the man meant earlier; the visions, the sense of familiarity between them, being referred to as a Summoner... It all made it clear to her.

It was not her own pain, it was the genuine sadness Aisa felt for the first time before her...

 **"I'm not alone... anymore. Even if time is running out"** ,her breathing was hitched and strained from trying to suppress it, the blonde Devil couldn't deny the pain she felt as each word rolled out of her tongue, words so full with emotions she could drown in them for their magnitude was overwhelming. **"I won't...let th...em do what they...did to any...one else... It's time to stop running. It's time to make a stand."**

Asia couldn't bear to hold back her tears anymore and casted away all doubts she had about the little girl. It was terrible, it was so painful to endure this. Her legs brought her further into the portal but her focus was somewhere else. Only having strength for one last moment before time would begin to flow naturally, she turned around a bit more and whispered something the wind would carry quietly.

 **"It was good... to see you again, Father..."** , shedding one small tear to stroll down her cheeks,she turned around for the briefest of moments where her sclera turned black once saw her silhouette over the small nun as the winds blew once again into the graveyard before she dissappeared into the portal without leaving a single trace left behind...

Just as she had appeared from nothing, she dissappeared into the vastness of the Void...

"You can count on it, Aisa…"

Only a single white rose was left on the flower holder next to the carnations as a final commemoration. A single memory for the time she had lost,the family she had lost in time as another tragedy was waiting to unravel…

XXX


	21. act19

Act.19 Grenadine & White Rum: Liar,Liar,Slutty Dress on Fire

9th September, Vatican, Italy, 00:00 pm

It was night time already when most people were at home, either sleeping or lazily doing something in the last minute before having to succumb to the need of sleep. Well, not everyone to be honest...

Cardinal Giovanni was preparing his bed when he sensed a familiar presence behind him, standing near the closed doors to his private chambers in the most casual way possible. It always brought this nasty sense of being watched whenever they arrived here but it couldn't be helped. It was a part of the job, as most would say but it didn't mean it was pleasant, to be honest.

"...What do you want from me at his time of the night?" the elderly man glanced at the door from the corner of his vision and sighed heavily. It was always a nuisance in having been forced into this but there was little to say in this matter.

"Now, now don't be like that, old man. We're partners in crime, after all." greeted back the familiar voice of the Astaroth Heir. He was dressed in a simple black suit with a violet dress shirt and black slacks and wore his iconic aviator shades even at this time of the night. They were an inseparable part of his persona, he always wore them even when the Vali Team had told him to relax and take them off. But to no avail.

The old Cardinal noticed the presence of the same being in black robes that accompanied the dirty blonde haired Devil and this time there was another one, a much taller being in a cassock of black and velvet with a hood over it's face. It was the same one that had always accompanied Diodora's master during their meetings with the previous pope, Theodorus III.

All the while he had noticed them with his peripheral vision.

"A deal is a deal, and i always keep my end of the bargain." Diodora spoke with no reservations in an elated friendly tone as if they had known each other for years. He took a step forward to approach the old man and presented the rest of what he had gathered in a restrained civil tone. "The reunion of a brother and sister awaits. Don't worry about the guards, they're alright. They're sleeping." he dismissed any thoughts of having killed the guards outside for they were doing their jobs and meant no threat to him.

Truth be told, he always did his best to fulfill his promises as he valued honesty and trust. If other party was truthful and actually kept their part of the deal, he responded with the same. No tricks,no deception. Just simply trying to show he was not a dishonest person even if he was questionable.

"It's quite hard to believe, given how you forcefully extracted information from me and currently blackmail is at play." he countered. There was no trust in his tone neither any willingness for such a privilege as trust. He was being blackmailed, he was being cornered to a wall if he didn't respond correctly. "Even if you kill me it won't do you any good. I don't run things around here."

"That is about to change." Diodora's master was suddenly in front of the pajama clad man in less than a second. There was no time for reaction when the being perched up in front of him and it's right hand was on his neck trailing down towards the rosary he carried. "You wish to be Pope and we can help you with that matter. How much are you willing to fight for humanity, Domenico Giovanni? We do not care about the Angels nor the Devils...as we told you before." it's voice was unrecognizable. Unnaturally inhuman and so human, so wretched and yet so divine it was as this thing was nothing short of a mystery. It was clearly something that he couldn't describe as when he peered into the robes he could only see darkness and nothing more. No body,no outlines. Just nothing.

"Exactly. They don't care about the people at all. They are but livestock in the long run, no matter how much those filthy hypocrites would masquerade the truth as benevolence. I've been a victim of such so i wish to give people a chance." Diodora truly meant what he said. He always felt more at home with humans than his fellow Devils since he found them similar to himself. Always looked down, denied and abhorred as being nothing more than weak pests.

And the old man payed attention to the tone he used to refer to his fellow Devils; he disliked them with a passion and for the Angels- it was natural anyways since they were hostile to each other so nothing felt strange.

"Many people died on that day for nothing. It doesn't matter whether they believe or not, the fact of them being innocent human beings is enough to make me act." his voice grew disturbed at the mention of those people in the city of Munakata. "It does not matter from where the power to protect comes from. What matters is what you do with it...but alas i am nothing more than a powerless human being." he lamented.

"Incorrect.", Diodora's master was now sitting near the windows with it's hands crossed on it's lap. "You have the ability to change that. So give us what we want and we will give you what you desire. So why not start with the meeting that's soon to be held?" it sounded teasing but it wasn't quite sure as to say whether it truly felt something or not. It didn't feel like a lie nor did it feel to be the very truth. Rather, it was cryptic in it's mannerisms.

The old man didn't quite understand how this thing was rapidly switching places, it was too much to take in. But nevertheless he had to keep going so they would leave him alone. He was suspicious as to that last mention of a meeting.

Diodora picked that up and began in a whimsical tone. "Is it not natural to assume the possibility of a peace treaty being held soon? My,my it is truly most likely that such an occasion would proceed." as he sneered in delight over the confusion the cardinal felt. He was taking his time, that was a given. "But if the Angels truly trusted the people then why didn't they say anything to their closest members of the order? That's because it's much easier to keep you in the dark."

The only thing he was returned was a slightly perplexed and shaken look.

He waved his fingers together into a series of patterns to form a pentagram on the floor before him, which enlarged to be able to support a human for the jump. It was a teleportation circle, judging by the runes that were inscribed on it's multiple layers of mathematical formula. The Astaroth Heir was a mathematician in the same way his brother was, only that he wasn't as good as him with the manipulation of Numbers but much more on the way he used their Sorcery Trait, just as his mother did.

The circle grew with power, swelling the tinted light it emitted before the demonic particles begun to construct a series of overlays to begin the transference - first formed the legs which were followed by the formation of a torso and then the finer details begun to form in the visage of a young girl. The Astaroth extensively modified their magic formulas to differ than the cookie cutter seals most families used, in truth those were slightly altered to be usable by every being with the permission of the respective Devil but not theirs.

The wards surrounding the place should have activated in most brutally throwing out any Devil who came close but they were not triggered by some reason undisclosed. Perhaps it was the presence of these two that tricked the system in letting the dirty blonde haired Devil in so easily.

"My gift to you as a sign of good will and trust." casually pushing up his black shades, the Devil smirked in a satisfied grin over the surprise of what Cardinal Giovanni was about to witness. He held no ill intent but more of a sense of gratification over his deeds.

A woman around the age of 25 years old stepped away from the circle as soon as the lights died out. She was tall and rather pale but nevertheless brimming with life; long black hair arranged into freely falling tresses at the back, an uneven fringe that was swept to the left side while a few bangs fell over her right eye and two long bangs were left dangling on her neck. Her features were soft with a hint of sadness, her eyes were a dark brown with amber scattering around the pupils while her eyelashes were long and curled at the ends. She was a fine beauty since the Glasya-Labolas Household was very big on the matter of physical beauty and always handpicked their servants to be pretty or extraordinary in some physical aspect as a sign of their aesthetic preferences.

Simply put, they were lazy to pick people based on personality. As long as they looked fine they were totally alright with it. Nothing less from the former head of the Glasya-Labolas, Falbium Asmodeus who was probably the laziest, most boring man there was in the whole Underworld. How he hadn't died from sloth was truly a mystery.

The woman looked around at her surroundings before having spotted the elderly man who stood there silently. His mind was a swirling mess of conflicting emotions over the presence of his long lost sister Anastasia who hadn't aged a single day for nearly 50 years after her kidnapping. She had remained the same as she was in the day of her disappearance while he had aged considerably but had managed to age beautifully, retaining his sharp features and fiery eyes.

Anastasia took a step forward hesitantly as she knew nothing on how he would react to seeing her again and her being a Devil now. She would remain long after he would perish for she was long lived while he was a man in his late stages of life, making her feet conflicted over their reunion.

"...Brother...", she tenderly reached out to him with tears forming over the edges of her eyes, she had long thought he wasn't among the living after that attack on their house in which he thought he was killed. She could barely restrain herself from crying when she took another step forward to approach him. She was afraid, she was growing anxious over the fact of her being no longer a human and he would be able to accept her for what she was now.

"...you've changed so much..." she could only mutter as he forgot everything else and rushed to embrace her.

No further words were exchanged. Just a warm embrace was what followed. No matter how much they had changed through the years, no matter how great the distance was... The love shared between family could overcome many obstacles, big or small as family was the thing everyone needed even if some would say they were better off without one.

Diodora turned away from this heart warming sight, taking a step back towards the door with lots of pain in his knee and shoulder as those were yet to heal and were the price he had payed for this reunion to happen in the first place. After having secured her, he gave an extensive explanation to the distressed Queen about why he stole her away from the Glaysia-Labolas and made sure she was in a good condition for her meeting. He didn't do anything to her but rather had a nice conversation with her about many things despite her being on the defensive all of the time.

Before coming here he had released the nuns he had taken against their will, erased all of their memories of their time in the warehouse and returned them back to their places. The one he killed he brought back with a stolen Evil Piece he tuned to a Demi-Devil setting and used an invention of his own to block out the demonic energy signature of her's for as long as she wore the piece. He had abstained from touching them after he thought on the words that nun told him, he felt that he should try to do things differently for once and decided to let them go.

 _"For once i feel like i wanted to do something good for someone. I'm no hero and i would never be one but seeing those two reminded me of how a family should be. Not like how my brother is... I really wanted to be like that..."_ he made a sad smile but they couldn't see it as he was hiding it by having turned back.

He chose to deliver some words next.

"…Even though i am a filthy Devil i stand by my word. Sometimes what we are doesn't matter but what we do does. Even if i am just a nun snatcher i wanted to do something nice for once. So be happy with it." he spoke with emotion despite his harsh tone that he used to mask his real feelings. He envied them, he wanted to have something for himself as well. He didn't turn around at all, remaining static despite wanting to feel a bit better about himself. He felt a deep satisfaction yet it was not enough to make him feel differently about himself and what he had become.

"...Thank you." murmured Anastasia under her breath.

"…Don't thank me, girl. Thank your brother for this." he shrugged off her attempt to thank him dispassionately. "And don't forget that the price for this was the death of your friends or were they your friends in the first place? I wonder about that." he tapped the rims of his glasses once before giving her a sinister smile. It was as if he had hit a spot so he surely wanted to get a reaction out of her, one final nail in the coffin.

"Enough chit chat here, gentlemen. And lady." the cassock clad figure finally spoke for the first time in a hoarse, throaty voice that was similar to the master but much more menacing and on the normal side. It clapped it's hands once as it moved forward to make it's point get across. "So what is your final answer, Cardinal? It is not in any way possible to refuse now, would you?", no matter how civil it tried to be, it was surely a threat in the way it was worded. The small changes in tone and posture made that assumption clear of being nothing short of blackmail.

"Is it true? What did you agree on, brother?" Anastasia entered the conversation abruptly. Her lips twitched in fright over what was done for her to be reunited with him, what had he paid for this possibility of becoming a fact she was wondering on. "Tell me... Please..."

"The terms of the game have changed, dear girl. The play has begun and those gained the upper hand.", the Master spoke clearly in a civil tone devoid of anything normal. "There is someone among the Angels who has been leaking out information and we can't have the enemy gain more footing, can we? I fear that this place will be attacked real soon and many people would die so we must do something about it. If you become the Pope you could be able to use your authority and put the Brave Saints system into use because the Angels need consent and your approval as the representative of the human mass in the Vatican."

Despite the ability to convert people into **Angel Faux** entities, the way it worked was with the consent of the person in question as theoretically they should consume grace in the way the Evil Pieces worked - sealing the soul but for a single link left so the Sacred Gear would be fooled into thinking it was a human, leaving them with the ability to use them by fueling them on demonic/angelic energy,mana and the consumed grace for them to boot up and stay active during the conversion. But the problem was consent - the host could resist the conversion due to a higher level of grace which had to be cast aside to work, otherwise it wouldn't happen. There was a reason for Saints being harder to convert by an Evil Piece than any other person.

Domenico retraced his eyes from the trio and turned back to answer his sister.

"My friend is dead. Valper is dead, sister. He managed to create a single Savior despite the heavy reparations, you have a lot to catch up with but that can wait for later." Domenico broke free from her embrace and despite his mixed emotions he once again returned to his position as a cardinal. He was pained to admit the loss of the Bishop of Madness; he was once a close friend of his a long time ago and shared his dreams to avert the incoming disaster no matter what the cost would. The sacrifice of a few for the slim chance of having someone to wield all Holy Relics as the protectors of humanity.

He never wished for the sacrifice of those orphans, he didn't know anything about the outcome of that vile experiment until much later to his own horror. He always blamed himself for having let him escape five years ago and how he had believed his old friend who lied to him. Even more for endangering his Executor Xenovia, she was someone he very much liked and did his research on the closed case of the burning of her orphanage while he still used her as his scout but nonetheless treated her with utmost respect for she reminded him of his sister. She was tasked with hunting down his former friend, after all.

"Is that a yes? Or I'm just hearing things?", the snake eyed man never lost his sarcasm and to further infuriate the old man - he tapped on the walls in the most annoying way while doing some theatrics by gesturing and tilting his head, " _It has no arms but when it knocks on your door you better open up. What am i?_ ", snickering, he wanted to play a game of riddles for the sole fact of loving puzzles and witty remarks(snarky comments), his riddle was simple if you thought about it.

The master eyed him for a moment before nodding.

"Opportunity..." said the tired man. "How can you guarantee that you won't backstab us? I've said it before and I'll say it again... I don't trust you neither do i wish to risk anything else for—"

"Your personal Executor. What was her name?" the dark clad figure pondered for a moment to search for the right name of his paige. "Ah,yessss... Xenovia Quarta, the Maiden of Durandal was it? You don't want anything to happen to our precious Saint, would you?" playfully teasing him behind the friendly tone, the other being clearly knew more than it was letting on for the man to grimace in spite and anger.

Domenico's usually calm visage grew full of contempt and was painted with disgust at the same situation being forced upon his paige. His lips thinned into a cold frown as his palms were clenching into fists. "Leave her out of this! She has nothing to do with any of this." despite knowing how frail he was, Cardinal Giovanni stood his ground with pride against the three, not budging even for a moment.

He was once a Holy Relic user who wielded the Ascalon itself back in the days before having to retire due to his advancing age. He looked unassuming at best on first glance while in reality he was once a rival to the older by ten years Vassiliy "Vasco" Strada, the Blade of Heavens. Even now people referred to the aged cardinal as Domenico of the Ascalon or the Dragon Impaler.

 _Xenovia was left on the medical bed with various seals and equipment to monitor her condition as almost all of her grace was depleted by the Bishop for his Excalibur but her condition was much better than that of her partner, Irina Shidou. However it was suspicious as how she was healed hastily from what should have made her extremely weak, so she was to be monitored for any possible changes in her biology as people were growing paranoid and frightened. Even as going as far as to believe rumors of Devils lurking around these walls, walking among them undetected by the barriers._

 _The Cardinal went to visit her immediately to check for himself if there was anything abnormal about her condition, so he checked the results and noticed a small change in her signature - it was mostly human yet there was a tint of devilish taint that was surely to grow, given enough time... So the only thing he was left to do was to falsify the results as best as he could to protect her. He had to find alternative ways to hide it as it would be found out in time._

"Such passion. Such a dedication to a single girl... I like this one." Diodora's eyes glowed behind the shades. "It reminded me of the warm feelings i once had for a girl i loved back then. Such a pity, she turned out like the rest and ruined our friendship..." he lamented the fact of what divided him from his first love and the reasons for destroying the friendship they once had. She was perhaps one of the nicer people back then who treated him normally with no prejudice. "I miss her so much...Now I can't find the girl I once loved in her. Even though she's so close to me, she's still so distant that I can't bring her back…"

Once before time he was able to feel love but that emotion left his system a long time ago. He was just like everyone else but grew colder with the years passing by until he could no longer felt any affection towards someone else. And mostly towards himself.

"Lord Saul Eligos was a wonderful man… I never had the chance to thank him…"Anastasia lamented in was Diodora's very own father she spoke of.

"If you accept our offer fully then there is nothing more to speak of. She will be protected and our little secret won't be uncovered. Your wish i can make it happen with ease but not without a price. Think about it well and answer now. We have given you enough time already."

The second figure that still stood near the door threw a set of golden bands in Anastasia's hands with no effort, waiting for her to catch them before it would elaborate further. She grabbed each and began to examine them meticulously with care for the finer details; one was shaped in the form of a bracelet with two snakes compromising it's frame, spiraling and forming a wreath with a single stone between the snakes open maws to hold. The other one was a simple neck choker painted in black with no visible decorations on it, a ordinary accesory at first glance but it was definitely not one.

"That will keep you under the radar. Never take it off and they won't be able to find you. I guarantee that. The other one is for someone else", some motion underneath the cloak made it seem like it was speaking but nothing could be for sure if it was something that was able to in the first place. Yet when it traced it's gaze onto the old man, it was an implication he understood well enough to reconsider crossing paths with them.

"Do not misunderstand," Domenico said with a tense voice. He was trying his best to remain calm but it was nearly impossible. "I won't work for you but for the wellbeing of the people. I cannot abandon my oath to the people and neither will i abandon her for my own ambitions. If i have to stain myself with sin...then so be it. I accept your proposal on the condition of no ill will to befall Saint Quarta or anyone in this institution... I accept... " he sternly responded through his teeth, disgusted or not, he didn't have a choice but to either lose everything and die or work for those who lurk in the shadows on the price of his pride. He wanted to live as much as anyone else would so he came to begrudgingly respect the sincerity of the Astaroth Heir for having kept his word till the end. It was painful to say it. He had to grit his teeth and steel his heart to utter the words he said, once again with a sense of disgust for having to be reduced to a puppet.

Before he could react they were gone the same way they had arrived. Anastasia was not there anymore. She was their insurance.

XXX

 _The skies were darkening, there was only darkness around each corner of the field on which many corpses stood impaled with black spears made of darkness. The light had been long gone as far as the plains reached, an endless fog of darkness was all that was left before the where the eyes could reach._

 _The horrid sound of screeching corpses half-dead blew through the air like a symphony of death, humming gently with the wind as the last howls of anguish ceased to an end. Black, charred bodies were littered all across the field with black blades pinning them on the ground, forever to be lost in the darkness. It was hopeless, there was nothing left to fight for in this wretched plane of death and life._

 _Despair was the result; death,carnage and agony were the voices of the dead whispering silently a final oath of vengeance. Angels were burning down in black flames, Devils stood there with spears of light impaled into their lifeless bodies and the Fallen Angels were littered all across the field. Many still held their weapons but the warriors had long parted ways with the gift of life. Rivers of blood flooded the grounds, black and red mixed together to paint an ugly idol of carnage between the corpses of the fallen._

 _A lone_ _warrior_ _in armor stood on the hill, bearing a bloodstained cross on her neck and looked towards the distance where she could see the world in it's true form. That girl held onto her sword in the ground like a marker for the dead, a mass graveyard for all of those who had perished under it's rule. When she looked up in the skies she saw a mighty beast..._

 _It was a gigantic red Dragon that had been defeated by it's brethren; it's wings were torn apart and broken, it's body was marred into lethal wounds with not a single patch of flesh remaining unmarked. The golden eyes were no longer there,leaving only an empty socket with blood pouring down like rain all over the ground. It's single horn was split apart only to be found in it's abdomen, piercing the heart and crushing the spirit as it's massive torso flew down to crash in the dirt,crushing the barely alive passengers to the realm of the dead. The Dragon fell..._

 _She watched as the world was crumbling; in the distance there was another beast of black and red with impossible wings that were not wings at all but more of an abstract formula that was beyond the scope of reality, multiple eyes of the deep red were staring at every direction of the world with each wave of it's enormous wings. It's neck was armored with reddish scales with edges on the spine, golden horns stretching and limbs with faces on them cursing in every language that had existed, exists and has yet to be. It was an abomination, a beast with red scales and green eyes of madness, eyes so ugly with the sense of true fear. It was a dragon but yet it was not._

 _The lone warrior stared hopeless as she fell down on her knees, staring at the back of the beast where a single figure stood with blackened hands towards the skies. It was a woman, a woman clad in blue with a skirt that resembled the petals of a rose and blue gauntlets with dark blue blades on their edges like those of a blue rose. Her body was covered in blue tribal marks,her neck was adorned by an armored piece, reminiscent of a butterfly as her silverish blonde hair was poking out of the blue transparent veil, embroidered with blue butterflies and a single blue one stood on the left side of her_ _'s_ _had as if moving. She stretched both arms as if to embrace the world that had been destroyed... Only that she turned around to reveal the right side of her face with a green eye surrounded by a black sclera and tears of blood. Only that was visible underneath the veil but the smile she made..._

 _An eerie smile of unnatural calmness, mixed with lunacy in the height of delirium was seen by the warrior. The woman ignored her further and returned back to her previous position as she turned back once more and the shackles of reality begun to break apart, revealing a large crack splitting for something far more terrifying to be born..._

 _The howlings of the Beast were heard. The seals were broken, the Gate was opened as a group of 13 stood besides the_ _red_ _beast and it's rider, all clad in black with a single glowing mark on their right arm over their gloves showing._ _There were 3 other beasts feasting upon the flesh of the Red Dragon on the ground._

 _"The Beast is here, the Beast is Here!" they chanted in triumph. One of them held a sword of silver with glowing blue runes, another had a golden spear of vines extending from one of it's hands as a third held a blade of blood._

 _Thirteen they were but ten they became. The figure with the sword cut down one of their brethren, the others fought against each other till there was only one left..._

 _The Beast traced the warrior with it's many eyes and roared in a hardening laugh of pity, it's howls were maddening like the silence of Death but far worse than the reaper they were. It was yet to take shape as it still remained bound to the other side but not for long would it be chained._

 _And then the Beast saw her on the hill..._

Xenovia woke up covered in cold sweat, her breathing was strained and she was gasping for air which made her shiver in fright. Her hands went over her beating heart as if it was about to burst into a million pieces, she was trying to calm down but her nervousness would not allow her to remain as she was. She was scared, the howlings of the Beast she heard but she did not know what it was. It was something different, it was vile and wretched as the world was in sin. It was a story, it was not the first time she had dreamed about that woman.

She knew that dress, it was the same one she had seen in her nightmare before time; those black flames were the same as the ones on that day in the orphanage. It was just a vision, it was a nightmare she prayed to never see again.

It was only past midnight and she couldn't sleep well. It felt so real and terrifying, so unreal yet the very truth. Was it a premonition of what was to happen or was it a warning to steer away the destruction of the world and be prepared to take up arms. She didn't know.

The only thing she knew was that she had to find the one who burned down the orphanage and the other one with the blue veil. For they were the key to this mystery...

XXX

12th September, Las Vegas, Nevada, Caesar's Palace,18:25 pm

After last night's fiasco the group had decided to stay together in one place to avoid any possible traps, so as to speak. The Succubus attack had made Asia feel worried so they had to go to the receptionist and with a little bit of persuasion and cash at hand switched their original rooms to a different floor. From two separate rooms they opted for a Augustus Premium 2 Queens room which was close to the casino for easier access and the thing that bothered Issei was the fact of having to sleep with someone next to him unlike the previous room. Atleast it was big enough to accommodate a group of five but it was worth the sacrifice.

But he was asleep on one of the beds at the moment. After staying up all night taking shifts with Riser to guard the girls while they could get some sleep, he was dead beat from the visit to the desert and upon reaching the hotel safely somehow, he was pretty much carried away to the new one, he jumped at the nearest bed he saw with no time in picking the one closer to the windows or the other one. It didn't matter at all. He was begging for some sleep before the main event at 21:30 pm tonight in the casino.

Having jumped on the bed, he left his self-taught technique to produce scales all over his body as a makeshift shield to give him enough time to react, plastering multiple seals and barriers on his being before he succumbed to sleep a few moments later. He was stiff, standing straight like a stick in the way he slept. Nothing pretty to see, most definitely but nobody cared really.

He always slept with the curtains on, no matter the time. Be it night or day; no light was to enter his lair for the light annoyed him as it wasn't as fun to read with some annoying light source blinding his eyes during the day.

Only that his sleep was never intended to be long.

"Wakey,wakey Izzy! Time to rise and shine sleepy head." a clearly female voice rung into his ears with a really sweet tone he would have enjoyed if not for the little tugging on his blanket, courtesy of Ravel, which only did nothing more than to make him wake up and react in the best way he knew.

Frantically rising up from his bed in a wild squirming motion like a worm, the clawed hands of the Devil rushed forward in a frenzy for the source of this disturbance in fast swipes until he hit something. Nonetheless it was more of a straight grab and throw towards the nearby bed and before his mind registered the threat, it had been dealt with swiftly.

Pumping mana to his lungs and with the mix of oxygen as he took a deep breath, he mixed it with energy to create an internal combustion to prepare a **Dragon Shot** infused with fire for an optimal effect,guaranteed to blast through armor as easily as through a leaf. His jaws stretched wide with the orb glowing with power and heat and his reaction speed was fast enough to take a good aim while being still half-asleep.

"Wait,you idiot! It's me, Hilda! Don't you recognize me?!" through a combination of a yell and shrill the source of his disturbance spoke up after somehow raising herself from the comfy bed and moved away towards the door to avoid the fully charged Dragon Shot that was about to blast through the walls and surely kill her on the spot.

The retaliation was to be delivered with a raised guitar case in a swipe before the attack could be executed. It was a matter of life and death if he had shot the beam which would have certainly made a gigantic hole in the walls and pass through several other rooms on the other side.

In a trained reaction Issei snapped before he could unleash hell upon the intruder after his consciousness was finally fully alert and his cognitive senses had returned. His vision was clearing, his sense of hearing was working as normal and he took a good look around but never stopping the Dragon Shot he had prepared, rather building up more energy into it as it begun to swirl and grow in size further.

It could be all a trick again, he had to make sure it was the real deal and not some imposter. Yet, even if she was real he didn't doubt for a moment she could be an enemy so he pounced back with the blanket still hanging on his legs to a safe distance and swung the bladed tail he sprouted in intimidation, readying for combat.

Upon a closer look he noticed the presence of a small girl, around 1,64m in height with light blonde hair in reaching to the middle of her back in a freely flowing hairstyle with no accessories. She wore blue denim jeans and a casual black Slipknot t-shirt with a guitar medallion hanging on her chest and he didn't miss out the guitar case she held in preparation to beat the shit out of him. It was even more peculiar since he couldn't smell the scent of booze around her, another indicator of being worried and surely to try to kill her. He had to be careful and not mess up.

"It's me! Didn't you get any of my calls, you idiot?! I've been trying to contact you to tell you i got here an hour ago and yet you didn't bother to check your phone?", for a cute girl she was quite snappy and displeased. Enough to make him reconsider the credibility of what she was saying as far as reaching out for his phone on the bed while carefully observing her moves and checked to see.

...23 missed calls with the last one answered. But it wasn't him. It was probably Ravel as the manager of the group to deal with this because Asia wouldn't bother with a call, Riser definitely didn't want to touch anything his and Xuelan was probably sleeping till a while ago.

Dispelling the shot, Issei chose to stay away from her for safety reasons and casted his Auto:Barrier spell to cut off the room from the rest of the world, freezing space in the go so they could talk without inhibition. Or just a safe way to strike her down if it were an imposter. Though he didn't make his scaled armor fade away,he opted to keep it up for the time being, just in case.

Nothing but a single glance he gave as he took his time to regain full consciousness, appearing tired and worn down like he had fought against a whale. He was somewhat better from earlier yet his body ached with pain and standing up was kind of a bother, however he looked at it. "Just had to be on the safe side. Some stuff happened so cut me some slack,will ya?" in his typical monotonous way of speaking he jabbed at her for having disturbed his peace until he sighed heavily and pulled out a nearby chair to sit on. "So what are you doing in my room, Eugen?"

Fumbling and frowning enough to make her intentions known, the small girl lowered her guitar case in annoyance and sat down on the bed she had been thrown on. Clearly she didn't like the fact of him pointing out the fact of her having been used as the basis for Prinz Eugen for it was a nuisance most of the time. She was like a totally different person when she wasn't drinking, there was this stark contrast between her usual self and the drunkard mode she slipped into most of the time. Her eyes flickered in confirmation over the erected barrier she found herself in but didn't quite mind it. She could always knock him out with a scream powered by her Sound Affinity.

"Nothing really, just wanted to sit down and talk with you. Is there any problem in doing so?" dropping the case on the bed, she moved her hands towards her chest and crossed her legs while sending an aggravated look towards his direction. She wasn't happy with having been nearly choked, thrown in a wall and furthermore by a thin strand of luck... Blasted away by that Dragon shot. "Listen, Issei because i want to talk with you about your most recent escapades. You know what it does to me and i don't like it at all." her gaze gradually mellowed down to a much more pleasant one after having calmed down from the earlier fright moments ago. Or atleast she looked the part.

This of course was a subject he disliked talking about for many reasons. When this topic was always brought up, he felt guilty for everything he was causing her due to the special connection the two of them shared. Casting his eyes down to stare at the floor, he stood there silently in wait, not daring to mention what had transpired these two and a half weeks. It was usually annoying to deal with her when she was drunk but when she was all serious. So escape was the first thing that flooded his thoughts on a regular basis.

 _"In the end of the day it always comes down to this... Such a nasty situation it is. And it just got worse. What do you expect me to do? Sleep quietly and risk getting killed?"_

"How have you been doing lately?" she chose to change the flow of the conversation in a silly attempt to lessen the awkward atmosphere around them. Her tone was austere, somewhat distant as if trying to distance herself as much as possible from her earlier statement.

Only that she regretted having asked that when it was clear as day.

"Not really. If i were okay it would have been different, you know...", there was no emotion behind his answer for it was something quite obvious. It felt distant, far away from any semblance to something normal in the expression of feelings. He wasn't lying but neither was he really into it to talk with her.

"I'm sorry about that. Sometimes i talk out of habit." she grumbled with a sliver of guilt behind her tone. "Your friends frisked me for 15 minutes to check and just then did they let me in after i gave them the VIP tickets as confirmation. They still didn't trust me so they're outside the room. You've got quite the loyal group there, you know?", even as going as far as making a whimsical smile appear on her face.

She wanted to calm him down to make sure he didn't think she was a threat. So she explained how everything went by to reassure him on her authenticity.

He coughed to clear his throat, "Not really. Just common interests... I don't like talking about superficial stuff so if you don't have anything worth saying I'll prepare for tonight." walking slowly away to the wardrobe, he searched for a new t-shirt to change into since this one was sweaty. He paid no attention to the short girl as if he forgot she was there all along.

"I hate it when you do that.", Hilda eyed him with a nasty glint in her eyes, sounding disappointed with his attitude towards her. She knew she caused him trouble, she acknowledged the fact of being a nuisance to deal with. It was the truth but he always took care of her, not out of any concerns but because of a deep sense of obligation for making her feel pain. "Sometimes i really hate you for what you do... It's painful for me to bear the aftermath of that thing every single time. For all of you..."

He didn't react to her declaration. He continued to dress up, unperturbed by her growing frustrations. Somehow he didn't care much as to react to it properly.

Only a dull, monotonous voice answered her in a preprogramed response. "Do you think i actually wanted this to be like that? It's something i can't control... Me and you, we really drew the short stick from all of those possibilities." his fangs gritted behind his lips in a unpleasant screech, his brows furrowed in contemplation over what to say since it was getting awkward even more than before.

"Because you and i are the ones that can go Inverse the easiest, we're on the border of slipping into that... And you know, i really hate it." he glanced at the mirror with fear over what he would see. He hadn't taken his pills and there was no guarantee his mental state would hold out much longer before he started seeing things.

"Maybe…But we still have to fight, no matter what comes in our way. We can't change the fact of what we have become." she changed her posture and left her hands on the bed to lean back and stretch her legs. "It does suck being me, since i am linked to all of you and I feel your pain. You give me a lot on a weekly basis." nonchalant as she was when sober, there was no hiding the fact she hated that part of being synchronized to the Tenth Sephirot, the very Kingdom called Malkuth. She was the last while he was the first.

She was the filter that siphoned all of the impurities and negative backslash from all of the 12 others in the club, she had the highest sensory output in being connected to them through an unbreakable link as she felt their pain and negative emotions as if flowing through a river, causing her great pain each time he lost it and the Shadow took over or showed up in his vision. She despised the Juggernaut Drive like no one else so the only way to keep herself going was to drink so much as to numb the pain while her damage was negated completely to keep going.

Every wound, every impact was transmitted to her in torrents of varying pain and suffering. She could perceive the emotions he felt in colors with most of them being a dense black with a little bit of orange and blue in it. And the worst part was she couldn't control it well as the youngest member to have awakened at the age of fifteen in 2014. She was the thirteenth one chronologically, right after the Dragon himself.

"And it's there... I can see it behind you..." she uttered slowly with a tone sending chills to his spine.

He didn't dare to look at the mirror but felt like he was about to get taken over with the hands of the image the dead used to break him further wrapping around his chest. Her image was there to abuse him, discourage and plunge him in turmoil so he would lessen his hold and let them out in the world of the living... Raynare grasped his scaled cheek with a gentle yet rough embrace as her fingers pierced his flesh and begun to burrow for the worms underneath to poke out from the cracks between the scales.

 **"~You know you want it. I'll give you everything, Ise-chan. All of it, all that you want from me."** the nightmare spoke with a gleeful deranged smile that curled on her face like a Cheshire grin with blood pouring out from her lips and eyes. She grasped him tightly and drawled closer to his face so she could drive her tongue and lick his bleeding cheek seductively to his horror, whispering all kinds of things in his ears.

The pain was felt by the blonde girl sitting on his bed. It was unbearable to move, breathing was even more a pain when she looked at him with eyes speaking of grief. Her sadness always affected him to a certain degree as she was usually hiding underneath the mask of cheerfulness and intoxication to fool the world. But she could never fool him.

 **"...Run... Run... Get away! I tell you! Get outta my head!"** , he was on his knees under extreme duress, barely suppressing the need to scream at the top of his lungs in a maddening screech of many languages, dead and living. Formless shapes begun to knit themselves from his back in beginning the formation of black hands with mouths plastered all over the Nothingness they constituted. Through his scales white worms wiggled to the surface in frenzied attempts to crawl out, forming white thistle like spikes to cover his frame. More and more constructs begun to burst through the undershirt he wore underneath, fighting with the multiple seals of Latin and Enochian scripture for control in a fruitless, despaired battle of attrition.

Even if he screamed nobody would hear him as he was being pulled deeper, further away from reality in a spiral of lunacy beneath the surface, submerging as his vision was darkening and conscience were being eroded further in a hopeless struggle against the many past possessors who were fighting inside for control. The Shadow was beginning to form on his frame with the very same constructs flying to rip apart the only living being in the room with their bleeding mouths speaking cursed promises and all the malice in the world.

 **" Give it to us...I... We want it... It's mine! Mine! Mine! Give. Give. Give!"** , he was clutching his head with bloodied hands before the moment he roared loud enough to shatter the barrier just by the magnitude of his malicious, dreadful scream of voices, voices not his own with every curse said on the face of the Earth.

The hands were coiling like snakes in their pounce, twitching and twisting in all kinds of unnatural angles with bleeding eyes forming on the palms, reaching out towards her when he let out another detestable roar.

 **"Let me free...Free...We know who you are... It's all mine, it's all mine. We shall...rise..the dead shall...rise."** to which his fading features morphed to produce the very same smile Freed Sellzen wore all the time...

Before the limbs could reach to her, Hilda couldn't take a step back from the terror sprawling through her spine akin to hundreds of tiny ants crawling through her skin. Despite fear taking over her, she bared her teeth in a scary maddened from the horrid pain grin and with not a single moment to waste did what she did best.

She begun to sing.

As soon as she did, the hands were stopped in midair, twitching madly in trying to claw her but it was hardly possible to reach her now. She was singing a song no human being could sing, tuned to the divine vibrations of one's name to keep them at bay. It was a sound no ordinary human could hear, it was silent in the ears of someone else but in his it was a calling, a soothing symphony of serenity which caused him to stop completely in his tracks.

It was something that was driving them back away, a song she had created to calm the dead inside the prison. She was singing the Anti-Juggernaut Aria, the counter to the Shadow which could only keep it at bay but not stop it completely.

Walking between the frozen in place constructs, she continued to sing despite the maddening pain which drove her to the edge but even with her overloaded senses she was able to move closer. Step by step, one moment at a time she closed in the distance before she knelt down to his body and did something purely insane.

Tightly grasping his back she hugged him with her thin hands in a warm embrace, singing till the moment he would gradually revert back to normal and resurface. Her song was reaching deep down to the center like a ladder to climb upon to the light, a single link of thread to grasp on and reach out his hands further into clutching to salvation.

 _"Fight it, fight it. Remember...who you are and what you are..."_

And just as that the song stopped.

XXX

"What... What's that? I... Hate it when it happens...", rubbing his eyes as the first thing to do, Issei was disoriented and could barely register what was happening around him. Even with his blurred vision he could make out the colors and some vague shapes, chaotic and out of order he barely noticed the shadow moving away into the corner until it dissappeared completely. His head was ringing, his hands were still shaking with a bottle of pills sprawled on the floor.

And he heard the sound of someone vomiting in the bathroom.

After a minute, the small girl came out of the bathroom, visibly shaken and pale as a corpse. Her eyes twitched in different directions while she was trying to keep it together. To hide her conflicted feelings, but not enough to fool him she leaned on the opposite wall with the guitar case resting on her lap.

The awkward atmosphere returned.

 _"What was i even thinking? Putting her at risk, taking up a job i might screw up and getting her killed because of me... Just how pitiful am i?"_

They stayed like that for a few minutes. Not saying a single word to each other.

"I'm sorry... I know through how much you're going and here i am with my selfish request. Just how bad could i be?", she was feeling down. Even guilty in what her eyes spoke of. It still hurt but not so much as a sting at the moment. "You always take care of me every time i make a mess and you never whine about it... I really hate it how things are, you know?"

This caught him surprised. He knew she was quite emotional when drunk but he disliked seeing her like this. "It's nothing much, to be honest. Just a job. I regret having taken the job because of this." he coldly replied while his head lowered to avoid her gaze. He was deeply distraught and in cold sweat. The things he saw today had not left him at all. The attack from earlier in the bathroom had dealt some serious damage to his mind and it was going to blow up one day. "Honestly, so much things happened recently and i don't know what to do, what to think of everything... I'm just scared. That's all."

"It's alright to be scared. I'm scared too, just like everyone else. Sometimes we have to do the things we don't like. There's no way out of it."

She fiddled with her hair as she spoke with lingering emotions she tried to hide from him. She was scared. Pretending to be strong, hiding behind her addiction to avoid facing her problems directly was her way of coping with the situation. In remembrance of a past event her fingers traced a line on her neck in a swiping motion, then sighed audibly when she craned her neck on the wall in more sighs.

"We're just a bunch of fragile people with serious problems. There are times when i can't help but doubt myself on what i should do." pensive and morose was the thing he felt usually. His face wasn't in his neutral robotic expression which most people found quite unappealing. Rather, now he felt like he wanted to talk with someone about it. Never sharing anything with anyone, he would always listen to the problems of others and in his own way find a solution. He didn't rely on feelings to function, he was pragmatic and somewhat stoic in his ways. "Sometimes i want to scream at the world, yes, that I'm not okay at all." she glanced at him as if sharing that sentiment.

"…But in the end... Who the hell cares about someone like me? As long if it's not me i don't care. That's what everyone keeps saying, not even once paying attention to someone else." Hilda finished that sentence with her own spin on the dictum.

"I won't pretend that I'm right because I'm not. I never believed i was right in anything, i won't deny the sole reason of people being hypocritical at times." he fiddled with his shoes, not minding the various marks he had left around the floor and walls. "I'm pitiful and disgusting. I can't even believe someone would want to be around a loser like me." he chuckled uncomfortably in his own iconic way with a self-deprecating smile. His creepy eyes glowed in a ice cold, soulless gawk when he twisted his neck to look at the mirror and smile in a disgusting smirk of acknowledgement. "This is how it is, how i see it. I might be wrong but so far i haven't seen something that could shake off that belief."

 _"That Emptiness you feel... I feel it too... Even though I'm the opposite of you i hate it how you think of me that way."_ _,_ the blonde girl rose back on her feet slowly, dusting off anything that might have stuck on her jeans.

Conflicted over what to say or should she be saying it, she mentally cursed in her own language as they had always spoke in English, even after he acquired the Devil Tongue enhancement which came in the full package.

"I'm not going to lie about it. I don't have anything else to chase after, no dreams, no grand wishes or anything stupid like that. Dreams are free, after all." he replied just as blandly. The smirk he had was still there, only more miserable without a single drop of self-esteem. "Even if i did... there's no point to it because it's all for naught. Futile, truly. And on the twelfth day the petals fell into the cold, scorched earth..." reciting a verse of a poem he enjoyed.

A poem written by Riser Phenex.

"Then maybe we should make some for you." through a whisper she muttered what she thought was the right thing to say. She knelt down to get a grip on the guitar case and shakily walked to his position to sit down. "Move your ass a bit. I want to sit down next to you." rather harshly she responded when she lowered herself and sat next to him, at a safe distance of course.

Issei mumbled something underneath his breath but did so nonetheless.

After seating herself in a comfortable position, Hilda unzipped the guitar case to unveil a simple acoustic guitar from it and casted aside the casing to the side, setting her fingers on the strings.

"My dream was to sing on a big stage underneath the dazzling spotlights. To express myself fully, to connect with others through my music. To share that moment with someone else because we might not understand each other through our actions and feelings...", she looked up at the walls with a hopeful expression which suited her much more than a frown and took a deep breath before she continued, "however, music can convey as much as words do. Or maybe be even more. But I'm just a stupid girl so what do i know about the world." and she smiled with an yearning, a never to be forgotten hope and what she wanted to do.

She only gestured towards him not to talk but to listen. Only to listen, no words.

 **[~Joe Bonamassa - Waiting for Me~]**

Hilda set her fingers on the guitar strings, took a breath to recollect her thoughts and lifted the guitar in a comfortable position to play. Her small tender fingers were tense but her hesitation was dying out when she saw his face; it made her want to play even more, to sing despite the hardships. Despite what life had thrown at her direction, despite how hard it was for her to keep going.

 _"If he could do it... Then so can i... Enough with running away, I'm tired of being like this. I want to do something so we could all smile happily even if it's just a delusional dream. I want that dream, no... I will make it happen myself..."_

What came next was not hesitation. It came from the heart. She begun to nitpick the strings in a tune she had been practicing on for a while, a song she wanted to play for someone. Even if she was scared, even if it could not reach anyone she wanted to sing. To connect not just through simply words but through her own feelings.

 _"~*Maybe I was wishin",_ her voice trembled with life in a mellow, beautiful tune of an opera singer, brimming with warm feelings despite the coldness of the room _. "...~for a little bit more. Even though I didn't want to be the one to kick down that door."_

She was playing with her heart, her voice was so soothing it made Issei stop for a moment and listen. Her fingers ran across the strings back and forth like in a trance while her voice was painting a picture full of colors and with a small flame igniting in his cold, wretched heart.

Issei stood there speechless, not budging even a centimeter as her voice was reaching deep down to a place he had long ago cast aside. He listened to her playing, tapping with his fingers on the floor in rhythm. He knew this song so well, secretly having sung it while nobody was around. It was an ardor, a flame spreading through his heart as he felt a pain he long had been hiding from the world.

 _"~Baby I was prayin"_

She leaned to his shoulder as she continued to sing with a passion, such a caring and touching moment to look at. _Ribbons of various colors were being created by her magic, blooming flowers in a garden where there was a lost sense of tranquility. A rainy sky which was marred with gray clouds, clouds that were parting away to reveal a blue sky with the rays of the sun piercing through the gloom._

 _"~A prayin' to believe..."_

She was getting more and more emotional as she poured out her feelings through her guitar, creating a resonance through her Sound Affinity that was blocking out any other sound of the world around them.

 _L_ _eaving only two souls in the middle of a garden with white lilies all around, stretching to where the eyes could meet. Her voice was getting stronger and deeper in singing with gradually mellowing down to more of not being just a voice but rather... A whole new world, a Kingdom where she stood surrounded by flowers._

 _There was no longer a room. It was her own world they were transported to._

 _"~There was something for - something more - out there waiting for me"_

Her eyes were getting moist at the corners, her body was shivering with each tune she produced by the way she played. She was there, she was not alone.

 _"~Cuz maybe I'm crazy, for chasing that dream"_

 _"~It hasn't been easy, like some make it seem"_

He looked back in recollection of all of his struggles, all of this tantalizing amout of agony he battled with by himself. It wasn't easy, it was never easy to begin with.

But...he felt something different at the moment.

She was in a trance, the two of them stood in the field of lilies with a distance in between, the sunny sky was like the beginning of something new, a sense of completion he felt in there while he was empty. Two opposite forces, yet the same one for they were the beginning and the end, a closed circle of an Ouroboros in a constant state of death and rebirth.

 _"~I can't help but feeling"_

She opened her eyes, so many emotions were running through them like an ocean, clear and serene as she looked past the walls of the room to somewhere... Somewhere far away that might not be even there but she knew it was there, she had to believe in that. _"~...my best is yet to be..."_

She was going to reach the conclusion of the chorus so she put everything she had to sing it the best way possible for those were the words she wanted to convey. To reach out, to connect. Something more, something more beyond the everlasting problems of existence. A question and answer, a sliver of hope in the pit of despair...

 _"~Cuz somewhere there's something better waiting..."_ she lowered her pitch to a faint, almost silent singing voice as she wanted to say something and end it but...

"...for...me...", instead he finished the chorus with a heartfelt outburst he didn't try to hide. It might have been sad, it might not have been the truth, even if it was nothing short of a delusional dream... For a moment he felt it, a pulling, a desire that would only turn out to be painful. Even if it was for a moment he knew it was there, even if it were nothing but a small world of a girl, he felt the warmth emanating from that landscape.

And a tragic sense of sadness growing in his heart...

Hilda left the guitar in it's case after finishing with her warm-up, zippered it back into it's place and extremely carefully left her instrument to the side and turned around to hide her face from him because they had gotten all moist and she was probably going to cry. It resonated with her to such a degree that she desperately needed to hug someone to vent out her feelings and anxieties, she wouldn't try to even if it meant having to upset him even further than he was already.

Only for a single hand to offer her support.

"...Don't you dare blame me for this. I got a bit of emotional as well and it's not good for my health.", a more mellow tone he used to address her insecurities, it was still stiff and monotonous but with a hint of understanding and a dose of sadness. He didn't pretend to be able to fully understand her, he never believed to be able to understand others completely as he only looked at it through the logical point and not from an emotional one. "...Don't worry... There are people with you so don't you go crying for something that's not worth it. Atleast you can...", all color washed away from his face to leave a rough, blank expression with nothing passing through his shield in a singular moment of silence afterwards. He didn't move, he just stayed there silently for her to regain her bearings and maybe try to continue or leave since he needed a shower.

"...Thanks. But your hands are still sweaty and your eyes creep me out." through a silly expression of affection and a joke in one grimace, Hilda turned around to search for his gaze to take a look at and confront him properly. It was probably enough to make her smile in a slightly uncomfortable but so lovable in it's own harrowing way smile, a genuine tender smirk that was not too faint neither too wide, restrained and civil but speaking hundreds of words without having to say something.

"And that's why i avoid you too.", he answered briskly with sarcasm. "I do like my eyes though. They personify everything i am so thank you for noticing once again." he was extremely uncomfortable for he had never had to attend to people in a emotional aspect for more than two years to grow cold and unable to. It was his way of acknowledgement, his way of doing things.

And he dropped his hand off her shoulder and looked away at the other direction, slowly moving away in careful tiny pulls to the left as to make the distance grow.

"I didn't mean what i said earlier... It's just that it's too much to bear at times that i can't help but feel like that." she was apologizing. "I don't want to hate you but you cause me pain. I know life is painful but there is a way to make it bearable, we need to fight. To persevere, to push back and kick Fate in the face!", she had rubbed her eyes to hide the truth but it was a failure for she was someone who had to express all of it or she wouldn't feel good at all.

"Is it so much to ask for? Is it so hard?"

 _"It is. Sometimes i wish to stop getting in situations like this. I don't change or save people, that's what people do themselves so i won't change even if i should. But maybe...a hug won't hurt"_

He took her hint easily, knowing her habits through observation and having carried her multiple times after she passed out from drinking to her room and hesitantly, full of anxiety and cursing himself for the sole fact of being so useless, he stretched out his hand towards her once more. But this time she took it and hugged him in a sole moment of comfort.

 _"I would never like to admit it but she might have been right. Just because I'm like this doesn't mean it couldn't be true for someone else_ _."_

Her heart was pounding, she was shivering but she embraced it no matter how much of a jerk he was at times. Robotic, somewhat cold and nothing fancy as a hug, it was just like hugging a cold marble statue due to his lower body temperature. However it was something else, it was a leap of faith, be it just to make her feel better or to have her stop talking. It didn't matter at all anymore, it was what she needed and accepted as simply returning the favor. Though acquaintances at best they were, neither enemies nor friends, Hilda understood one thing the best - he was broken and twisted into something else, yet there was still something left that was hidden from the world in there. A cruel,harshly expressed care for another with a genuine attempt to make it right.

And it wasn't so bad at all.

"Fuck it... Pass me the booze, i need to get myself into work mode." was how she chose to respond. By changing the theme of the conversation, an easy to spot try for a change to something less burdening to either one of them. Or she wanted to simply drink, nothing more nor less.

"You'll seriously die from this stuff. But i can offer you some pudding", he just had to capitalize on this occasion to make a reference that would make her let go since she didn't seem like she wanted to. "If you had used the other thing, you'd probably have burst all of my organs due to the resonance."

Hilda picked on that reference always like it was some sort of calling and only responded with a small jab at his stomach to show her annoyance. It was however just a facade, "Yeah, says the person who was about to blast a gigantic hole into my head and torso, if not my whole body would probably be vaporized." but she still held him securely even when she was snappy and sarcastic. "I don't want to hate you but i can't help it at times... You always show me something scary but nothing nice. And seriously? Pass me the booze!" no way would she pass on that chance. He had to have hidden it somewhere.

Now uncomfortable more than before he let her go and moved away to a safer distance that did not breach his private space. He had returned back to his anxious, meek ways and made sure to avoid their eyes meeting. He never had any expectations - he was just here for work and getting money to support himself, not to deepen the bond between them. His body language showed his hesitance, his worries and most certainly his aversion to anything remotely emotional like a hug. His hugs were always cold and robotic, just a simple hug that carried nothing. He wasn't a hug person.

And luckily he had a task at hand that came up recently to make a delivery right here,in the very casino to complete the transaction. A fine deal which would improve his situation with his lack of cash. And much more to visit someone whom could be called a friend even if he wouldn't write it off as such.

"Fine, fine. But we've got work to do tonight. Just a single cup before you go out there.", his cold, devoid of any emotions voice lingered as he crawled to the nightstand and with some difficulty opened the lower section to take out a bottle of bourbon he had told the older Phenex sibling to order for them. They were probably around the place and together but it was still something he kept tabs on since it was easier for them to be targeted.

He passed the bottle to the cute blonde girl who nonchalantly fiddled with her hair,waiting for the one thing that blocked the pain for her. As the filter for any taint, irregularities or general imbalances she had a mental resistance to various debilitating effects such as the fear inducing capability of the Juggernaut Drive, which she christened on her own as the Nightmare Phantasm.

She took it with both hands, slouched back on the wall and opened up for one big chug. The bottle was raised, she took a big gulp and left it back on the floor but not before tapping the bottle in a makeshift way to say 'come over here, i don't bite' since she wanted to drink with someone.

With reluctance, he snatched the bottle but did not do anything to closs the distance. There was this gap that could not be closed, he was on his guard around her because he knew how she was. It was her, definitely as that's what his scars told him but the problem wasn't if it was her or not. It was whether she was or she was not... An enemy.

"I know how you feel about it. Honestly, if it weren't for my voice and how i looked... people would hardly notice me.", she cocked a brow in accepting the bitter truth. She was like everyone else; she had her own problems and serious doubts because she was never noticed by anyone before she took a step on the stage and before she became the basis for the Kancolle model. She hated being alone. "Being alone is painful. Nobody wants to be alone, really. Some become that way due to the treatment of others but i won't deny there are people who love solitude. Just like you do."

"I became this way with time. I once used to be a stupid, naive kid who wanted to be friends with everyone and despite that nobody truly liked me. I didn't change, i would rather say i found a better way to spend my time. Being alone is a way of being independent and relying on yourself." he added.

"You're always like that. Denying any possibility of someone getting close to you", she took the bottle he left and drank again. "What if someone actually did want to get close to you? Not out of any underlying reason but because they want to?"

He looked down towards the ground with a half-sarcastic, half-amused expression on his face, baring his incisors to make one nasty smirk. "I don't believe in things like that. I doubt that i have any good qualities people would like. There is always an ulterior motive behind our actions." he grabbed the bottle and took another swig. "Some might say it's because they want you to be around but i think it's because they probably want something from you... Something you can't give them but they still try to make you think they like you. Acting nice and all." harsh and distant, he sneered in contempt when the word 'nice' escaped his lips. It was almost like a trick, he felt.

"Isn't being nice a natural trait as a human being? Treating someone with kindness in expecting to be treated the same way. But i don't see myself as kind."

At this point they were basically passing each other the bottle to calm down. Both were pretty much on edge from everything that happened.

"We all want the things we don't have - wealth, status, fame, happiness. Just because we were born doesn't mean we are entitled to anything in this world. Freedom is an illusion, we are all controlled by something. Substituting intimacy and real relations with social media, trying to conform to the cookie cutter basis to feel like you're a part of something. It makes me sick."

"Figures. Coming from someone who doesn't like social media." Hilda raised her finger to exemplify her point. Even her voice was really pleasant to listen to when she didn't indulge in her habits. "I do hate the Snapchat and Instagram apps. And the stupid unhealthy trends of being slim just because it's perceived as an ideal." the German girl said. "Everyone has to feel good in their own skin. No matter how disgusting it might be. Because beauty is subjective and is in all kinds of shapes, not just one. "

"I need to prepare for the show. Time to make some money." as someone who loved money and valued them greatly, Issei responded with a boring, dried up from any possible emotions tone that relayed the simple message - to be left alone so he could do his job in the most efficient way. Things were to be done, a delivery to be made and cash to be made.

"I'll give you some time to get ready. I'm paying you, after all." of course she said with smugness to back up her claim. She stood up and took the bottle with herself until the comical moment of him retching it away from her followed.

"That's why i took the job. I have to feed myself and other people, you know. You seriously can't hold it in, can you?"

Nonchalantly, she answered back with a thin smile. "Don't count on it, Izzy. This is my power up! What we need is a good, heroic story." and her liveliness returned, kicking out the seriousness in her tone. She was returning back to the usual Hilda he regrettably knew...

"What we need is a good, heroic dose of Thorazyne... But you're the boss!" he looked her blandly, however she did not miss out the sarcastic streak in his words. It wasn't bad when he was all snarky and cracking a joke here or there.

"Then I'll see you soon. Get your pokerface ready and do your job as usual." were the words she gave before departure.

XXX

12th September, Kuoh City outskirts, 22:37 pm

It was a peaceful night with everyone doing what they did at this point; relaxing, eating, wracking their brains over projects and so on. It was another night like any other as there was nothing special about it. Or so it was believed to be.

In a garden with white marble paths, Victorian style ornamented benches and many flowers growing around the place, which was like ripped from a children's fairy tale book there was someone waiting. It was the garden at the outskirts of Kuoh City, a place on which the barrier did not have any effect so any low level Fallen Angel, Stray or Angel could come across and walk freely if they didn't get caught by the guards around the city.

That figure was quite slim, with a mature body frame as the silhouette of a woman could be perceived. Not so short, neither tall was this woman who seemed to be in her early twenties at a first glance. She had blonde hair in reaching past her back in a single low ponytail, held by a white ribon with black lines and her fringe was brushed to the right by the use of a white dove hairclip. She was quite normal looking, neither ugly nor stunningly beautiful but mostly average if someone had to say. Though her skin seemed a little pale, if that had to be taken as a point.

Clad in a mint green dress shirt with rolled up sleeves to her elbows, she was leaning onto the bench as if she had not a single care in the world. Nevertheless, her shirt was a bit smaller and tight around her chest but she didn't seem to mind the fact of it being ready to burst. Her legs were covered by a pair of tight black jeans with tears on the kneecaps, some extra pockets sewn on the sides and a large belt buckle poked from the gap left by her shirt.

Close to her was growing a patch of Lobelia and thornapple.

"The moon is pretty tonight. Don't you think so, old friend?", smiling mostly at herself in a eerie way, the girl leaned back with her arms stretching over the wooden planks in one relaxed pose with her legs crossed. There wasn't much going on as far as facial expressions were concerned, a neutral mask she had as a face. However non-assuming and normal she looked, her words carried something further in implication that she was not alone.

And the question begged to be answered. What was she even doing alone at this time of night in a garden far from the center of Kuoh City and how did she even cross without any fear?

"You know why i am here, old friend." a voice responded back to her with a dose of sarcasm in it. A dull, sleepy and interested in nothing but rest voice greeted her back in what could be said to be the most boring, expected way anyone could. Not even an attempt at sounding pleasant was made. "But yes, it does seem pretty, i suppose. But we need to talk about something. It's important."

From the other side a man in dark clothes walked towards her direction. He was a tall figure in his late thirties at best upon first glance, a queit and peaceful aura of lethargy and calmness surrounded him like a thick layer around him. He wore what appeared to be trousers and a black leather jacket with a row of zippers going down the colar till it reached chest level, ending in another set of two zippers. A casual black v-neck shirt adorned his upper body with a small medallion dangling on his chest, black shoes with ties were his choice to finish the look. He was rather good looking with a nice complexion, a slightly darker skin tone and black hair while his eyes were of the darker shade, almost black and locked in a natural frown that made him look angry.

He walked slowly with a spring in his steps, yet his eyes never left the girl for a moment. If you had to describe them they were rather cold and distant with a calculative gleam that made people wary of him. He casually strolled until he reached the bench on where the woman sat and without further permission sat like he owned it.

"What exactly are we going to talk about, dear friend? You know it's dangerous to meet around any Devil territory so it means you definitely want to use that to your advantage, no?", she was aloof in the way she spoke with not a single shred of pride or vanity. The way she spoke belied she knew more than she was letting on, that it was planned on short notice given the times.

He huffed once or twice before he rested comfortably on the bench and left his arms to rest on his lap. "I'm here to speak with you on the matter of recent events, my dear friend. You felt that surge of energy recently, haven't you?" the dark eyed man made a gesture as to emphasize on his point, "…half of the world probably felt that... Which means only one thing..."

The look on her face wasn't of surprise but more of an knowing one. Indifferent even.

"... **.Here**...", her fingers twitched as if she were frightened. All color washed away from her face to leave only a deeply petrified face with nothing but consternation. A foreboding shadow of trepidation, a hollow mask of cold, inhuman features whispered those words with reverence and disgust, spiraling into a single click away from losing herself in fear. She feared those words, she hated those words. "... **the Witch**... **Is here**..."

And in that moment there was an unnatural wind that blew past the trees in the world recognizing that name.

The man was frazzled. His composure did not leave him, however he acknowledged that very fact with a fearful expression that spoke more than his words could ever speak.

"I sensed it... And the epicenter of that surge was none other than the Devil Slum, Kuoh City." he added further. "And yet, they couldn't do their job properly but diverted attention away and thus leaving us to work behind the scenes undetected." he begrudgingly admitted that fact, no matter how much he did not want to confess his frustration with their lack of results.

"We need the Dragon and the Twilight Maiden, who are unsurprisingly on the side of the Devils.", having said that with a serious face which still continued to show her fear, the blonde woman leaned to the side and picked up one of the Lobelia nearby and raised it before her eyes. "If only your people didn't fail last time and the seal in his bathroom hadn't been found, we could have achieved success. But that's what you get for sending out a Reincarnated Devil to do your work, old friend." smiling in an almost motherly affection when she said that, the girl looked up at the flower in her hand, "and if only the Keys were found it would have been a different story, don't you think?" rather innocently she glanced at him in a singular, sympathetic gawk through her long eyelashes.

The man crossed his legs to shift his position as in trying to distance himself from her. "If only i could find the location of our Key and the one that Angel stole it would be opportune for both respective parties." he said with dejection. "Two thousand years ago the fog caused a reaction unseen before..." he begun to narrate an old story people never brought up. A forbidden topic that only a select few knew. "What it did to people was something unexpected. Awakening the darkness in people to create new Devils and taking over those bodies to become like us. And the morphing to Angels through the stripping of their grace and soul to make more of those. It brought chaos but as well as a new perspective to both species."

The woman took a good moment to stare at him, reminiscing of something else. "Truly, that tale is a taboo to speak of. That being caused the fog and we killed her." clasping both hands to form a cup, she brought them to her chest and closed them to offer a prayer to something. "You may not haven been born back then but you've seen what her incarnations can do. She brought something to avert a crisis and it destroyed much more in return. I am deeply saddened of that fact but for the sake of our continued existence we had to do it." showing remorse, her eyes lit up as she mentally prayed for the peace she desired so much. And one for her, for having given permission to execute this cruel act in the name of justice.

He sneered in delight over what he was about to say. "Just like your kind killed the Woman on the Arc, the creator of the first philosopher stone. So much for justice and salvation, my dear." of course he liked to point out that fact. He knew of that story as well. "Such irony. To have her descendant fight in your ranks when your kind killed the progenitor of his bloodline. And thus Vasco Strada stands no more. He wasn't a bad guy, i believe he was a worthy man who deserved his reputation. Truly saddening." he feigned it.

This fact did not bode well with her. Vasco Strada was the Blade of Heavens, one of the greatest and most compassionate men there were. Kind to everyone, never having judged people on how they were but always strived to bring out the good in them. Until he passed away, leaving humanity with one champion less to protect them. Thus bringing a great blow to the forces of Heaven.

"Was it you who killed Pope Theodorus III?" her voice turned all around to a hardening, wrath fueled screech that sounded so pleasant despite the impossibility of anything said by her lips to sound anything short of beautiful. Her words might have been a dangerous inquiry but even behind the angered tone there was sadness.

"I did not kill the man. Neither one of my people has done such a thing but i couldn't say the same for your people, can i?" the dark eyed man spoke back with venom, smiling in a uncomfortable for his face half-smile that spoke of accusations at her. "I recently lost someone. I lost my very child and both of their peerages to someone who used a light blade. Only a human would use one so who else could it have been, i wonder? Given how i know who sent those Angels to pursue the Red Dragon Emperor, it's not hard to assume that."

"Impossible it is,old friend. I think it is someone who has a strong contempt for the likes of thy to have done it. I would not betray the one who gave a means to strengthen the numbers of Angels through studying the Queen and Rook Pieces you so kindly provided."

"Then someone else is at play. As far as i know something is killing influential Devil families for some reason and i think the culling of faction leaders to weaken the competition is done by the same people. They could be after the Keys. And assuming there would be an attack if there is a summit, we must prepare with caution. We cannot lose the trust of people."

"... I am deeply sorry for the loss of your child. It saddens me to think that he passed away in such a way, no less. You have my condolences." she spoke words full of sadness for the loss of a young life. It always pained her on how she could not have children and that is why she looked up to humans who could know the joys of giving birth to new life. "Enough is enough. I can't stand to see Heaven crumbling, Michael is not doing enough to stop the decay it has fallen underneath. If we are to act it is while the Guardian of Heaven and the mighty Metatron and Seraphiel still sleep ever since the grueling wounds they sustained during the Second Faction War."

"Cerberus is sleeping near the shores of the Sea of they met again it would be utterly annoying." he spat.

The Sea of Blood was a literal sea made of the blood of pagan gods,Angels,Devils and other entities in the southern region of the Underworld. In that sea were the Evil Pieces christened and baptised in blood to prepare them for insertion beforehand. It was a sort of a ceremony, an old tradition. But no one really knew about this,save for a selected few.

The man stood up slowly, clenching his fists in aggravation and bitterness over the fact of losing so many friends and family to conflict. His ears poked out from the bangs that hid them from plain sight. Spiky, pointed ears were revealed as his hair gradually became more wild and two black marks appeared under his eyes to reveal his real appearance.

"If it means having to fall to save Heaven from collapsing, I accept that fate for the sake of everyone. Even if i am to turn traitor i will make sure Heaven survives and once again stop _her_ from rising to power. So let's do our best and share the responsibility."

She stood up and turned to the other side with a golden teleportation circle springing underneath her feet. One of angelic origin and most certainly that of a high ranking member of the Seraphim. "Be careful not to get found out and we need to find the Keys and secure the ones who could open the Gate. Even if it means having to give birth to more Angels and Devils alike. I wish you good luck... Falbium Asmodeus."

Azure eyes glowed brightly with divine light in paying her respects to the laziest Satan there was. She activated her circle and dissappeared into motes of light before she could let him say goodbye.The Angel was in one of the most normal forms she could take on.

"And i wish you luck as well, Jibril... Or should i say…Gabriel." finishing his sentence, Falbium Asmodeus grieved deeply for his son but he couldn't do anything yet as his daughter didn't want to leave her room till now, constantly locked and crying over her brother. "Let's keep the balance and do right by our people."

And in the briefest of moments, he sunk into a teleportation circle of dark green that constructed itself beneath his shoes.

Only a crushed Lobelia was left on the marbled pathway where they once stood. Stained with a single tear by an Angel and by the grief of a Devil...

XXX

11th September, Kuoh City, Gremory Manor, Bathroom, 22:15 pm

Rias had a tough day with her duties as an overseer of the Kuoh, delegating roles and doing routine check-ups around the city for anything suspicious. The stationed guards kept an eye on everyone; those who entered the city, those who left for work and other reasons and mostly did check up on each person to avoid any infiltration of their ranks after having heard what had happened a few days ago at the Glaysia-Labolas mansion. Ryland Phenex's media team, which was also a part of the work group under the office of Serafall Leviathan, had managed to prevent a leakage of information and due to his ability to manipulate the masses - he somehow managed to keep this incident known only to the higher ups and the Maou, as well as the Devil Council who was actively trying to find a solution to this problem.

Rias was sitting in the large bathroom of her mansion, which was on the opposite side of the city, exactly at the west side while Sona's was at the east, near the forest that stretched towards the border. The family bathroom was was a big room of white marble floor with peach colored walls and soft illumination that exuded the aura of extravagance and wealth, ornamented with fine gold and mahogany. A really big bath it was, moreover it was nothing short of a swimming pool with all the respective details that came with it; it was styled in the western tradition like a Roman bath because Sirzechs had a thing for those, ablend of antique and modern in a non offsetting way that neither made it too much to bear nor it was unassuming at best. Just the right amount of everything.

But she was not alone this time.

Akeno was there with her, sitting at the edge of the large pool in a relaxed way that permeated the sense of tranquility that was quite lacking these days. But her expression showed something completely different from the norm; it lacked the usual radiance and beauty she was known for, it was a face she made whenever there was way too much on her mind as it was quite easy to notice despite her attempts at masking her feelings. She was brooding and there was this inkling of wanting to say something but she didn't have the strength to mutter a single word. She enjoyed the silence, it was something new she sort of got attached to but it was hardly the truth for the sole fact that she felt lonely.

It was just a day since the others had left. No hug, no smile and definitely no goodbye were given as the final meeting before departure took place.

She had some trouble in connecting with Gasper since he was gone because of training for a long time but nevertheless tried her best. Rias seemed a bit distant while Sona was ice cold professional as always but her involuntarily gestures spoke much about the truth. Kiba remained passive in his actions, it seemed like there was a faint smile on his face while Koneko felt relief. The feeling was the same as before any additional members had joined the Occult Research Club - peaceful and quiet with nothing to trigger mental trauma. Or atleast, to say, the cause went away for a few days.

"Hey, Akeno. Let me wash your back for you this time?" trying to be delicate, Rias tapped her shoulder once in a bid to get her attention by proposing something Akeno usually did for her. Rias made a gentle concerned expression with her lips twitching slightly at their ends as she clearly saw that her best friend and confidant wasn't in the best mood since yesterday. Or perhaps it was for a much longer time than she knew so she had to find out.

The Queen was brought out of her thoughts by that light touch and only mustered enough to make a strained ghost of her usually pleasant smile to respond. No doubt was she surprised as she clearly knew her role and position so as a habitual response to whenever such occasions arose, "There is no need for that,Rias. It is my duty as the Queen to attend to her King." she waved her hands left and right in trying to dissuade her of that intention. However small it was, Rias felt that masked dissatisfaction and repressed pain that flashed for a moment in her eyes.

"I insist. You have always supported me in times of crisis so let me support you as well. I mean it." Rias insisted on doing that for her, she had been thinking about everything that had transpired and decided to change that fact. She was trying her best to be able to be something more than just a King, she wanted to be someone who could be there for her people and to make a difference.

Stepping outside, Rias gave her a hand in anticipation of accepting her proposal, not knowing whether she would have relented or not but still tried to make her see that she was trying her best.

"Come on, at times we all need to feel spoiled and special. So don't be afraid, I'm here for you and i will listen to everything you have to say." Rias's eyes mellowed down to a gentle yet concerned expression that spoke of acceptance and sheer willingness to make things right. The way she presented herself was not as a higher ranked individual on the totem pole but as an equal, a fellow woman wiling to listen to everything she had to say and encourage her to keep walking.

Akeno didn't really have much of a choice. So she complied by grabbing her hand to stand up and exit the pool to have a few steps towards the showers where she sat on the small chair and swept her untied black hair to the right side for her bare back to be exposed.

Rias knelt behind her with a yellow sponge and foam and began to scrub her back in slow,meticulous strokes with the sponge in a rhythm. And she was actually enthusiastic about it, she for once felt closer than before despite how stupid it probably was. She had always been the one to be the recipient of the scrub but now the roles had been changed. It was her way of showing humility to her best friend and lowering her guard down for her to peer behind the mask.

She had been quite concerned and unsure on what to do next. So much had happened to show her where she actually stood and broke down some of her illusions in the most cruel way possible.

Atleast Sirzechs Lucifer and Serafall Leviathan visited every single day to check on their siblings and to spend time with them more despite the workload they had with all of these incidents.

Serafall specifically visited three times a day to be sure about the way her sister's reintegration process was going smoothly. They did strengthen the barrier around the city every single day to make sure there were no problems with it, in a place where only three High Class Devils lived due to the aversion of the rest to the thought of living in the Devil Slum as the place was called.

 _"I wonder if this would make her feel better? I should try atleast."_

Rias continued to scrub her back while she gathered her courage in speaking to her about a sensitive topic. "I asked my brother and i did some research on my own to reopen Koneko's case. And from all of the material i found and spoke with a witness", she moved the sponge to her lower back as the black haired Queen leaned further, "...Koneko's sister killed her master in self defense to protect her from his abuse. The truth behind the cover up and the false impression of our little Koneko are because of the rumors spread by people who hate her bakeneko origins in order to hurt her further. I think she would be happy to hear that."

"I see. I think it's fine." responded Akeno with no feelings behind her words, whatsoever. It seemed like she couldn't feel happy about it in some way as it could eventually lead to the Rook leaving them alone so she could be with her sister again, if she could forgive her. Which seemed to be quite a hard task to accomplish due to the unwillingness and prejudice the small Rook had towards people.

It sort of had an effect on the red haired King as far to stretch out her arms and wrap them around Akeno's neck in a comforting embrace and pulled her to rest on her. The nakedness did not disturb Rias, she had nothing to hide to her and she wanted to find out what was bugging her in a way that didn't seem too forceful as she knew there was something more, something the other girl didn't want to tell her.

"I know you're worried about everything, Akeno. I really do...you've heard from my brother what happened with Zephyrdor and... I'm scared..." her voice lowered down to the point of being a whisper as her arms shuddered in fear. She hadn't recovered from what she saw, she was just hiding it all this time. Not to worry them, pretending everything was alright when it hardly the truth.

"And I'm scared, i don't want to lose anyone... Never again..."

Akeno didn't reply at all. She stood there silently in thought.

Rias felt conflicted. It was written all over her face, her lips contorted by emotional duress and her eyes growing concerned and frustrated. "What's wrong? Please tell me or i won't be able to know... I don't want you to feel that way. Talk to me, please..." she was practically begging her to talk. Rias felt that incredible need to rely on someone at this moment, she was all scared and alone. It was her wish to be of some use and not just being in someone's shadow all the time.

Akeno grabbed her arms and pulled them away from her shoulders to escape her hug. She was distraught. In her head she was leading a battle with her own feelings on what she wanted to say but she was going to give out soon. She was not acting like her usual self at all, brooding and moody these days was her norm and it got worse after they left for Vegas without even saying goodbye.

"What's wrong about it? I don't see anything wrong so why do you ask?", cold and with a hint of anger brewing underneath the surface. She did not face her, she only stood there catatonic in one place without saying anything more. Her mask was falling apart; her deeply repressed feelings were poking holes through her facade as her voice begun to sound strained. "Honestly, sometimes i feel like you don't understand a thing about us. After all, why is there a need to go out of your way to try to understand someone like me? Isn't that just bullshit?", it sounded sarcastic. "No matter what it always comes down to this..."

Rias was frazzled. Her eyes twitched once or twice in trying to find a suitable response to her reply. However, she always had her doubts about everything, about herself and how she did everything because of her perspective being totally different from theirs. No matter what she tried, it always felt like that. So she tried again.

"How could you say that? You know it's not true, i care about all of you-

She was cut off rudely by the black haired girl.

"Is that really true, Rias? Because it seems you care more about Sona nowadays that you won't even consider on the fact of how we actually feel." Akeno was rather expressive in her gestures despite how much she tried to suppress it. A hint of sadness, maybe a little jealousy she injected in her words. An unreadable expression of many feelings raced through her face like a streetlight in her rant. She was slowly dropping the nice mask she chose to wear to reveal something far more uglier than the rest knew.

Exactly what was hiding behind the facade of Akeno Himejima.

It was painful for Rias. The Sitri Heiress was her best friend as much as the Priestess of Thunder was which brought the problem to light. She was torn between her own peerage and her best friend who had just experienced a tragedy and as a good friend would, Rias was trying her best to help Sona recover somewhat so things wouldn't be so awkward and moody. But this... It was, in a way, cruel to hear.

"You know what happened with Sona. How could you say that? It's cruel, it's not nice to say such things."irritation and dejection swept the red haired girl who found herself stunned at the way her friend said that. Enough to make a dent in her defenses. "She has problems and she needs help. Can't you see that?"

Akeno turned around and only stared at her frantically. What appeared to be a mockery of a smile slowly formed on her beautiful face, a subtle hint of malice was felt in the way she gazed at her when their eyes met. It was hard for her to even express what she wanted to say at this point but a cold, washed up grimace with thinned lips in sneer formed instead of words.

"Just like how you fixed our problems. Indeed, but you know what? I don't think you do realize how different it really is from the truth." that was quite an austere gawk she directed at her. Even her hands started clenching into fists and releasing back in a single moment of spite. Her mask was cracking.

"Why are you accusing me of this? I tried and tried, i really tried. But why can't anyone understand that?" cracking down she was. In her point of view she was doing a good thing but even now she always hid her doubts about how they saw her, in what light did she appear to them? Her involuntarily body language showed how much she was holding back at bay her own feelings not to break through and drown the room in her aura. "I just wanted to be seen as who i am. I wanted to be someone else, not just as a shadow in the face of my brother. Who am i? Am i just some stupid girl who's so scared to be alone? Why is it always like that? Just why,why, why?"

"I hate it! I hate it how you and Sona get everything on a silver plate. How you always attract people with ease because of your personality and appearance.", no more did she hold it back.

The veil of her suppressed emotions was lifted to leak out like a river past it's borders." I'm just eye candy for the rest. Nobody sees who i am underneath, nobody tries to see past my looks. You always win, you have it all!" she looked at her with fiery eyes. "No matter how much i try, no matter what i do... I can't win. I don't have anything special to attract people aside from these goddamn boobs of mine. I'm just an ugly mutt in comparison to you... I hate it how you always take everything i want, if i don't pretend i don't have anything to win people over with..."

Akeno's shoulders trembled. Her lips quivered in inexplicable pain over her anxiety. Standing still was now quite hard for her so she moved a few steps and leaned onto the wall. Her features were twisted in a pain-ridden, mixed with remorse and jealousy grimace of wrath fueled anguish over her inferiority to the Gremory Heiress. Despite the fact of being best friends, Akeno always felt jealous of everything she had in her life, on how she got it with no serious effort and how no matter the black haired girl did - Rias always won in everything while she had to pretend it was alright...

"...And once again... I'm settling for second best... ",her voice was leaking out with emotions,a solemn, crestfallen and defeated glare spoke through her reddened eyes which were about to shed tears in breaking down.

"Do you even know... how much i envy you people?", a myriad of emotions were present across her face in an unreadable feeling, a deep envy seated in the bottom of a ocean that was her mind. The way she glanced with that resigned look spoke much more than her very words could ever convey the feelings she kept at bay. The uneasiness, the craving for acceptance and the sole wish of being like them... "All people see is what they want to see in me. It's always Rias this, always Rias that... I don't even know who i am anymore! Am i really a good person as most think i am? I envy you because you're honest with your feelings, i envy you because you know so much more than me... I wanted to be someone else,i wanted to be like you. Because you have a soul and i don't know what it's like to be a human being. I hate being lonely, i hate it how i can't get any satisfaction and how despite i try it all turns upside down!" her words turned into a hollow shriek.

"There's nothing enviable about me... When i think about it I'm nothing more than a cruel, bitter bitch who only knows how to hurt people and keeps wanting more and more. I'm not going to pretend like i have the higher moral ground... because in the end i am nothing but a broken record that keeps breaking apart each time it's being spun. It's because no matter... in the end i realize it. About how cruel i was - always blaming someone else, needing a crutch to keep going by relying on others to feel better about my miserable self... I hate it how weak and broken i am. How foolish i was in thinking I'm someone. In the end I'm a weak, scared girl who can't do anything by herself because I'm so useless and ugly.

"I'm ugly on the inside."

Akeno couldn't find any words to continue at this point. _"This is who i am. This is what the real me looks like - savage, cruel and nothing short of a fake trying to be real. I'm so miserable, I'm so disgusting that i can't take it. How do i not feel any shame living like this?"_

If she had anything to say it couldn't escape from her throat, it hurt so much to try to bring herself to say it.

"Unlike us, humans have something more to them... I was so scared of dying back then... I don't want to be alone, i don't want to lose anyone else. After we Devils die... There is nothing left of us, that crippling fear of death was all i thought about." Rias's words resonated with uneasiness. It was painful to speak with so many feelings stirring up her thoughts that no matter what she did, she found herself at odds with everything she stood for.

It was the same, it never changed. She hadn't changed at all. And she knew that fact so well she wanted to cry in the corner. Being naked meant nothing as the mental defenses she had erected were burning down to the ground, leaving only a scared girl hiding in a forest of expectations. "I tried and tried but it seems it was never enough. I was weak, i was always weak in comparison to you and i couldn't help but feel cheated. I was never strong enough to bear the burdens you have and yet so arrogantly thinking i could do something i risked everything and everyone and... we nearly died... I couldn't even look them in the eyes..."

Her shoulders shivered in anxiety, a creeping sensation of dread coursed like a poison through her veins, eating at her conscience each day and night. Always pretending to be strong, hiding behind a mask in trying to respond to each expectation was nothing but a venom, slowly killing her the more she thought about it. Rias moved her right hand and pressed it on her face to hide her right eye, it was reddened and moist with bitter tears forming at the edges in a spiral of breaking down with nothing but a crash course as the destination.

 _"It was rough. It was so painful. I was so scared. I was so sad. It hurt so much, I thought I'd die. I tried so hard... I tired so hard! I was so desperate, so desperate to make everything right! It's the truth. I've honestly never tried so hard at anything in my life! Because I loved this world of mine... Because it was so important to me! I was so desperate to get it back, no matter the cost. I was scared... I was so scared! I didn't want those eyes looking at me like that again... And I hate myself so much for feeling that way!"_

"Do you think you're the only one who's hurting?", Akeno was looking for a way to respond, a vent for her feelings that constantly plagued her mind. "It's so ironic, instead of doing something right all i did was wrong when i thought i could do something about it. I'm not strong at all, I'm nothing like you, in how you make people follow and accept you for who you are... I was scared, i didn't want to die... That choice he made... How could i make a choice of having to sacrifice 60 thousand for one person to prevent even more from dying. How could i sacrifice one person to save those and yet still bring even more death... It's horrible." her hands clutched her temples, shivering at the very thought of having possibly died back there along with those people.

"We could have called your brother. He would have been able to do something. Maybe if we just stopped for a moment to talk about everything, put aside our problems and think...", only to raise her voice and scream.

"Who am i kidding?! Nobody would listen! Nobody would listen to someone like me; I'm a nobody, I'm so disgusting that i can't even bear to look at myself in the mirror without having to see the ugliness on the inside. I'm nothing but a broken, helpless girl in comparison to you! I hate it! I hate it!"

There was silence for two minutes…

"And isn't that why you used him? Just to get out of your arranged marriage. Do you even know how hard it is when the people i love have their eyes only for you?" she shrieked in a pitch she would have never thought she could ever make. Those eyes of hers... That dejection, the anger... "Did you not trust us in dealing with this problem? Are we really so weak that you had to bring in someone else into this? Yuuto would have been able to do something about it, we could have..."

"I couldn't do it!" she raised her voice. "How could i even ask someone who's mourning the loss of the one he loved the most to... I know he could have...", she was growing weary and powerless. Even if she wanted to make up an excuse, she didn't think the buxom Queen would have understood why she didn't take the obvious action; sleeping with Kiba to somehow revoke the marriage.

It was mostly an act of desperation, the pressure was too much to handle in making a plan on how to avoid it. It was a rushed decision when there was the only time to decide. "...But i couldn't do it. He wouldn't love me for that reason. I know it's a flimsy excuse, i know that the truth is we wouldn't have managed to win so i did it! I was just so hung up on the idea of making sure you wouldn't fall under the authority of Riser. I only wanted to make a choice by myself... And because of it... I hurt someone else..." she knew the consequences of her actions. She knew well what it would lead to and how things turned out of control.

"I know that... But it feels awful. And to think we would treat Ise like that. Like he was some trashy scumbag when he did everything to help us back then... The training, the harsh words we needed to hear. Going to fight that thing we couldn't hope to defeat, with no fear and no obligation. And we always saw him in the way everyone saw him... Only the surface but never the person behind the mask." Akeno spoke with a warm and guilty tone despite her being highstrung and hurt. "And Adam... He is the same like him. I never wanted to hurt them. I never wanted for them to feel like that but despite everything... we made it so hard for them..."

The Gremory Heiress looked away in shame.

"...or is it just the fact that they remind you of _him_ so much..." Akeno responded with a hoarse, painful whisper of conflicting emotions. She knew what those words meant to her... Rias's first Pawn six years ago. The boy who was probably her first love as a teen and how they lost him on that night. "But even so, you had what i didn't have. The past, present and the future..."

Rias couldn't respond. Her eyes were horrified and full of grief. Her chest tightened by the very mention of that boy, that trauma always remained no matter how much time had passed since then. The loss of love was the thing she feared the most, being left alone once again for the fact that dictated her action; she despised loneliness. She didn't want to be alone, to be left behind again by the ones she cared about. Anything she could do to make them stay...

"What about you then? I know what you did that night." teary eyed, Rias used the things she heard that night as she had woken up and walked around to check how Akeno was feeling only to hear the two of them with Kiba making weird noise. It was faint but she had her own way of hearing things, she knew. She was observing how they acted the days after it and her assumption was definitely true. "What you did wasn't right as well. But am i complaining about it? No, but i understand it. I was so stunned when i heard those words and now i don't even know how to act."

Then there was silence for a few minutes.

No longer was she holding back; her legs gave out and she fell on the floor with her arms hiding her face as she wailed, her sobbing was loud and so unrestrained, it was not a beautiful sight at all. A miserable, guilty, pain-ridden scream filled the corners of the bathroom as the Queen bent over to the ground in shedding bitter tears over her situation, over the fact of who she was underneath. Over the jealousy and helplessness she felt like a hole in her fragile heart. The sight of someone crying their eyes out was never a beautiful sight. Even more when she covered herself with her black feathered wing of an Angel in a bid to hide the frustration she felt so much.

"I realize it now... I've always envied you so much. A normal life, no special treatment, no expectations. Not a single time you need to look perfect even if it hurts... I hate it, i hate how i always do the wrong turn and fuck things up." Rias couldn't bear to see her this way. It was her guilt, her envy speaking behind the mask that was in shambles on the floor. She was barely holding back in an attempt not to let her tears fall down. It was hopeless, it was hurting her so much. Every single mistake she had made flashed before her eyes as she clenched her fists in a tumultuous display of self-loathing. "I'm not perfect. I'm the least perfect there is... So what do you know about it? What do you know about the real me?", she raised her voice to a loud shout, her hands were shivering, her teeth grating against each other in a outburst of anger.

Akeno only looked up fearfully behind the cover of her black wing.

"I'm no hero. I'm not even a person worth envying! I'm just a shitty bitch who only knows how to complain and want and want more than i can handle!"

In that very moment she lost strength in her legs and landed on her knees.

" This is the kind of person i am. I have no strength but i want it all." harsh words rolled out of her tongue, a deeply disturbed and grief stricken voice spoke with the truth she always knew but denied all this time. "I have no knowledge but all i do is dream. All i do is talk a big game and make myself as a big shot, when i can't do anything." Rias broke down in wails but there was still something that didn't let her cry. Her once pleasant voice was replaced with a swirling mess of sobs and wails, shivering from anger and her lips quivering into trying to mumble something. "...yet i can complain like a pro. Who do you think i am? It's amazing that i can live like this and not feel ashamed!"

Tears strolled down her cheeks as she couldn't take it anymore. The trauma was deep. No matter how much she pretended, her true self emerged under the emotional duress as her eyes twitched, blinked and her lips contorted to form an ugly grimace of hopelessness and sorrow. In that moment her nerves couldn't take it... and she broke down in tears.

She only looked up to the ceiling with a face full of tears, muttering something only Akeno could hear...

"...I never did anything..."

"That's not true…",Akeno whispered fearfully.

What Rias said further was the very thing that broke the perception, the ideal Akeno had of the person Rias Gremory. Something different, a truth so far from what was presented. It was the brutal honesty in which those words were delivered as a final nail in the coffin.

"That version of me that lives within you must be amazing..."

No matter how angry she felt, how miserable she was, Akeno crawled towards her direction fearfully. Each move was hurting her, each second that she continued to watch her cry made her feel guilty, ashamed and contemplating on the very words she said. She would not take it back as it was the truth. However small it was, she felt like she understood that part even if she couldn't part with that illusion but it was a sincere attempt. Not to apologize. It was an attempt to connect.

The buxom Queen reached out to her with tears on her face, stretching a hand towards her direction in what could be the most important truth she had learned. Rias looked up at her when she felt the warm and tender hand of the black haired girl rest on her neck. She tried to back away but she had no strength in her legs, her avaricious need for closeness stopped her from trying.

"Why do we always hurt each other? What did we do wrong? Where did we mess up?" her reddened eyes met hers in a moment of understanding, a feeling that connected them like no other feeling. Pain. Searching for an answer, praying for a moment of clarity, trying to find the right words. Those did not matter anymore.

Rias instinctively hugged her despite the nakedness in a gentle embrace while she rested her head on her right shoulder with Akeno's black feathered wing stretching out to cover her in an act of motherly affection, a symbolic meaning of being someone. Of being who she was and the sole meaning she conveyed through that act - "Let's... start from... square one. From zero... This time for real. Not a superficial bond as a King and Queen." her tears did not stop. Her voice trembled when she spoke, stuttering in pain for each word she pronounced, however muffled they were. The feeling mattered much more than mere words. "... But as the real ones, not the masks we wear. From the beginning, from zero... As the people we are... As Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima. As friends, no, as a family..."

For a while they stood like that, crying and naked in the bath.

But it was different now. Something of an understanding, an affirmation was formed between them.

After some time passed, Rias broke free from her embrace to wipe away her eyes from the tears she shed. She was exposed; she was in her most vulnerable state with all of her defenses demolished, her facade stripped down from her being to leave only the person who hid behind it.  
Akeno was still shivering from all that was said, her heart was set on fire when she revealed all of the ugliness she kept under chains in her mind. Stripped down to the scared, lonely girl who wanted everything yet the world gave her nothing in return.

One who had everything but had no satisfaction and self of identity. Another one who had nothing but wanted everything.

"Let's... s-start from z-ze-zero. I want to change who i am. I don't want to feel like this anymore...", Rias's words were a sign genuine desire to start from scratch, to find out who she was and who she wanted to be. A single wish for something more, an ardent flame of passion, everything she could not say was expressed through her blue, swollen from crying eyes which opened like windows as an invitation to see what hid underneath the surface.

This time she raised her hands to feel the cheeks of her Queen, to feel that closeness so to see her beautiful eyes and the person who had them. No matter what they were before, no matter how they felt was in the past. It was time to change how things were even if the road was layered with trial and error. The world was as if left behind in the background and the presence of two was all there was to realize how big the world was. Because someone who you cared about meant someone who was like the world for you.

There was a new glimmer in those eyes of hers as she continued to look intently, weary and hurt, defeated but rising from the ashes.

And in that very moment Rias moved closer and pressed her lips against the luscious lips of Akeno.

XXX

"So are we all ready, then?", Asia chose to speak up while she sat on her bed without a single care in the world. She tried to look calm and collected, however on the inside she was messed up badly and after they got back to the hotel; not wasting any time, the petite girl raced towards the bathroom, shook the door in one fast swing and vomited as she couldn't hold in the nauseous feelings that swept her in a moment. It rekindled serious traumatic memories she would never quite outgrow for as long as she lived. It was a trauma that scarred her for life and the simple mention of anything related to it always sent her in a deep pit of darkness.

Following the events of the early morning, after they returned back to their shared room and made some adjustments, the girls went out to do some scouting around the area. In reality they went out to take a good look at the city and distract themselves from what they saw. If they continued to fall under the growing paranoia they would lose themselves so they did everything they could to remain as they were.

For one, they went to a fashion salon to get a haircut - just a simple trim of the bangs and such, nothing major really changed in their hairstyles as they were too attached to their appearances. Riser accompanied them like the big brother he was but never left the sleeping dragon unprotected. After everything they returned and talked about everything in the room, not paying attention to the snoring boy on the bed since he was way too tired to even wake up.

"I guess we are. If going by common logic and trying to hide in the crowd by trying not to stand out", Ravel was sitting on the sofa leisurely with a cup of coffee in her hand with her legs crossed, "it is what everyone would expect us to do. To lay low and avoid standing out... So instead of that we should probably try a different approach, totally opposite of the common route." she was quite expressive at this point even though she felt uneasiness when she glanced at everyone, her gesturing was a common personal shtick of hers while making any type of plan and backup to prepare for any possibility. "We should assume that an attack is likely to happen tonight so we must prepare for that. They want us dead for a reason and it made it a bit clearer now after this new information is added to the mix."

Xuelan was rather worried about what was going to happen in a few hours as for the very idea of someone copying the appearance of someone she knew could stab her in the back was quite probable. She never denied any chances of such an occurrence happening so she tried to remain as neutral as possible to avoid her emotions getting the best of her. As reserved and modest as she was, the Chinese Rook made her own conclusions on the matter at hand, thus keeping a levelheaded disposition of calmness and patience.

Things were awkward since it was decided among them by pulling sticks to decide on who was going to share a bed with the others. The room was quite big anyway and the bedroom was big enough to accommodate atleast six people on the spacious beds. And by chance, Ravel and Asia were to sleep on the same bed next to the former's brother while the Phenex Rook was to sleep next to the Pawn.

Awkwardness was present between them ever since the previous night at the pool, both avoided any possibility of meeting face to face directly due to them both being awkward in reality.

Riser was standing upright with crossed arms on his chest, pensive and morose in deep thought of what he should do next. It was no secret he heard directly from his brother Ryland about what had transpired the past days within the Glasya-Labolas Household, it broke the pattern of designated targets as a diversion to tick off anyone who was trying to figure it out. "Assuming that the information is correct, someone from the Pillars is involved in this hunt as by trying to find the Keys and to kill off any competition, anyone who knows or might be connected to those of the mention Households. Then the random change in patterns is to confuse us and instill more paranoia so the rest would try to kill each other. Divide and conquer. However... i feel like it was set up. The way and timing seem particularly specific and the fact of that obnoxious bitch keeping quiet on who did it means it's someone we probably know or she's just traumatized beyond recognition."

As an intelligent man who was brought back to his humble old self, Riser spoke with humility and presented himself as much as possible as an equal to the rest in the room.

"Let's assume it's someone who hates these people, someone who has a bone to pick with the rest. You heard one of the reasons they are targeted but i feel there is something personal in this. Since the message said to be wary of the Astaroth it is logical to assume that Diodora somehow did it for the Glaysia-Labolas.", his intuition was pointing him towards an answer he had been pondering on. Whether it was true or not, what mattered was to stay away from them and avoid any contact. It was just a guess that he dismissed because of the fact of the Astaroth Heir being unable to do something like this unless he had help. "If it's for these Keys... Then i don't know much about it but it's one of the reasons why the Second Faction War started in the first place..."

"It's obvious they know we are here. We can't trust anyone fully, you know?", Xuelan crossed her legs on the chair while she took a sip from he Red Bull energy drink she bought before she stated her opinion. "Those constructs we made could fool most people but sooner or later someone would pick up that detail and notice our absence. I'm sure there is someone here who would recognize us and rat us out to the Council.", she spoke with lingering emotions from the things she saw today.

Constructs had been made to look like them, move and act like them back at Kuoh City to tick off anyone from trying to investigate their whereabouts since they clearly avoided being spotted in broad daylight and hid in the night. There were no problems in getting tickets since most spots were monitored for any seal activity, a common fact of almost all of Devilkind using teleportation seals to cross distances.

But there was a time gap that allowed them to test how good the security was by calling forth the whole Phenex peerage the previous day. And it worked.

Issei stayed in the corner, leaning on the wall with his arms crossed before his chest in what could be said to be an elated position, observing every single move they made. And he knew they were observing his, every twich and gesture were under watch from mindful eyes.

They even went with him to get a new haircut. He felt motivated like never before in his life so he got to the nearest beauty salon and had a clean new cut, something they approved of. It made his gaze sharper and nastier than before which was a plus to him.

" _The suspects have risen to two. That thing the liminality showed was definitely not something ordinary. Not only did they not notice the real face of that place but those two..."_ , his eyes strayed away to avoid any glances directed at him, _"...those are no ordinary Affinities. One being the anti-thesis of mine and the other... I don't know what it is but Argento is surely something different. She could be or not. She might be... But the notion of Huang Chen being the Harlot, the Whore of Babylon isn't impossible right now. I must be careful."_

"That includes us.", bluntly Issei voiced out what the black haired beauty was thinking. It was not out of the possibility of either one of them being the enemy and they still wouldn't know it. Either a split personality, brainwashing, doppelgangers, conditioning like a manchurian candidate or all of them pretending on who they were.

He never denied it, it was spelled out in his nasty gaze that he believed it could be him and those messages they received from their benefactor actually being him from the future, time displaced,and alternative reality counterpart or someone he already knew.

"We're standing up to an invisible enemy who is around us, everywhere and nowhere in sight. We don't know who to trust other than ourselves... Not even ourselves if we had to go by the logical assumptions."

Asia drank more of her chocolate like she didn't mind that assumption, Ravel felt doubtful and, to a degree, insulted by that fact because she couldn't believe it could be anyone of them. Rather she didn't want to believe in that case of her doing anything like this or her brother. Those eyes of her's flared with disagreement written over them like a permanent market on a white board.

Riser entertained that possibility but couldn't exactly think of a more unconventional reason for such actions to take place. If it was about ruling the whole world why would they destroy it, just to begin anew. It was obviously painful why these attacks were happening and a deeper meaning was behind them.

Xuelan sighed once and stretched her legs once before she crossed them again. She did not like this at all. She stoically denied any accusations in her mind but her reserved and humble nature prevented her from speaking up at this point. Everyone was worried, exhausted to varying degrees and she knew it would only cause chaos and great disturbances to their already growing paranoia. So she decided to change the theme while looking at the Red Dragon Emperor with eyes full of expectation.

"...Are the new suits ready? I know you've been working on this while we were in the hospital. Because those actually gave us even more of a chance to fight and survive so we have to adapt the same way as they do..." dignified and hardening her resolve, Xuelan presented the truth to the rest directly for she couldn't hold back her curiosity and it was obvious why she asked about those.

The truth was she enjoyed wearing the suit for it's various capabilities and much more due to the simple fact of it being comfortable.

She had found out about what he did in the basement when she trailed off one night and went downstairs as her curiosity was driving her to find out what was so secret about it. He kept it locked all the time like he did with his parents room so the curious Rook had her suspicions on what was happening downstairs ever since she once saw him with a toolbox and a plasma torch.  
The rest were quite surprised by this since he seemed like the type to laze around whenever he could. And for his reaction, it was rather dull and boring.

He opened his mouth to speak with a monotonous, bored voice that lacked any impact. "Making sure we can keep going and having a way to cover for the natural weaknesses of a Devil is our top priority. Any difference, however small, can impact the outcome of a battle tremendously. So we need to be prepared." he concluded with a simple nod. But he did seem pleased when he mentioned his craft. It was probably the best reaction out of him that they saw. A tiny glimmer in his otherwise offsetting gaze.

He stepped away from the corner towards his bed,knelt down and made his custom black hexagram circle appear underneath his feet. A dim,sick light bathed the room as two medium sized suitcases manifested from the circle with unnatural inscriptions in Latin and some unknown, ancient language. He snatched the one on the right and rose up to walk away to the table where he set up the case and stretched his arms in a yawn before he unclipped the casings and punched the combination on the lock.

From the first case he took out four small cases with black padding that held four identical red scales with inscriptions, dangling on a chain as a medallion. He had used some of his scales as a conduit, a portable tool to act as a medium for the third iteration of the black suits he made everyone wear at the Rating Game. An improved version of the second generation he gave Ravel and Xuelan before. And there was a prototype he had already given to someone else before hand.

He had spent the weeks after the retrieval of the Excalibur fragments to create a series of newly crafted and improved armors to grant the rest an 8th tier resistance to a degree for the rest since they couldn't adapt to various types of trauma, powers and the like. So he had to give them something to raise the survivability of the whole unit.

"...And the other one", the smaller Phenex girl asked curiously.

The devilish Dragon only made a thin smirk of annoyance but nothing more. He left the cases on the table and moved away to secure the other case but he would not open it. "It's a special delivery for a close client of mine. And they've prepared the cash for it. We need a good income to be independent so whoever can play cards should try to win their own money since everyone likes to have cash at their own disposal." he spoke coldly in a professional tone he usually used to converse with people. Formal,robotic and most definitely emptied out of any underlying attachments.

Yet, for some reason the blonde Bishop with a butterfly hairpin couldn't stay still anymore.

Asia stood up frantically as if thunder struck to speak of a possibility she had thought of. It wasn't far-fetched, it was an alternative idea on the pressing matters. "But what if the Key is hidden inside a living being? What if the Keys to the Gate were actually people who are to open it and that's why the people are being hunted down. To take it out from them."

Suddenly the room became deathly quiet that any noise of the lowest volume would have been similar to a loud thudding on the ground. It was so quiet with a creeping fear, a realization of such a thing possibly being real. It was a nauseous, disgusting thought which was enough to make someone vomit out of anxiety on the chances of such an idea being the real deal.

It was a poison. Venom for the heart in it's implications... Everyone related to a family could possibly carry the object and due to the fact of not knowing it... People were probably being killed to rip it out of their corpses.

That mention made the Phenex siblings cower in fright. It was easy to notice how Ravel lost her composure, from a levelheaded girl she became a panicking mess. It took her considerable effort to appear calm and collected on the surface, rather as much as she did... It was nothing but a fake mask to hide behind it in denying the hypothetical question as she feared that.

 _"Then if going by that... It could mean they need someone to open it for them. Or something else, it sucks when you have to drive multiple plans ahead of time."_

"Anyways", in a tone of pure professionalism, formal sounding in it's enunciation, the dragon left the table to make a single involuntarily gesture that caught the attention of the occupants of the suite to his being. Both Riser and the girls were immediately on their guard as an instinctive reaction to his being, akin to a preprogramed response in the way they turned around with their hands ready for combat.

"...Seriously?", agitated but not on the outside, the Devil sneered in annoyance but relented when his tired expression of a walking corpse turned uncomfortable and meek in it's own making, "...i was going to say that you should take one each but screw it." witty and sarcastic in his tone were the proper feelings he presented and it was not a lie. "I think it's time to get going. I've already thought of a few plans we'll discuss in motion." he took a few steps towards the center of the room.

Asia left her drink before stretching her feet while she threw a single guilty look towards Phenex, it was one of sympathy and understanding of what she said. In copying the same action, the blonde Devil entered the center of the room, counterclockwise of the position the Red Dragon took.

Ravel understood what this meant so she casually strolled towards them in taking her place between them. Xuelan seemed to be frowning, nonetheless the beautiful girl moved slowly towards the rest in what was soon going to form a circle. Riser did as well begrudgingly, taking the side of his sister since he didn't want to be near Issei due to the severe trauma he caused him. He was doing this for his sister, for his family... Yet he didn't mind their company in reality. He actually enjoyed them being around and doing things he usually wouldn't think of. From all of this he came out a better man, just like in the old days when he was humble.

"No matter what happens tonight... We have to survive. So I'll ask again or rather..."

Then it all changed so fast in the blink of an eye.

In that very moment the Red Dragon Emperor pulled out two Desert Eagles, fully loaded in a whiplash of a swipe, his fingers were ready to press the triggers to shoot two bullets into the heads of those who were nearby him. He had pointed his guns at the former nun and the martial artist because he suspected either one of them being the Whore of Babylon. Or... it was because of his slowly growing attachment and affection towards these two girls. It would mean certain death if he ever let his guard down around anyone for they were living in the same house, enough of a reason for an infiltrator to copy their appearances and take him out with a bang.

A flaming blade materialized in the same time, pressed against the neck of the Devil by the hand of Riser Phenex. No hesitation was present on his visage, only pure conviction remained. A smaller scimitar was ready to pierce Asia's side like butter as she was growing close with his former Rook and Bishop, they meant so much to him. Enough that he would lunge his blade deep into anyone who would betray them.

Two Black Key blades were before the eyes of Issei and Ravel, Asia had reached out for the thin straps on her thighs to pull out the blades she was trained to use during her regime in the Vatican, to be able to protect herself from threats. Those were just miniature stilettos with the capability of enlarging their size to varying lenghts but no more than a short sword. She had charged her mana through them as a switch for them to manifest in their proper size, she had received them from Issei who had once asked her on whether she could use blades during the training regime back then.

Asia intently looked at both with dead serious eyes, revealing her willingness to do what they would have asked her to if they ever fell under the effects of the Brand of Dominion. Or worse...if they had already been branded...

Xuelan had her bladed tonfas readied against the chest of Asia, the other one poking softly with it's side blade against the neckline of her best friend as a sign of understanding. She would rather give her a merciful passing as a living being than to let her fall under the effects of that mark. Ravel was like a little sister to her, and so was Asia. She felt them really close... Just the thought of them being an enemy was enough to destroy her on the inside. If that were the case she would kill the person Xuelan Huang Chen and then take them down as a soulless machine of a person.

Ravel was holding a small Glock with her sight set on Issei and her flaming wings materialized the very moment everyone took out their arsenal for a quick check of loyalty. Her wings were formed like sleek thin blades with one of them acting as a shield for her chest and the other one was for piercing her very own brother in the stomach. Someone taking advantage of her love for her brother was the worst she feared so she had to be able to take away what was most precious to her... That would have been his wish as well, to die in her hands than to turn into something beyond any salvation.

Everyone looked at each other, gazes racing back and forth between them in the most casual way as if the time they spent together never meant anything. The atmosphere was tense, sickening by sheer implications. It felt vile, so cold and wretched for people to turn their blades against each other in what could be said to have been a rather peaceful moment. A moment where you sat down and talked, leisurely drinking your beverage with people you cared about.

"Good. Lower your weapons. We're clear." Riser muttered under his breath as he extinguished his blades of fire, giving the signal to the rest to drop their guns down.

Asia moved away her Black Keys to shrink them down to their original size, Xuelan backed off to put her prized armaments back into the holster on her right thigh while the little Phenex made her wings dissappear, lowering her gun to a holster on her belt.

Issei sighed once before lowering his guns down in accordance to the rule. Still they all had one on mind to take everything with a grain of salt so they remained on guard.

It was becoming something of a habit. It was their way of saying they would fight together till the end but if it meant having to fight against each other. They would certainly do it with no hesitation... In a twisted way it was quite fitting; no matter how close they would ever get to be, it meant nothing if they were enemies. A test of conviction to the cause, keep your friends close and enemies closer.

Ravel was the first one to change the subject. To make a transition to a more pleasant atmosphere, if possible.

"So... Let's get coffee? Anyone up for a drink?" meekly she pressed the subject in such an adorable way it felt so awkward when thinking about how they were ready to kill each other a few moments earlier.

"Fine. Take five and we'll get ready." calmly the Dragon responded with no emotion whatsoever. He did nothing but point to the table where the four cases remained on display. They even had a color coded signature to match with everyone since they were all customized for a specific user and their abilities. The way his brows furrowed made sure they got his intentions right.

He walked in slow strides to the door while the rest went to the table, curiously analyzed the scale medallions and opened the transparent casings to put them on under their clothes. After him followed the older Phenex in a worried step with the black haired beauty trailing behind him when he opened the door.

Only Ravel and Asia remained.

The petite blonde with a butterfly hairclip casually walked towards the door with her hands holding the scale by the chain in placing it carefully on her neck, twirled it and slid the piece underneath her cardigan to secure it. With another step before she reached the open door she turned off the lights, making the room dark with the only source of light being the illumination from the corridor that made her bask in both light and darkness.

Within the next second she held on the door with a card for the electronic lock and stepped forward with her right leg to exit the suite. Somehow the way she moved was secretive, frantic in her steps, worried about something. Ravel couldn't see her face but she had a grim, serious expression of many different thoughts drowning in a sea. Rather, an ocean of her her own creation in her head.

Something caught the attention of the girl with drill-tails. A small detail which made her question herself whether the windows were locked or not. She knew she had already locked them yet her doubts were growing stronger.

There was the sound of a tiny music box peaceful and serene but she couldn't see from where it was coming from.

When she looked around she saw the silhouettes of a flock of butterflies dancing in the air on the very floor. Big, delicate insects circled around each other in forming rippling patterns, a graceful flight of joy they acted out. But...

There were no butterflies in the air.

Her gaze bore down onto the floor in recognition of something. All color faded away from her features like a torn down wall, an unnatural fear griped her heart in a tight crushing squeeze the very moment her eyes laid their gaze upon the floor... She couldn't muster any words as nothing came to mind. All thoughts were replaced by a singular emotion which knocked her down as if struck by lighting.

Asia's shadow...

The shadow of a little girl, no older than ten, was standing there in static, unmoving while the butterflies were flying around her. This little girl was nothing more than a black silhouette, reflected by the illumination that was coming from the corridor's lights, dawning Asia in their soft lights. It was a game of light and darkness, the static imagine of a little child suddenly twisted it's neck to gleam at the frightened Ravel slowly, so painfully slow it felt like forever.

Ravel nearly stepped back in fright. However, her body did not respond to her demands. The shadow was moving as if alive; the silhouette of the child stretched it's hand towards her way in what appeared to be a grip, trying to grab her shadow with it's thin hands. Yet, instead of doing so it retracted it's hand to clench it's fingers, leaving only the index one up to bring closer to where it's lips should have been.

"What's wrong, Ravel? Aren't you coming?", Asia turned around to greet her with a warm smile. She looked so complacent, so tranquil and unknowing. The mask of complete stillness, a layer of peacefulness she gave her. "The others are waiting for us." she said with a bit of restrained enthusiasm,gracing her with a thin, mysterious smile.

"Y-yes. I'm right behind you", stammered the blue eyed blonde. She fiddled with her drills, dusted off her dress and smiled back in a forced thin ghost of a smile. She actually peed herself but hid that fact by using her flames to dry herself.

But deep inside she was scared. That smile the former nun had given her made her heart stop for a moment. She shrugged it off as if something she imagined. It wasn't real, it was just the diffraction of light and the angle that made this look like it. Ravel snatched her medalion and took a few steps closer to follow the green eyed Argento.It was so wrong but she couldn't pinpoint where exactly it was.

For a second her shadow changed shape.

The little girl only made a single gesture with her finger on her lips with an eerie smile... What she said with no words exchanged was...

And the door was shut.

XXX

12th September, Las Vegas, Nevada, Caesar's Palace, Casino, 00:45 pm

Everything was going frighteningly smooth, it was quite the atmosphere around the halls of the casino where people were playing on the roulette, card game tables in betting whatever cash they had left on them from the bachelor parties some had chosen to hold in Vegas. It was a common thing for men of age to gather with their friends on a wild spin around the City of Sin in what could be said to be the last, best free night in the groom's life for they were to be married soon. And what better way than to throw a party in this place of temptation and sin?

The casino was a gigantic complex filled with golden painted statues of Roman artistry, walls and floor basking in radiant, rich gold and red in a highly ornamented mosaic floor in the style of the Republic on which tables were laid out with chip brokers dealing tokens to the players. A large series of chandeliers made from crystals lined down from the ceiling in rows during the days but when night came... The atmosphere was different. It was a paradise for the souls of the restless, the thirst for money always took a hold of you once you entered past these doors. Dim lights, a nice welcoming atmosphere of bedazzled glory allured the souls, full of greed, to come bask in the magnificent, intoxicating mood of fast money making by the minutes.

A den of hidden beauty, a heaven on it's own it was the casino. It had that entrancing, hypnotizing glamour of an irresistible adventure where you would either turn out a winner by the morning or without a single dolar in your pocket and a few kidnapped friends by someone who played against them on blackjack. Many things happened in Vegas and stayed in Vegas as the rule, the city would swallow people and spit them out changed forever. Sometimes for good reasons. Other times... who cared anyway?

It was time to make some money.

And money never slept as they say.

From the entrance of a boring life to the inside of the dazzling complex was a door that led to a change. What you were on the outside did not matter when you stepped towards the interior, what always mattered here was money. Money, money and lots of money was the norm. No one could ever deny that fact; you either went back home with a good sum in pockets or you were a broke man with no cash left. It didn't matter as long as money was at play. And money also went to money.

At the entrance stood a group of four; one man and three females accompanying him to delve deep into gambling and debauchery for it was a place where sin was abundant. Devils had a boost in power due to the influence and corruption there was in permeated into the very borders of the city. A haven for young Devils to form their contracts as a significant event of coming to age, this paradise of vice was one of the hot spots for Devils to flock and as far as it went, the territories with enough sin, influence, knowledge and general recognition of any supernatural being led to a strengthening based on the principles of information. Places with any inkling of general public acknowledgement was abundant for those of the paranormal who had left a mark upon history. Any being aligned to a set mythology or having it as an origin received a territorial strengthening where their powers grew stronger just by being near the borders. The same case was applicable to any other being in another country where there was once a touch of their legends.

 **[~** **Lady Gaga** **-** **Pokerface** **~]**

"I think this is the place. Seems like in the movies,don't you think?", elated one of these girls said with a cutesy smile of expectations.

The first female was hugged in a dark violet satin dress that reached down to her knees in framing her rather thin legs on black high heels, which seemed uncomfortable for her feet but she wore them nonetheless. It was a simple dress, devoid of anything ornate on it since it was quite similar to the Little Black Dress series in the way it stood on her petite and delicate frame. Neither vain nor modest, it exposed her bare shoulders in a tinge of sex appeal while it gave off the feeling of comfortable and stylish. It was a dress with thin straps around her neck, a small dip in the cleavage gave her an appeal of humble yet confident due to the simple fact of reflecting the nature of it's wearer. Not so bold but willing to show off in a collected, mature way was her code.

Her blonde tresses were tied in a high ponytail with her bangs falling freely around her cheeks which made her even more of a bomb. Some of her tresses were tied into small braids to flow above her ears and wrapping around the ponytail while her fringe fell over her forehead with nothing but a single hairpin of a blue butterfly resting on her left side bang. Small but dangerous, innocent yet not so innocent was her appearance which was further complimented by a red medalion on a thin chain around her neck, dangling on her collarbone freely while her ears were pierced with black minimalistic earrings in the shape of triangles.

"I don't have much experience in wandering around the human world. I have only been here a few times to supply myself with smartphones and good music.", rather reserved with a regal tone the second lady answered in denial of her anticipation, she tried to hide it but it was plainly obvious it didn't work.

The taller female was a woman of around late teen years to early twenties, no older than twenty if you had to go by assumptions. She was a woman of great proportions, slender legs and thin shoulders with delicate aristocratic features of a royal family member. She chose to wrap her body with a designer dress from an expensive brand; a long dress that reached down below her supple knees with a small slit on the right to flaunt her silky smooth thighs in a suitable way that defined who she was. It was in a dark red coloration, lighter than a wine color and deeper than the usual red with no decorations on the fabric. The way it hugged her waist was an artistry on it's own; her bust was covered by a halter neck with cut out segments around the chest in revealing her ample bust, pressing tightly on her marvelous assets to make her charming in a different light in comparison to the first one.

Her light blonde hair was left to flow down to her lower back with her fringe slightly covering her left eye, her deep blue eyes wore black semi-rimmed glasses which gave her an intellectual, sexy look while some of her hangs were brushed behind her ears. Her small ears were adorned by two Swarovski hanging earrings in swirling shapes like a flower, on her collarbone rested a scale medallion in being just centimeters away from being between her breasts. And to finish the look she wore black platform sandal shoes with thin straps wrapping around her ankles.

"Remember the plan. Don't lay low so much but don't stand out too much as well. We don't know if this would work so better play safe.", humbly with a sexy voice in chiding countered the third female. No frown was present on her face, yet it didn't mean she was relaxed as a more reserved face of humility and stoicism stood as a mask on her.

This girl was the tallest one of them all but was completely dwarfed by the man behind them.

She was a charming lady, a normal beauty unlike the blonde lady with glasses who seemed to be out of this world. She was wearing a black semi-long dress of the bold variety; a large slit reaching to her right thigh displayed boldly the best, the perfect legs she was known for by her peers. Her smooth, sexy legs were adorned with black high heels of 3 cm heels with a thin end, devoid of any accessories other than two small stones on them. Her delectable figure was garbed by a dress she clearly would have never tried on if not for the extreme persuasion of her friends, it was forcefully done of course.

A black dress with indigo accents was her chosen apparel, it was made with the specific idea of flaunting her legs and bust as the little details made a big impact on everything. Indigo around the bust emphasized her mature curves. It had a deep cleavage, the fabric that covered the breasts was triangular in shape and ending with two thin straps on her firm shoulders, somewhat adjacent from one another to reveal her bust which was probably going to spill out at some point. It was an open back one so her shoulder blades were exposed with indigo patterns over the edges in an overall attractive vision of being totally contrasting with who she was underneath. Just a single red medalion rested between her breasts as a finishing touch.

Her hair was left to freely flow behind her back without any accessories to form her typical image, she instead brushed back her tresses behind her ears and used indigo circular clip-on earrings to finish the look.

Finally the tall blonde man had chosen a black elegant, finely pressed suit consisting of an entirely black dress coat with a few pockets, a burgundy unbuttoned shirt down to the third button, finely tailored pants and on his feet he wore black shoes with a solid platform which made him even taller than he already was. His hair was swept back, neatly combed and some of his bangs framed his forehead in one serious, menacing look that could pierce. The aura around him was one of luxury, confidence with a tinge of cold professionalism and yet a sense of warmth.

"Let's play some cards. I want to win my own money for once." Ravel, who was in her Boost form, wrapped her hand around her brother's shoulder to maintain the illusion of them being a couple. They did get some jokes about that fact, to her dismay.

"Remember to put on your pokerface. So they can't read my pokerface~" Asia chimed in like a bell. She was the first one to take the initiative, she began to walk with the rest towards the tables.

They had used Presence Concealment and a lot of illusions and spells to alter how others perceived them. Good enough to fool any other being in the whole complex.

On one of the tables was Issei drinking some alcohol and on stand by, observing every corner of the place with a careful, systematic gaze in trying to spot anything unusual. Meticulously he analyzed the situation, the number of people and every exit to add in his plan to avoid anything happening to his client. His eyes trailed off towards the nearby girl with blonde hair who he was paid to guard as a bouncer, trying his best not to lose sight of her despite them being actually close. Yet it didn't help much as a female continued to whine about stuff like a pro, drinking away any anxiety she had.

It was none other than the Four Seasons of Death bass player from Norway, a female of considerable height with blonde patches of hair bordering on silverish and clear light blue eyes in a expensive white leather jacket, black capri pants with comfortable shoes and a black t-shirt with a random nonsense print on it. A friend of Hilda but what was quite interesting about her was the fact of her being a Valkyrie, none other than the famed Rossweisse, Odin's bodyguard. And she was getting a bit annoying.

 _"It's about time for the transaction. They should be here any moment now."_ , Issei thought. He was waiting for someone with the suitcase resting between his ankles in a tight grip while he sat and rolled his eyes backwards in worry and some annoyance. He felt quite uncomfortable with so many people around the place, he wanted to run away to a less crowded spot but priorities came first. And such priority was the need for money.

He actually did put effort in trying to look presentable.

For his attire he wore a black dress suit with a pocket on his left breast, the two buttons on the dress coat were buttoned up properly which made him look quite nice in a suit. On the sleeves he had three buttons sewn with the hems of his dark violet dress shirt poking lightly but had no watch on either of his hands. The rest was a pair of shoes which were comfortable to use for running despite their fancy nature, black pants on the tight side adorned his legs and he wore his shirt buttoned up with a dark bow tie to finish the look. But what was most evident was what he did with his hair.

After visiting the nearest beauty salon, the dragon had his hair trimmed, sporting a semi-buzz cut with the sides buzzed off to a comfortable number two. It was still a far cry from Matsuda's complete shaved head by a number one since he wasn't actually bald at all but preferred to have his hair extremely short. The top was left much longer than the sides, sporting styled spiky hair which contrasted with the short sides of his head quite well as a result, something new and trendy even if he wasn't really much into fashion. This new hairstyle gave him an air of confidence in making him look really great as it sharpened his features even more, placing emphasis on his lower jaw and piercing cold eyes in a distrustful, empty gaze of a hundred daggers. In fact, once he did try to put effort in his appearance it made him shine, having him be seen in a different light.

As he sat uncomfortably a vibration made him recoil in a battle ready mindset but it was just his phone. It was a short message given the color of the notification light flashing pure white.

He reached out for his pocket, took out the bumper clad Xperia and checked the contents of the message in relief. His client had responded and asked for his current location since they couldn't exactly find him. Jotting down the exact spot he stood on, he brought back his phone into his pocket and waited for a moment to search through the crowd for a specific person.

 _"Right on time, Bael. You are never late when it's about money, we think alike in that aspect."_ he noticed his client but noticed someone else as well.

She was here too.

Moving through the crowds was a somewhat tall figure around 1,76m in an elegant fancy suit of the black coloration. It only had three pockets with one of them having a small handkerchief that usually went with those suits, buttoned up and sporting a dark blue shirt with a black tie around his neck, being an elegant business suit which could be worn for other daytime activities and gala concerts. The color scheme accentuated on his unnaturally pure white hair like snow and his deep red eyes in the shade of blood were not seen by the rest due to the natural blending skill of Devils, making him appear normal to those who could not perceive him.

He had his hair swiped back and styled into a more tidy look than what he usually sported during his regular activities but he wanted to look nice when going around to business meetings and arrangements. He wore black semi-rimmed glasses with squarish bevels over his red eyes and black gloves on his hands.

All in all he was pale, tall and handsome.

His companion was a young female of around 1,58m in height, with long platinum blonde hair past her back. She had pink tresses at the end of each individual lock of hair, two small braids on each side of her head while the rest was styled into freely flowing sections going past her shoulders. Her complexion was rather pale in comparison to a normal human, soft and mellow European features with gentle red eyes of a lighter shade in comparison to her companion.

Her attire of a black short dress with red accents around the chest and shoulders was carefully picked not to hinder her steps, it was form fitting with the short sleeves forming a thin band that went behind her back, bare shoulders were on display with the front being open to display her bosom in an elegant manner. It had red accents sprawled around the waist in a Gothic Lolita style with laces to form something of a small corset which pressed her breasts up.She chose to wear black dress gloves which reached to her scapula joints,a simple necklace and red hanging earrings. It was a classic dress with a modern touch upon it, her shoes were platform sandals with a criss-cross patern coiling up to the midsection of her legs above the ankles in a matching color.

Soon they reached his table and spotted him when he made his presence recognizable.

The tall man comfortably sat on the opposite side with the gunmetal suitcase placed on the table while the girl sat down next to him with scrutinizing eyes in trying to find something to say as a greeting. But the man got to the talking before she could say anything.

"It's been a while, hasn't it? Do you have what i requested, partner?", he spoke with familiarity when he addressed to the Red Dragon Emperor in a casual friendly tone like they knew each other for a long time. His attention was focused on the suitcase which Issei brought up to the table and rotated to face his way. "You always get the job done rather fast, no?", jokingly he smirked in a satisfied grin that stretched to some amusement and approval.

Issei responded professionally. He punched down the combination on the lock, the suitcase made a click so he slid his fingers on the locks to carefully lift up the cover in revealing two small transparent casings with black padding, color coded signatures over the transparent plexiglass covers in which two red scales with inscriptions rested secured by a thin strap over them. The very same ones he had given earlier to the rest of the unit.

"I guess so. I had time for only two of these, fully customized to compensate for your inability to use most spells of a higher tier.", Issei spoke with a calm tone, bordering on monotonous with no change in his expression taking place while he spoke. He switched to his service provider mode with a complacent look bordering on dullness when he showed them his craft. He did not express pride over it, it was just a tool he made on a whim until he got to the point of upgrading them depending on the needs at hand. "Now you won't have to make people teleport you when you have to go somewhere. And i added a bit of a special touch to them." his voice grew a bit enthusiastic but not enough to be recognized. "So do you have the money?"

In the end it always came down to money for him. Even if his clients had been Devils from the nearest dimension to our own, accidentally passed through the Gate and becoming regular Travelers in the process when they ended up stranded two months before the brown haired Devil with rotten eyes would be turned into a Pawn by the hands of Rias Gremory. They spent a month or two at his place, fought side by side against various things and were probably something closer to friends than most people were to him. So they knew each other enough to do favors when the need rose up. And then a third Traveler arrived on the second month, luckily his Queen, so it was no surprise on how they acted around him.

Then the blonde girl spoke up. "Is that the way you should greet your friends, Ise?", nonchalantly she leaned forward on the table to glance at him with eyes full of expectation. "Oh, a new haircut? You should do that more often, you know. It makes a big difference in how you appear... Seriously, it looks good on you. Makes your eyes sharper." she praised him nevertheless. Her words were delivered humbly with politeness, her regal poise demanded so... Until the moment her real colors revealed themselves.

 _"Don't lean like that. I can see your boobs from here but i don't mind it._ _"_

Issei looked away while being bashful and meek. He wasn't used to praise so it made him feel out of place, uncomfortable so he looked away in a gaze that revealed nothing but an unreachable distance from reality. It felt like a tease because he knew how perverted she was when she was around people with whom she was comfortable. Slightly tilting his head to glance with his peripheral vision he noticed the illustrious glint of perversion burning like a fire in her eyes.

"At a loss of words, eh? I knew you would like this dress and it seems to me", there it was. That dangerous smile of her's in which she showed her lengthy canines whenever she found something to her liking. She had the habit of doing that, something he had learned at first hand experience during their stay at his house. "...that it got you hot and bothered. My, such praise fr-

She wasn't allowed to finish due to a quick jab on her head by the fast hand of white haired Devil delivering a hit to her scalp. The look on his face was one of resignation, it was a habitual response whenever things went like this, always getting frustrating and sometimes creeping him out even if she was his Bishop.

With words full of annoyance, he made her stop because she was disrupting his deal with the Red Dragon Emperor. Likewise, the devilish Dragon considered him one of his best clients for delivering the money on time and being trustworthy on doing his end of the bargain.

"Please excuse her. Mina always does this whenever she can. No wonder you installed locks on the doors...", he was reminiscing something from the not so distant past with an uncomfortable smile, speaking of many things which he would rather forget. "It's good doing business with you. You're more reliable than some people i know." sarcastically with sass behind each word he uttered, the man opened the suitcase to reveal the payment for his request.

All of it in stacks of 100 dollar bills numbering the agreed upon 55k for both suits and some other stuff involved.

No later was the reaction to money shown. The cynical loner squinted in something similar to joy when he saw the money - he was going to pay for the Internet, any bills left and use the rest wisely while replenishing the large amount he spent on trying to pay for the Phoenix Tears used during the skirmish in Munakata. The sound of money was something like a magnet. His disgusting eyes glowed in sheer bliss when he started to count the stacks, his usually melancholic expression gaining a little sliver of life in it when he squinted out of habit as he loved money. He closed the suitcase in a satisfied thin smirk, making a gesture to imply a simple look at the one he presented in a flash.

Money was what made the world spin. No matter what some might have said, any currency was nothing short of a deity since the beginning of time. Those who said they didn't need money to be happy knew nothing about struggling with financial crisis, being hungry and having to make do with a measly meal and how cruel the world was when you didn't have enough money for everything. That was nothing more than simply an ornamented, idealistic delusion since with money you could buy something you wanted to have for yourself. In turn leading to the desired moments of happiness people longed for.

He nodded down frantically, yet serious in his countenance. "It's always a pleasure doing business with you, Bael. And since I'm a good service provider and a courier i have something special in the case.", even if he acted reserved, Issei felt an enormous weight off his shoulders upon receiving the money he needed.

As long as he got paid it didn't matter if it was some drug cartel to bust or a rampaging monster in a city around the globe. He did his job on time, efficiently, planned well to make sure his clients were satisfied as he wanted the money.

From the case he rotated his hands, searched for something he had prepared beforehand for someone else as a sign of gratitude. A white-green beret hat with a turtle shell motif was in his hands, having a small turtle sewn on the right side for the third person which he got to know. He didn't make presents; this a replacement for the one she had lost because of an accident so it felt right to replace it with something new. "This is for Lucifer, i believe it is up to the task as well as fitting in the notion of her love for turtles."

"I think she would. Definitely." the man responded with a nod. It was pretty obvious the person he meant was going to like this one as she enjoyed wearing hats due to some special attachment for them.

Of course, there was a small sheet of paper in the case with a redesigned seal in the shape of two intersected hexagrams in a black coloration, constituted of two layers with the first one bearing Gaap to the South, Amaymon to the East, Belial to the North and Beleth to the West in Hebrew, bearing the four cardinal directions aligned to those listed. It was something that granted passage to those who could not use a circle on their own to travel. It was just an extra insurance of sorts since he had drafted a custom one on one of the suits he was giving. The second layer offered scripture for six spells of varying tiers. And a small spot for keeping weapons in store like a slot.

Issei had worked on this little project of his to incorporate old sigils and seals into varying combinations to achieve different effects. Curiosity drove him further in learning anything new as he was a voracious reader, a knowledge seeker.

"This one I'll offer for a favor or two when i need it in the future." he hated asking for help because it meant someone else was going to endanger themselves for his sake. Even more since it would have meant he had to rely on others, to feel indebted which most certainly wasn't his thing. But if it was offered as a deal then it had value as a barter so he went with that one.

"You know what i want." at that moment his gaze sharpened dramatically. Pure intention blazed into his creepy eyes like an flame that could never be extinguished. The glint in his eyes caught the attention of Mina because she knew what it meant so well. A common ideal, an ardor burning so bright with Eros, the plight of unrestrained sexuality. The eyes of a pervert.

The man immediately understood what he desired. It was an understanding between men, a bond so strong it would overcome any dimensional boundaries that stood in the way. His smirk stretched out to form a wicked smile of approval, sassy and childish at the same time but heartfelt and deep in it's making. He pulled out his phone to turn on the Bluetooth, swept a finger through his gallery in finding the appropriate material he wanted to possess. "You don't hold back, do you? Nothing less from you, Issei. Sometimes i see no difference between you and him." he retorted back with sass, a bit more of stating obvious facts with some glamour behind each word he enunciated with glee and teasing. "Even though you're cold as ice you do show some emotions from time to time."

The charming blonde nudged him on the shoulder while trying to make herself to appear serious but there was nothing to hide behind her glamorous glowing red eyes. She was interested like a small child, she tried to stand up and peek only for the white haired man to move aside to the left, greatly to her dismay. "Damn, you're a jerk. What did i ever do to you?"

Issei said nothing. A simple nod he did with his eyes while his hands fiddled with his phone. The only thing both did in unison was to look away in reminiscence of past events which didn't turn out to be so cool, after all.

"Don't call me by my name at work, Bael. And Carmilla", his voice grew blunt like a baseball bat, metallic in it's timbre with a chill in the way he spoke in what could be said to have been his usual manner of speech. Cold,detached and with no personal names to be used to imply his opinion on the matter of friendship. It was all strictly professional, most of the time."...don't you remind me of that..."

He sent a few pictures of his own in the moment the girl paused to look at him disdainfully. The other man checked through the gallery and he was surprised at what he had received. Some of the things were hard to believe, he questioned himself about a few things but patiently waited for an explanation.

Issei slowly brought back his phone while giving out a short explanation without much difficulty. Only the bare details that mattered. "That's the White Dragon Emperor right there...", he gulped down with a uneasiness when he thought about her but decided to correct himself on how he called her, "or in this case Empress. But that's all there is about her. Sort of a nuisance at times, she can be quite persistent and single-minded once she gets you on her radar.That's Hilda and there is one of Elizalde as well.The other one is Sitri...after her change but i don't want to talk about her." he concluded.

Truth be told, he deleted her number and everything he had of her as he was done with her. She was but a fleeting memory now after everything that went down made him reconsider his position in her life. He was going to respect her wish so he didn't associate with her at all, avoided her every time when passing through the corridor and kept his distance whenever he had to go to the club room with a lot of uneasiness and frustration. It was over, there was nothing more he could do for her other than to provide her with blood every day to get her back on track and deal with the changes. It wasn't his problem anymore, he shaved off a few years of his depleting lifespan to bring her back and her words drove the final nail into the coffin. He had enough.

"I sort of accidentally sent that one to you but don't mind it." he realized he had sent his only female client's picture when his finger swiped over the send button before he recognized what he did. In the back of his mind he called her Ponytail-chan as to avoid saying her name or just used her family name to refer to her for convenience.

"...Charming..." the glasses wearing man muttered under his breath when he looked closely at her picture before placing his phone back into his pocket.

"It could be arranged sometime in the future. I'm sure you'd probably like her if you met her. And get me a pass for your Rating Game. I want to watch and get good data to implement in case i get some obstacles in the future."

The man closed the suitcase before he tried to respond. "You know some rather stylish ladies. And yeah, we Kings get seven tickets to give out to guests of our choice. Have one and two more for people you'd like to invite." he offered him a pass for his upcoming Rating Game in his world which was a week away from now.

Time flowed differently there; namely it was a week before 29th August in there while here it was 12th September, it was a good three weeks and a few days time difference at best which was quite convenient since it offered some possible insight on how things could repeat and with that knowledge to change the outcome.

The Dragon whimsically pushed his suitcase towards him to facilitate the payment, even having printed out an instruction manual on the suits and some of the spells he had scribed on the suit and custom circle. Everything there was to know was written there to make it easier for them to get a hang of it. Some instructions, snarky advice riddled with witty jokes and the like. It was rather colorful and elaborate.

And they exchanged suitcases. Both got what they wanted, everyone was satisfied.

"Just me. No one else since i wouldn't want to get into some stupid misunderstanding due to people mistaking me for your Red Dragon, it's super annoying and i don't feel like dealing with that kind of thing. I'll hide at the corner and nobody would ever know i was there to begin with." he squinted in a reserved manner, knowing that someone there wouldn't see him because even if they did they would have forgotten about him ever existing after he moved away, no trace ever left of his presence as he could get unrecognizable and move past security with ease.

Tired of waiting, much more of being ignored, the Vampire girl scrunched her eyebrows in a frown which she directed at the short haired Devil with rotten eyes, displeased of something he forgot to say. Her hands were laid out on the table as she leaned once more to unnerve him, her chest pressing on the surface as she used one of her hands to act as crutch on her cheek, guiding her gleaming eyes to stare into his. "You skipped my birthday and you said you would come. I even had a badass cake but you didn't show up and it wasn't cool at all, you know?" she further frowned at him.

Clearly he knew what to say, an excuse for his dislike of attending birthdays was being formed in the back of his head at this point. It was pretty simple really. "At that time i was being brutally chewed down by a 20m King Bahamut, lost all my limbs for a moment, had to force myself back to normal and recuperate after it for a few days till everything was back in pristine condition.", of course he lied about half of the stuff. He would never tell them what had really happened with him back then as to avoid any sympathy or pity directed at him. He didn't need any of those but saying a bit about it to act as a plausible excuse was for the best. Him saying that with a straight face didn't make it any better.

Both paused for a moment to register what had happened with him. Then the blonde vampire reconsidered her words, her grimace softening slowly where not a single trace of disdain was left. It was replaced by a soothing face of understanding, her eyes mellowed down to a really nice expression as she had quite the high empathy in comparison to him. She had trust issues with people, something they shared but still they got along well for some reason.

"I didn't know and I'm sorry ab-

He cut her off.

"Don't sweat it, Carmilla. It's no big deal and still... after that stupid game let's have a drink to celebrate. I hate birthdays but drinking isn't one of the things i dislike." he did consider that.

"Damn,why do you always have to flirt in front of me? It's not my thing, feeling like a third wheel." the young man purred with childish glee at both of them, more of a sarcastic incredulity with a tinge of teasing as it was something of a habit for him. He lamented over that fact in more as joke than actually having meant it. His smile did thicken a little straighter while he clutched the suitcase and brought it next to him for safekeeping.

"Don't worry about it", the Devil smirked disgustingly in his own twisted smile of a creep. How wrong was his expression, bordering on a mix of emotionless and expressive in one unnatural mixture of emotion. Even more as a light sense of humor was caught in his tone, that was quite rare for him to joke about things. He was known to be pensive and morose a good amount of the time when people saw him. "you're going to be drinking with us. And it's not flirting", he changed the tone back to monotonous with boring like a name tag, "i don't converse more than necessary so let's end this conversation since our work here is done. If you get drunk I'll knock you out cold as you always requested."

The white haired Devil remembered some of the horrible things that happened after he got drunk last time. He didn't have such a high tolerance to alcohol which at times played pranks on him and horrible stuff happening was a regular occurrence so he avoided drinking a lot for that sole reason.

"Yeah, thanks. We'll be going now. I know how you hate conversations and i guess it's alright after it." he stood up with the suitcase, made a step or two to move away from the table and wait for his companion. He was a King while the younger charming lady was his very own Bishop.

Mina moved away from the table a bit dispirited, she didn't even get to say much during this meeting due to time constraints. Slowly she stood up, let her feet touch the ground and straightened her posture to prepare for their departure.

Issei didn't say goodbye until the moment the white haired Devil remembered about something he was forgetting to mention. "I almost forgot. Have this one for someone you like." he twisted back to face him, fumbling into the inner pockets of his dress coat to pull out a small black case with a transparent cover in which a cyan blue ribbon residing within the casing. It was neatly folded in place, secured by a thin strap and wrapped as a present.

The very same ribbon Akeno Himejima had, only in a different color.

He went back and placed it on the table before the red dragon. In turn, the Devil took out a small cardboard box in black and tossed it to his client with the words, "Give it to someone who needs their ass getting saved. But don't let them get their hands on yours." it sounded so wrong on so many levels but it was even worse when he delivered that bit with a straight face and no change in tonality. A complete pokerface.

"You know, atleast saying my name once or giving me a hug would've been nice." Mina didn't leave yet, she was patiently waiting for him to pick up that detail but he already knew about it. He was hoping she would get bored and leave but it didn't seem to be the case. She crossed her hands under her chest, glanced and blinked a few times around the place until she sighed heavily in resignation.

 _"Oh, whatever. Fine, I'll do it for you but don't you dare say anything about my hands."_

He stood up with trepidation, step by step he went away from the table and next to her, spreading his hands open in awaiting a hug from her since it was what she wanted. It was more of a mechanical kind, not so much out of being a good guy but more of being attentive to what she wanted right now. She did have a tight grip though. With downcast unmoving eyes he waited for her to do it since it was uncomfortable so he btaced himself for it.

"That's better. See, it's no so bad after all." she stepped forward and her hands wrapped around his back in a gentle embrace. It was kinda nice, it wasn't so bad but he knew where her hands would go as her eyes glowed with a perverted glint in a satisfied smile. She gave him a nice squeeze to his embarrassment before they separated. In a twisted way it was their greeting. Completely suitable for the vampire girl and something unwillingly having become an occurrence for Issei. He grew used to it, even if he didn't want to.

"So I'll see you around. Make sure you watch us carefully since we're going to give our best performance." she responded with cheerfulness. And of course with a dirty look, coupled with an alluring, seductive voice she used to express herself when her regal poise broke down to reveal the beast within. Those wonderful eyes glowed back so nicely. It was time to say goodbye for the moment and they would see each other in a week, probably.

Embarrassed, uncomfortable and stoically persevering, Issei's eyes squinted further into a creepy look in which he was saying goodbye but on his mind he was thinking of something else. His breathing was bit strained. _"Damn gracious. I nearly got a boner because of it. I didn't get slack for my sweaty palms atleast."_ , which he sort of hoped stayed hidden. It would have been an even bigger embarrassment since this had happened atleast ten-eleven days ago in club Feria. So the only logical course of action was to take the present on the table within his inner pocket, stay calm and collected to get by.

"It seems it's time to make some good money on the blackjack table. We'll keep in touch so don't you die on me, partner.Send my best regards to sir Mason and the big guy." carrying the suitcase in his left hand while he took the small black box in his right, the red eyed Bael of the other dimension waved back in a jovial manner, putting on some cool pose for the finisher. He placed extra importance on the last part, stressing on the words _don't die_ to encourage him a little. Sometimes it was what everyone needed from time to time.

He gave them one look of appreciation which was quite hard to notice since most of the time his face was locked in one expression. "Don't you die. Otherwise it's game over. Don't break the things and don't lose what i gave you since it means i would have to make some replacements or new stuff.", and he didn't work for free. Both walked on the path of where money led - money went to money. "Good luck, Wilhelmina. Aslatiel. You'll need it." and he turned around to get back to his table to which Hilda was coming over with a few bodyguards as the two Travelers hid into the crowds.

Then a vibration alarmed him. He didn't expect anyone to call him as there was no logical reason to do so. He had done his work and now only had to guard Hilda. He didn't have any expectations, it could have been his battery being depleted. Still he had to check what this was about.

He took out his phone and clicked only to see it was a message. The sender was Blake whom he had asked to crack some stuff for him and he was paying for it. So he switched on the message board and begun to read slowly what he was saying. He did notice there was a file attached to it so he paid attention to the message first.

 _-Yo,Izzy there's something interesting in here for you. I managed to crack some files and while lurking through the data i found this photograph. It seems a bit old, dating back to twelve years ago so i thought you might find it intriguing. And that code you got is an ROT-13 algorithm but i need a bit more to get the full picture. I'll tell you the instructions later so come pass by at my studio._

Finally some development on the code he had received a while ago. He sucked at math but knowing Blake, it was easy for him as a underground hacker under the lovable hobby of a tattoo artist. So he clicked onto the photo and began to analyze it carefully.

It was a photo dating back to 2003 where two females posed together with a small boy and a little girl in a beautiful garden under a big willow tree at sunset. The sun was shining brightly, casting shadows over the children while their mothers stood behind them in relaxed poses. It appeared the women were friendly with each other, that moment having captured a singular smile on the woman with brown hair while the other one did nothing short of an enigmatic, dignified smile that shined so brightly under the sun. She was immensely beautiful with an air of sophisticated poise of an aristocrat, judging by her body language.

Then these two children were no older than eight, the girl seemed younger in comparison to the boy. The detail which caught his attention was the dirty blonde hair and unnatural, yellowish eyes of a snake on both the dirty blonde haired woman and boy. They appeared to be a mother and child, it was easy to notice which clicked with the description Asia had provided him with. It was Diodora Astaroth...

While the girl who waved back in the photo had blue eyes in a light shade, appearing to be spoiled and the kind to get special attention by her mother. But the real deal was her hair. It was crimson red and with those eyes...

In that picture stood Rias Gremory and Diodora Astaroth...

.

In the other side of the complex stood a woman of the age of 23 with long dark brown hair in straight tresses, green captivating eyes with a small mole underneath one, thin eyelashes on her alluring eyes with delicate features, white skin with a minimal tan but nothing extraordinary. The bangs framing her face were shorter than the ones who flowed down past her cheeks while the rest were hanging loosely over her back. A neatly combed fringe stood between her eyes with it being slightly closer to her left eye while some tresses freely flowed around it, parted slightly to the sides. A slender figure with smooth thighs, thin delicate arms and a generous bust. She was the epitome of feminine, a mature and stylish lady clad in a open back dress with white highlights, it was a halter neck with the chest area being cut out to flaunt her figure with a deep cleavage formed by the form fitting dress. It was a short one with white streaking on the sides and she wore mint green earrings and a simple silver necklace around her neck.

Black sandals with a stone on each one wrapped over her heels with two thin bands crossing over her fingers, those were comfortable platform high heels which allowed running unlike most shoes of this variety. She carried a small black purse, devoid of any accessories as simple and clean was the best.

She closed her eyes for a moment, gathering all of her attention into one singular point in the distance. She inhaled a gust of air, emptying her mind of anything else, no power radiated and nothing changed.

Till the moment her eyes opened.

Pure white pits with no sclera scanned through the premises in what was the briefest of moments, searching and locking down onto something. Only two green circles formed on her featureless white eyes at the moment pupils formed in a second. She smiled back at something. It felt so awkward and unnatural until she chose to close her eyes again. Nobody noticed a thing.

"Two months and not even a single word? That's harsh, you know?" she whispered to herself in satisfaction of having found what she was searching for. She casually leaned back onto the nearest wall with a relaxed yet excited expression, mysteriously locked onto a table where a single peculiar man stood with a blonde girl, surrounded by bodyguards. "It's a good thing Hilda owes me for the booze i sent her last time. Time for some fun tonight. Let's see how you'll react to this... Izzy." she chuckled for a moment in reminiscence of the past.

She was here. Cecilia Elizalde was in the casino tonight.

"It seems quite the lucky night, don't you think?"

She chose to stay that way for a moment before she started walking.

XXX


	22. act20

Act.20 Hypnotiq & Bacardi: Sitri Lost

13th September, Kuoh City, Sitri Manor, 13:30 pm

It was another boring day at school for the Sitri Heiress, nothing more than simply doing the paperwork and trying to adapt to her new surroundings. It had been only ten days since she had officially joined Rias's peerage as a Knight by Serafall's idea, it was a week and three days in which she spent time with her best friend, trained herself as far as she could but still...

There was this pitch black abyss she could not fill up no matter how much she tried to suppress her feelings on what happened.

Sona came home earlier than usual, bringing home more of the paperwork she could not finish alone at school as the new Vice President of the Student Council had yet to be elected. Nobody had noticed the disappearance of Tsubaki Shinra and the rest.

Rias had assisted her in the process of erasing the memories of the student body, the whole town and most importantly their very parents... It was one of the hardest things to do as every time she glanced at them she barely withheld her tears from spilling out. It was cruel, so cruel to erase the memory of a parent to save them from the despair of knowing their child was not amongst the living anymore. She would forever hate that day it happened.

Sona went through the front door, had a small walk to the main entrance of her home where she was greeted by her graceful butler Abraham Basset, who assisted her with her bags and left her on her own per her request. Climbing the stairs was hard, each step felt heavy and strained as no matter what she did it was heavy to bear on her own. Rias was trying her best, it was obvious, atleast having made her feel better about herself in finding a shoulder to lean on...

Yet, she could never forget the words she heard, always ringing in her head on repeat.

Soon she reached her room, opened the door and heavily stepped forward towards the bed where she threw away her bag and began to undress before the big mirror on the wall.

She had no mood at all. Her cold, sharp gaze was somehow dull and boring as if it were nothing more than a shadow of her previous self. Her eyes traced back the reflection in the mirror carefully, scrutinizing her form and running her fingers across the black Brand between her breasts in feeling up the three scales it was made of. It felt cold and hard but somehow it had a nice sensation whenever she touched it, she felt immense power that was out of this world. And she felt remorse and fear of the dark pit she experienced upon her death, something she could never describe to another one as she was a Devil and had no soul. Or,rather, it was before her post-mortem conversion upon which she became a Dragonette, not just any regular one but the Red Dragon Emperor himself.

She now had the precursor to the soul, the very essence of an Original Being bringing her closer to the fascinating yet violent human nature of common man.

Tiredly she casted away the shirt and skirt till there was only the black undershirt with seals left on her upper body. It was with short sleeves, exposed her midriff and was just a bit below her last ribs in a skin tight fit over her flesh. She placed her hand on her back and with a few gestures and rotations over the fabric produced the blue seals which flashed once and unlocked the sealing mechanism for her to remove.

She grabbed the crop top- like garment and removed it, revealing a brand new black laced bra with dark violet accents on the sides with a frontal hook she recently bought to fit her new size and threw it on the bed. She changed into a set of form fitting black pantaloons that stuck to her legs finely, placed her undershirt on and put a pink long sleeved v-neck shirt that exposed enough of her ample bust and a white hoodie with pink strings which she left to hang open instead of zipping it up.

She was becoming more and more accustomed to her changed body and actually saw the positive side of it after a while instead of always viewing only the negative aspects. Sure, she couldn't control what she had but if she gained what was her's …it would change so many things. She, like anyone else, experimented with any idea she had thought of about herself until she reached a few good conclusions.

" _This is who i am now. I can't escape it, i accepted what i have become but i could never look at myself in the same light as i once used to... Why am i so cold and nasty? Why did i had to say all of those words, i wonder? Maybe he is right. I'm a cold-hearted bitch."_

To signify her change even more she bought a new pair of black semi-rimmed glasses in a more rectangular shape, left her shoulder length hair to flow freely as it had grown even more to reach past her shoulders now, up to her mid-back but left her bangs as they were. Her fringe was left to hang between her eyes, while the sidebangs framing her face were held by the violent clips Issei had left her with as a final memento. It was no secret she actually liked how she looked like now; long hair and a strong body with great curves made her even more beautiful than she was before. She was the combination of intellect and physical beauty in one tough body and a analytical, pragmatic mind of a tactician.

Yet when she looked around her room she only felt a bitter loneliness, a cold chill in her own kingdom of four walls with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company. The usually bright room with warmth felt cold and abandoned of all presence. She had the impression of being in a den of snow and ice, a lair of memories she did not want to experience again. Her heart might have grown to house and express more emotions than before but her mind was still freezing cold and distant from the emotions which brewed inside her.

Not even her attempts to remain detached nor her aversion to using emotions in her communication mattered whenever she tried to subdue whatever feeling she felt at the moment from making her power go berserk and freeze everything around her.

She feared going berserk again like the first time, it never gave her rest as she never found out what had happened. Only the fact of knowing she could harm those around her mattered.

A knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts for a moment, being followed by the hoarse but respectful voice of one of the workers in the mansion. The voice of a female chimed behind the door with the clatter of utensils on a plate as far as Sona could tell.

"I have prepared a humble feast for you, milady. Mister Basset is currently preparing the table for lunch, which shall be ready in half an hour so i thought you might be hungry and made you a semifreddo and your favorite raspberry parfait."

Sona spoke clearly. "Thank you for your effort, Angela. Please enter." she raised her voice as she went to open the door for the female servant to bring in the deserts that were prepared for Sona.

The maid entered carefully with the plate in her hands, looked around the room and felt rather cold in it as the Sitri Heiress had yet to re-learn how to fully control her magic abilities and use her newfound strength without losing any control. So she was leaking out enough mana for the walls to be permeated with it like a second layer of paint. She left the plate on the work desk and excused herself for having disturbed her peace, clattered with her heels before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

Yet she didn't feel like eating at all. She had a bitter taste in her mouth and didn't seem to be hungry, rather she was pensive and morose in her thoughts as she moved to the bed, threw away the slippers near the bed and hopped onto the mattress with a set of black Samsung headphones and her white Galaxy S6 with the music player clicked and ready. Plugging the headphones into the jack, the black haired Sitri placed the headphones and leaned back to rest with her head on the pillow.

 _"I hated being dishonest with myself. I hated lying but what am i doing really? I should have said something different and now look at what it brought upon us? She was right, you can't live with nothing but logic in your head... But who am i lying? I'm the same cold-hearted, asshole monster and yet i was so ungrateful..."_

 **[9th September, Kuoh Academy, third floor halfway, 12:45 pm]**

 _Sona was walking down the hall on the third floor with a set of documents in her hands, her gaze down to the ground as she strolled slowly on the floor, not paying much attention to her surroundings. There were no people at this time around as class was still not over but she had some leeway in having to print out materials and truth be told she didn't feel like attending class much._

 _Even as she was walking she felt a tug, a presence of something she could not face as she was right now. The very same pain from the resonance struck her in the chest with a minimal glow as reaction to the oncoming source of this nuisance. She knew really well what it was - only taking a glance over the rims of her glasses_ _,_ _Sona noticed the person she had hurt and spurned out of anger walking from the opposite end of the corridor._

 _The way he walked was with a hurried pace, his hands tucked in his pockets with school uniform slightly unbuttoned and with rolled up sleeves. His steps were like those of wanting to avoid getting in the way of someone, being that of a mindful man who avoided any possible physical contact and what was the first thing to notice was how he always looked down at the ground while he walked. His gaze affixed to the floor with no interest in what was surrounding him._

 _It was rough when they passed each other. Not even a glance was exchanged, much less words as they passed each other like a series of road signs nobody paid attention to. Cold, alienated and disregarding each other's existence as one moved to the left while the other took to the right side of the hallway to put distance in between. It was over, there was nothing more to say between them. There was just silence and nothing more than silence._

 _Yet_ _,_ _after some distance was put between them, Sona stopped in her tracks and barely muttered under her breath something different._

 _She was the one to break the silence. "...I'm sorry... I didn't mean what I said back then...", she spoke with a strained voice as if she was struggling to find the right path to redemption. She didn't dare to turn around as she couldn't bear to see those piercing cold eyes of his slice through her core and reveal her vulnerable, fragile self._

 _Issei stood there, lifted his head a bit to stare in the distance but gave her no answer at first. He thought for a moment before he casually gripped his arm to mutter everything he had to say to her. He didn't spare anything in his words, neither did he acknowledge her sincerity as it felt more_ _like a guilt ridden attempt to save face before him._

 _They were cold, both literally and metaphorically, that was what they shared in common aside from the passion of being avid book readers and pragmatic, logical people._

 _"I know... It's not like you to say sorry.", he answered her calmly like nothing had ever happened between them. "What you said was true, i can't deny it. But you know what?", he suddenly put more emotions in his tone to deliver back the words she had said to him, "You're an asshole monster too... I can't believe in you anymore just as you never did believe in me in the first place.", he shrugged._

 _"And it really makes me wonder if i ever gave a fuck about you. Since you never did. So have a nice day... Stu_ _dent_ _Co_ _uncil_ _President S_ _hi_ _t_ _o_ _ri_ _."_

 _He walked away after he said that, leaving the bespectacled girl with a bitterness as black as coffee residue, his words sinking to the bottom of her heart like a downed aircraft carrier. Those words hurt so much, Sona began to walk away ashamed, never turning back as she once again understood the significance of her words and behavior. He clearly knew that she was sorry but out of consideration for her wish of never seeing him again he just left her like that. Still, that harsh rejection brought a single tear to her eye as she realized it was truly over._

 _There was no going back, all of the bridges were burned._

Sona sighed as she curled up her legs and rose slightly to get a better feeling of the soft pillow she had rested her head on. With one hand she pulled on the hoodie over her face while she threw off the semi-rimmed glasses to the left and she made an audible sigh as she continued to listen to the music. More memories began to flash in her mind.

 _On a cold winter night three years ago Sona went out for a walk through the forest nearby her house after the sun had set down. She wore a short black trench coat with a few belts over her pullover and pants as she stepped on the snow with her classic rocker boots in heavy strides through the forest. She was wearing a knitted black and blue beanie and a wine red scarf with frills at the ends, her glasses being fogged due to the cold air and she never bothered to take gloves for herself._

 _The snow was steep but she continued walking further till she reached the nearby bridge over a river where she once learned to practice the Sorcery Trait she inherited from her mother, Lady Gaap from the Gaap Household which was known as the strongest water demon there was along with Forneus. It wasn't that cold as for the water to freeze completely as she noticed from the distance. And there was someone else standing there..._

 _Hurriedly, like her life depended on it, Sona rushed forward with each step bringing closer to that lone figure of a female. The reason was because that girl was standing on the edge of the bridge, ready to make a jump into the icy waters bellow while she was readying herself with one leg to fall down. It was a suicide attempt with certainty._

 _Before that girl could even make the jump, Sona rushed at her and grabbed her arm to stop her from killing herself by jumping off the bridge and pulled her back before it was successful. Of course did she slip on the snow and ice, bringing the girl down with her as both fell down on the frozen concrete with their breathing being haphazard and hitched from the rush._

 _Trying to regain her composure, Sona breathed in and out to relax before she could even start. She was clearly freaked out as the thought of seeing someone die before her eyes was way above anything she could have handled. She never let her go, she was lying on the ground next to her in a tight clutch to make sure she wasn't going to try again._

 _"What the hell would you do that for? Please, don't do it because i know there is someone who loves you. It's not worth it... It's never the answer!", she shrieked in her attempt to talk her out of it as she was struggling to break free._

 _The other girl was a tall one in a white pullover and jeans since her jacket was left on the road to hang on the snow, she seemed much older than she probably was but what stood out were her heterochromic eyes behind the rimmed glasses she wore._

 _She punched her but to no avail, "Let me go! Leave me alone, damn it! What do you know about it? Acting like you know what it's like to be in my place!?", she raged in her frustrations as she couldn't stand up. "I don't want to bear this any longer... Just leave me be... Why does nobody understand me... I don't want to live anymore, it's just so hard i can't bear to live another day...", she broke into tears, sobbing and whimpering as her breathing became rough and her otherwise pretty face became ugly as she belowed in grief and anguish with more resistance against her._

 _"Listen to yourself, i know it's hard. I know it's heavy, cruel and nothing more than me simply being selfish but no matter what... Don't kill yourself. That's a permanent solution for a trivial problem. Your life is not a story so don't end it. Nobody deserves to die because someone would miss you...", Sona was trying everything to make her reconsider. She didn't think about what she was saying, she just said everything that came up to her on the spot._

 _The girl struggled and struggled till she finally gave up and went numb emotionally in a shadow of a smile in recognition. Sona decided to stand up and gave her a hand but didn't let her go even once in fear she might try again. "My house is nearby so walk with me. You're not alone. You were never alone to begin with." she firmly responded with actual warmth behind her words._

 _"Even if you think you are you are never alone... So don't give up. Life is meant to be lived and if you don't have a reason then let's give it one, no?", Sona held her hand tightly and looked at her with pure conviction. "What's your name?"_

 _"M-m-my name... Shinra... Tsubaki Shinra." she introduced herself shivering and her teary eyes glistened once more. She clutched the hand that was offered to her, she felt immense fear of letting go as she didn't want to die but neither to live. She found the strength, rather the hope to cling onto someone to continue. She wiped her eyes off and stated once more..."My name is Tsubaki Shinra and it's a pleasure to meet you, Sona Shitori..."_

Sona sighed heavily as another memory popped up in her head. She was feeling numb to the point of not being able to remember any of these moments without a sense of dread yet it was all there was left of it.

 _In the Student Council office Tsubaki sat on a chair near the desk on which Sona stood, leisurely reading Agatha Christie's Poirot series with a cup of coffee in her hand while the Vice President was reading some small book in English, a compilation of short poems by the English poet William Blake with a small black cup with cats on it. It was a peaceful, leisurely activity with tranquility being the mode that surrounded the room. It was just the two of them since the rest were on duty, leaving only the silence to act as a companion to these two girls._

 _As entranced in her reading as she was, Sona heard a knock on the door that pulled her back to reality as well as to answer the knock in a soft spoken invitation, assuming it was one of the girls of Saji Genshirou who was on patrol. Rather expectantly Sona's eyes drifted towards the door as it was left open and from there entered the grumpy Issei with his messenger bag on his shoulder while he held the strap near his chest. Tsubaki only nodded as a greeting as she was mostly scared and appalled by his presence but was polite enough to acknowledge his presence as to blink twice in saying he was welcome to enter the premises._

 _It was surely another mess he was caught up into so she just ignored any further attempts at socialization._

 _Issei walked towards the desk in hesitant steps since he clearly didn't feel comfortable being here. His face did not grimace but deep inside he didn't want to deal any of the typical lectures the black haired Sitri dished out on him from time to time. Sona didn't try to smile as she made a preprogramed response of staring at him once, dismissed anything else about him and waved casually with no flair in her gestures to make him sit down while she was readying to think up some punishment for him._

 _Instead she took out a small paper cup from the coffee machine behind her, pressed the button of the usual coffee that was purchased and clicked on the sugar level to set it on the max. Within less than a minute the coffee cup was filled to the brim with sweet morning cheer as she took it and left it on the desk before her. It was a rather mechanical action of sorts, akin to that of a machine following the routine as she returned to reading her book she was so immersed in. Issei in turn continued to walk and he took one of the chairs and placed it at a safe distance from both, maybe way too much but he nodded as he took the coffee cup and left the money for it on her desk._

 _Instead of punishment, Sona always did this; she would get a report on his activities, call him to her office and they did nothing but sit there and read books either on paper or through digital copies on their phones. It was like a routine, a usual activity they shared together as avid book readers in peace where after some time she would share things with him and talk as much as possible in being mindful of what to ask. Not that they talked much as his inability to communicate with people always got in the way unless it was twisted to business._

 _All three of them were reading at their own pace in the typical way of configuration - Sona in the center with Tsubaki near her and Issei on the left with a good 5m distance from the StuCo President while they drank coffee or tea. It wasn't much as to say it was pleasant but... it had charm in it._

 _It was another thing they shared together, even exchanging reading material from time to time or discussing stories and analyzing characters they liked and loved to despise_

 _._

 _"Why don't you come a bit closer, Hyoudou?", boringly with nothing a dullness in her tone, Sona invited him to stand closer as she didn't want him to be so far away from her. It was not an act of wanting to be closer, it was more of a practice to gain a better understanding of this peculiar human being she had met a month ago due to some accident of hers during a mission she undertook in Chiba where they came to know each other and she saw some things she shouldn't have._

 _Surely, he could have erased her memories but he found her useful as an ally, a temporary one to finish the job since results mattered the most. And just like that they understood their similarities, she of course didn't quite expect to be able to hold a deep,intellectual conversation with the cynical loner as she knew of his reputation and didn't bother to deal with him at all. Still, she was pleasantly surprised as she found someone else she could trust to the point of fighting alongside as a duo, partners with a single promise shared between them..._

 _One that meant nothing more than being the ones to kill each other if things changed to something hopeless with no salvation to dawn upon the horizon._

 _The loner shrugged it off with annoyance, frowning even a little as he took a sip of his coffee and left it on the ground. It was a hassle but out of some annoying shtick he pulled the chair a little closer, around 30cm closer to her location as even as small as it was... It meant something to her._

Sona felt miserable as she thought about the times she had taken as granted... maybe it would have been different if she showed more emotions and appreciation to her fellow peerage and family. Something in her felt like breaking; she felt this loss she had to bear with in it's full force, she knew how bad she had messed up to the point of no return. Maybe... if she had acted differently it would have had a different outcome? That she wasn't quite sure of.

 _"What am i doing really? Sulking and grieving when i know they're not coming back... But still...", she sighed in dejection, "... I only wanted to be happy. To have someone who would understand me past the facade and stand beside me as an equal. Was it just me being selfish and too prideful to be who i really wanted to be? I wish i was someone else..."_

She closed her eyes once more.

 _Everyone was waiting for the arrival of the Student Council President in her office; Momo, Ruruko, Tsubaki, Reya had prepared something special while Tsubasa and Saji had decorated the room fittingly for this very occasion she always tended to forget. The whole peerage was divided into two rows near her desk while Tsubaki stood before it with a magenta colored box with a black ribbon on top._

 _Sona was hurriedly walking to the office, panting and trying to catch her breath from overworking herself again. She was holding a case with documents and a small bag with food over the case as she continued to rush to her lair. She reached the place in no time with one of her hands reaching for the doorknob and pressed further to enter the room..._

 _"Happy Birthday, Sona!"_ _,_ _those words greeted her as she dropped her case due to the surprise they had prepared for her._

 _Tsubaki smiled back at the stunned President while holding the present box she handed to her without having her being able to say something. Behind her was a fruity birthday cake with candles, made by the girls of the Student Council with a lot of love and care with the words happy birthday written with cinnamon and sprinkles._

 _"I don't know what to say...", she looked around frantically, being unable to keep her pokerface from falling apart as the cracks were evident. She always forgot to mention her birthday and mostly spent the day at home in her room and then with her family which seemed a bit annoying at times. She didn't bother to deal with the documents, instead she smiled fully with a complacent, happy smirk of satisfaction with nothing to hide behind her cold icy stare. Even her eyes mellowed down for a moment._

 _Everyone sung the birthday song as she opened the present they had bought her and looked up with care since it was something she had wanted all along. The bespectacled girl was standing there like stung but she was happy. Yet she noticed something was missing..._

 _"Come on, go ahead. It's your birthday so make a wish, President.", Momo goaded her into blowing the candles of the cake, pushing her forward to the desk where the candles were lit. Sona did as she was told and made a wish as she extinguished the candles with everyone cheering for her. There were claps, smiles and confetti all over the place. It was her birthday after all._

 _"Let's cut the cake and eat it! I want a big one." Ruruko whined at Reya who split the cake with a plastic knife and placed the pieces into fine plates with the biggest piece with raspberries being handed to the birthday girl._

 _She sat down on the desk but noticed something left at the keyboard holder, rather squarish and wrapped in a black cover with a small card dangling on it. She scrutinized this present with meticulous care when she noticed the extremely ugly handwriting, bordering on being nothing short of unreadable hieroglyphs. It was horrid, despicable and hard to read._

 _It was nothing but a small Happy Birthday, Sitri written in English with a small arrow pointing at the cover._

 _As anyone curious about presents, the female Devil unwrapped the paper, dismantled the tape at the sides and in her hands was a rare book with it's original cover, safely secured and presented. And a small locket with an onyx stone in the center with the consideration of matching her hair._

 _"Now that's better...", she whispered to herself as she hid the locket away from anyone interested, but didn't notice how her lips curled into a single smile. It was easy to notice who it was by the extremely ugly handwriting on the card since they didn't bother to show up out of consideration as to not ruin the mood._

Sona stood up with moist eyes as she took out the headphones from her ears, stretched her legs on the edge of the bed with a tiresome gaze to the floor.

She was tired, she wanted everything to end, to pass and continue forward as she was trying but every time she remembered anything about them she felt like she wanted to cry. They didn't deserve this fate, nobody did...

The whole room was cold and flowers of ice formed to create her very own kingdom of ice... A kingdom of isolation where not a single flame could be ignited. She felt the chilling cold rattle her bones and prick at her skin as she noticed that her teeth had changed into two rows of pearly white,sharp and long fangs since she couldn't control it...

Even as she tried to make a single step she was brought to her knees because of the pain she felt that moment. It was burning, it was awful and yet cold as her logical nature was not so much used to show emotions or to feel them even if she had those like every other person. More and more she felt one feeling that brought out more of her darker side. The once cold heart was broken into pieces and reassembled into something with feelings as the thread to stitch it back together. She felt more alive than ever before, something she begrudgingly admitted before herself but to what price? Was it worth it?

 _"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I'm so...sorry."_ she dragged herself to the mirror where she saw her reddened eyes and cheeks. She saw her eyes with tears forming at the edges and she wiped them off with her sleeve as she didn't care for etiquette at this moment. _"I don't care anymore. I'll reclaim myself, I'm going to beat this and I'll get justice for you... But first... I'll make things right with the one who made me like this... It's a promise... Tsubaki..."_

Sona went away from the mirror and headed downstairs to have her dinner, leaving her phone behind but she didn't forget to grab her slippers and glasses. Not that she had an actual use for the latter anymore.

But one thing was out of place. It was nothing else but the very same mirror she looked into before she went downstairs.

Her _reflection_...

It was there.

Frozen within the edges of the mirror. It's face was marred by hundreds of ice blue cyan scales, mighty fangs of pearly white peeked from the lips and her eyes were morphed into cold, ice blue draconian eyes with thin slits in the centers in one delirium induced gaze of mockery. But what was most peculiar of this afterimage was the presence of something that defined her; two big horns were poking backwards from her forehead behind her ears, another set was fully formed from her brows with atleast three smaller sets of horns curving and twisting upwards and backwards over her face with ridges on their edges. The very same Dragon Crest the Nameless One and Albion shared.

The reflection smirked disgustingly in an eerie smile of knowing, subtly looking towards the door with a hand stretched towards in trying to break free from these confines of wood and glass. It wrote the words _**. .VESSEL**_.In blood and ice as it mysteriously honed it's eyes in something deadly, calculating and hungry in the way her focus was concentrated in one point. It was waiting for something. _**WE ARE HERE. NOWHERE TO HIDE.**_

And suddenly as it glanced once more, _Sona_ smashed the mirror as it cracked into pieces with each one showing her real face, torn between the horrid visage with those sickly eyes and the former Sitri Heiress fading away from the mirror to leave only the fractured image of a formless shadow with no discernable features but for a single mouth with human eyes, squashed into nothingness by sharp teeth with red staining them.

A female, eerie smile with blood was the last thing before the mirror was once more. Only the bloody words remained for a moment before they faded into oblivion.

The red lips continued to smile playfully as if awaiting the arrival of it's next prey.

But the smile never faded away….

XXX

There are many moments in life when you would wonder what to do with your life, pondering and mulling over the past mistakes you've made as a result of your choices. But sometimes... What if you really didn't have a choice in all of this? What if you were just a small boat drifting in the ocean with no set coordinates and drifting away through the currents with no destination?

Yet, some would say you always had a choice in the first place. But that's not true, that is nothing more than optimistic bullshit in trying to make yourself feel better about your situation since what more than to do that because you didn't you weren't born with the silver spoon in your mouth?

 _Choices_ _._

Such a peculiar word to describe my own life, I'd always found it funny how people kept telling me i had a choice in matters. But still... I knew that was far from the truth. So,so very far from it because i didn't choose to be alone, i never felt like I had a place to belong where i felt like myself and not as another nuisance, a looming shadow in the crowd of nobodies in the span of life.

They say every day is a segment, every life being similar to a story with you as the main character in your life. Whether it was a sad story, be it a happy one with smiles and confetti it meant only one thing. There was only the ending that was the same, irregardless of how you lived your life. It was the end, the finish line being nothing else than a black coffin 3 meters underneath the ground. It was the natural outcome of every single story there was.

You struggle despite everything. You bleed and cry but for what? Just to make it through another day? What is life in the first place to exact?

That was something i didn't know because... honestly, i never felt like I was actually living my life...

It was plainly obvious for me, it was shown so many times that despite the fact of life being similar to a story, in mine there was no main character. I always felt like i was nothing more than a simple nameless observer of the events around my life happening without me despite being alive and there. I was nothing more than a simple faceless shadow that could only observe what life dished out back at me...

I wanted to be someone.

It didn't matter how much you tried to chase your dreams because they are nothing else but free. Talent? Even if you did work hard enough and believed in yourself it was definitely not a guarantee for success. Rather it was more likely they would say you weren't good enough, try harder, maybe next time and that was it. Maybe if i took a different road would i still be the same? And i wonder was it worth it?

If I wasn't here tomorrow would anybody care? There was no one left to care. I wanted to know if they were happy i was there... Nobody would even think about it. Neither would they lose sleep if i wasn't here anymore because i didn't have anyone who cared about me.

I hoped that someone would miss me but it was nothing but my wish to be remembered. I was a wandering soul with no place to belong, i felt that way. They made me feel that way. The insults, the rumors and the abuse. The negligence, the rejection and the hate. But all there was left was to put on a cheesy smile and act like you're fine. I hated that so much it made me sick to the point of vomiting, pretending, acting like i was a person when i was only existing but not having lived truly even a single day.

It wasn't a life, it was just meaningless existence. That was the greatest punishment for any human being.

I didn't want this but I couldn't do anything about it. After all, I'm not a person. I'm a little, fragile, meaningless soul in pursuit of something impossible.

Let's be honest, what could a nobody like me even hope to achieve when I'm nothing but a small flicker in the endless night sky of life?

The answer was nothing...

XXX

13th September, Milan, Italy, Outskirts, MonBlanc Familia Foundation, 12:23 pm, Friday

It was a normal day in the fashion capital of the world, Milan. Nothing happened much aside from the usual stuff here and there. It was a big, big city where the humble and big MonBlanc familia resided in peacefully in the central part of the infamous place of fashion designers, the football team everyone cheered for and of course a few good hospitals. It was sunny with not even a single cloud on the clear blue sky above our heads yet it was becoming colder with the passing of summer to give place for the autumn to take it's respective position. The leaves were falling all around the place, baring the threes naked for the eventual winter in two and a half months or even less.

It was a pretty normal place in the outskirts where a single peach and white colored house in the modern style stood erected before a small garden with a playground plastered on the right side of the house. It was surely a new house, white was followed after a peachy color on some of the walls with big windows and a circular one at the attic. A big veranda with mahogany wood at the front, a marbled path and big a sliding door as the entrance to the house. All in all it was a place that gave off the feeling of warmth and comfort, an aura of safety and hospitality. It was an expensive place, well maintained and regularly used. It even had a small office and a laboratory of sorts inside.

It was a warehouse, a safe haven.

There on the veranda sat a young girl of the age 19, tall and thin with light blonde hair with the majority going past her shoulders and ending with a small pink bow while her bangs were parted sideways to reveal her forehead with a small fringe that unevenly stood on her face,slightly pointing towards the right side with no other accessories being used. She was 1,73 meters tall with thin legs, well balanced and proportionate but not too skinny. Thin eyelashes, sharp eyes of a very light green with a grayish-green scattering in the center looked at the distance. Supple thin lips with transparent lip gloss, thin eyebrows and gentle features with a rather above average face with mellow features that did not match her expression at all.

Clad in a set of skin tight black jeans and a thin shirt underneath a black jacket, she was sitting on the veranda and drinking tea from a fine porcelain cup with a sugar canister nearby.

The general consensus was that she was charming, hot, stingy and mad as hell despite her appearance being that of a feeble, fragile girl... But the first impression was always misleading or atleast most of the times...

"I see you are late again", she paused for a moment to leave the cup she was about to take a sip from to scrutinize with a look of cold annoyance. She presented herself calmly like a peaceful river, having grown bored with waiting so she went at this place. "Nothing less from you, cousin. But i understand, we are all busy with everything here and there." she finished with a sip of her tea.

Coming from the pathway was the nervous doctor MonBlanc with his own suitcase, dressed in a black pressed suit and wearing his glasses since he forgot the contact lens, walking in a hurried pace with two of his companions falling behind to catch up with him.

Eleanora Florence - MonBlanc, the daughter of his mother's sister, the younger sister of the well respected traditionalist mama Lucia MonBlanc, was greeting him in a cold manner with no smile or anything. She was a bit annoyed which was bad. She was known for her fiery temper among her club mates, earning the moniker the Calamity Queen with no exaggeration whatsoever.

"Ah, yeah...i sort of got stuck and had a call." he apologized politely out of fear for making her feel insulted, she was prone to anger because she was really, really sensitive and couldn't bear insults or jokes. Anything that tarnished her pride and persona made her feel awful so she snapped back in the worst way possible. "I hope you don't mind i brought some friends." he began to walk on the steps to the veranda while he casually gripped one of the chairs and sat down cautiously with his suitcase left to rest on the legs of the chair.

She took a good look and noticed the presence of Castor, to whom she nodded politely despite the reactions the African Major had when he gazed at her, but then her eyes moved onto the girl who was standing next to him annoyed and uncomfortable with the clothes she wore.

"Hmm, don't tell me you brought another gold digging whore at home, cousin.", sharply she spoke with disdain over the notion of another bitch trying to get into their family for the cash and prestige. She dismissively glanced at her once, continuing to drink from her tea at her own leisure. "Auntie Lucia wouldn't be happy at all since you can't find a decent wife so she even proposed to set you up a blind date or to make you a profile at some dating site or something."

The doctor spoke with a small amount of frustration and annoyance over her words as they had struck deep. "It's just an associate of our own. You know what i mean... Plus I'm not into little girls, way too young for a guy like me." he took a cup and a saucer from the nearby table, poured himself some tea and invited the rest to take a seat near this snarky creature.

"I'm not a slut, you rude ass bitch. Just so you know", with spite and hate flowing through her words, the other girl growled with a raised brow in an unpleasant grimace. "We don't have that kind of a relationship between us. I'm more like an _assistant_ , a person with ambitions and goals so that's why i stick with him. It's not like i had a choice, really", she crossed her arms, prideful and arrogant when she sat down on one of the chairs, crossing her legs before the table in the most unlady like manner possible.

When it came to insulting people, Eleanora was the best as she was probably the only one who could get away with most things if she had the intention of doing so. She might have actually enjoyed annoying people.

Both men stiffened at the words she said. If she got triggered it would have been really awful to deal with her. She was the person they definitely didn't want to deal with neither cross her path as she would retort in the most unsettling, nasty way there was. She was a walking disaster for a reason. Even if she appeared nice and sweet.

"So what's the situation at the moment, cousin? How's the little guy doing, Cas?", Eleanora waved a hand through her tresses while she spoke in a soft tone with her frown mellowing down a little when she asked the big man about his son. She knew what had happened and nearly destroyed his ex-wife's house with two 300 m chunks of dirt and rock as retribution for everything she did to him. When she hated someone... She hated them with everything she had in her. Both she and Doctor MonBlanc hated his wife with a passion and multiple times wanted to punch her in the face with one case being the skinny blonde smashing her face in with a kick.

She practically ignored the other girl.

Both men gave looks to each other in trying to decide who was to answer first. It was tense, the atmosphere was a bit heavy as both knew how she was like when she was disrespected or said anything about her family. She wasn't able to stand much criticism with her fiery temper and prideful disposition that could turn off anyone in due time.

But finally the gigantic man decided to sacrifice himself and answer her question with a fake smile.

"He's doing fine, i took him to an amusement park last week. Damian told me he wanted to see you soon and sent his best regards.", soft spoken and gentle, Castor spoke dearly of his son with a warmth behind each word. He was a gentle giant most of the time, nice,caring and helpful but when the need called for it he became unforgiving and merciless to those who dared to hurt his people. "My brother also told me to say hi from him. You know how Michael is, all conversational and sweet." he graciously took a small cup and let the blonde lady pour him some tea.

"It's like before. Only that it got worse a bit, I'd say", now slightly better than earlier, the Italian man chose to word his intentions carefully on how to keep it cryptic and by being vague about what they were talking about. "It's happening, you've probably sensed it already and there's no telling what would happen. But it's **today**...", he grimly spoke with reservation. His gaze sharpened before it relaxed once more to the typically jolly outlook he had most of the time. "I mean, like seriously? It's fuckin' obvious it's gonna be today. I would have if i were them. So we might need your help with this, Eli."

The skinny, tall girl grimaced in displeasure in what could be said to be a bored, weary look of loathe. Then it turned into a really smug, conceited look with one of her eyes closed and her acting all condescending towards her cousin's plea. She crossed her legs and shrugged it off but there was agreement in her eyes that literally said, " _This shit is so annoying but since you asked i guess i can make some time for you"_ , running her fingers through one of the really long side bangs which rested on her chest. "But you must promise me something. No restraint, i do stuff my way just as you do stuff your way. Got it?", she beared her teeth in a pure smile with some vicious undertones behind the words.

The other girl frowned further. "Why isn't anyone telling me anything again? Didn't i agree to join your merry bunch in exchange for your help?", she snarled back and slammed her arms on the table. Frustration and anger flashed over her face with a tinge of confusion lighting up her cold ocean blue eyes in precipitation. She was still arrogant and smug just like Eleanora, after all it was true that both had similarities and it was actually amusing to see this.

Vali was dressed in a white sleeves dress shirt with a frilly colar running down her bust with seven transparent buttons, all buttoned up and neat in comparison to the usual way she flaunted herself (rather, she just wore a v-neck out of habit), secured with a small black tie around her neck and exposing smooth lean shoulders and she wore black leather gloves over her hands with two Caunnan runes. A black criss cross corset and a long skirt of the same shade garbed her form tightly while she wore black stockings and comfortable platform shoes to finish the look.

Over the choice of having to wear the Hamakaze suit or the Virgin Killer dress, she chose the latter as both were things she wasn't usually comfortable with but she had no choice since her Gear and magic, physical attributes too, were chained up and under control so she couldn't even alter the clothes with magic. It was awkward, bizarre and somewhat uncomfortable because it felt too girly for her and she had her own insecurities about it. She had never once wore a dress or overly girly things and much more avoided open back clothes due to the large cross-shaped scar on her back.

Her long silverish blonde hair, which was past her mid-back, was flattened from it's natural messy and somewhat wild spiky appearance to flattened straight tresses with the majority being tied up in a big braid while she had a triangular yellow clip on her right side with the bangs and fringe standing near her left eye and to finish the look she had a red flower accessory placed in her hair.

It was like an entirely new person. She looked rather adorable and due to some twisted sense of humor and need, the Doctor had consciously chosen the clothes and hairstyle for her to make a wish come true - to have a Hamakaze-like girl on the team since she had a big resemblance to the glorious shipfu and Alpha 01 due to the hair.

"Maybe because we don't trust you yet. Isn't it obvious since you're a terrorist scumbag with the Khaos Brigade?", Eleanora Florence never dropped her cool mask, only her eyebrows scrunched down in a hard blunt look she directed at Vali while she faintly smiled like she wanted to kick her out of the table and away from the house. "And you didn't even introduce yourself. Such bad manners, i guess you've never tried to be respectful towards someone." snarky as ever she chewed, "...neither any gratitude shown towards others. Not only are you sitting on my table but to forget about manners?! That's like fuckin rude, you know?", she spoke in English like the rest but with the respective accent of the region, only more snarky and ignoring her presence.

Vali frowned further, defiant and irritated, readying herself with a vocal onslaught rolling on her tongue to snap back but the intervention of Castor, who was usually quiet and spoke only when it mattered, took the initiative to smooth out the situation in avoiding any confrontations as that was the last thing they wanted to let happen.

"Behave yourselves, girls. We don't have to fight over petty squabbles." Castor chose to be the voice of reason, voicing out his opinion non-intrusive and collected, "No need for conflict, Eleanora. She's trustworthy and we have taken measures so don't provoke her needlessly. Vali is sensitive so don't attack her so much.", speaking in a South African English accent with no harshness whatsoever, Castor actually made the aggressive Italian chick back down and let it go.

Not a lot of people could talk her out of things, rather it was rare for her to back down since she was the tenacious type in doing everything till the end. Perfectly. Be it haggling, disputes, trying to kill Issei. It was all the same for her, she was quite the stubborn lady when she put her mind to it.

"…As you wish. I'm only going to respect your decision because you're nice to me.", Eleanora leaned back in her chair and propped an elbow on the arm rest as if she were not amused. "So what's your name, girl? What's your story and reason to renegade on your faction? And don't tell me", she was suddenly nice, "he told you about the _aliens_ , right? That idiot of a cousin always talks stuff about the world he stumbled into and how he knew a guy who was famed for being a Waifu Slayer and shit like that." she lamented.

 _"What's with these eccentric people?! And here i thought Pendragon was an oddball."_

"It's the Wife Killer,mind you. He got his reputation for killing the crazy first wife of his best friend, then the second one and he offed the crazy wife of his other friend who after an year or so was killed by him again since he was a spy from the beginning. How do you think we won the March against Tentacles?" Doctor MonBlanc grunted as he sat back in his chair when he corrected her. He hated falsified and incorrect information like nobody else. Inconsistencies irked him to no ends.

Vali rustled a bit in her seat, asking the tall Major in a low voice, "Are all of them quirky and weird like this?", pure curiosity drove her to question the capabilities of these two since they didn't look the part.

Capable, that is. But then again she would always remember the monstrosity he showed her on that day, she had gotten lucky he had not showed her everything otherwise she would have been insane while being insane in her sanity. She never shook off the mental damage the Juggernaut Drive dealt upon her, she had practically gone mad for days before Albion could divide the momentary insanity she was struck with.

"More or less." Castor said, lamenting on the eccentricity of the whole familia. "I think they're probably the most normal ones from the family and that speaks a lot about them. Hell, Dulio is as much as an oddball as these two are. But they're really just an ordinary family...", jokingly he muttered with a feigned innocence. "That is, if you haven't been to a family gathering... Last year things got really insane but i won't bore you with that stuff."

A tiny, innocent sweet voice chimed in from the door behind them. It was the voice of a little boy no older than twelve. He pushed the sliding doors apart and walked forward to meet the others.

The boy literally rushed into the embrace of Eleanora. Not wasting any time she leaned forward and hugged him as she lifted him to sit on her lap comfortably with a motherly affection. It was kind of heartwarming to observe this small act of compassion and the smile he made in returning the affections she showered him with.

"Big sister, who's that girl over there?", pointing towards Vali with curiosity as he had never seen her before, the small boy snuggled into the blonde when his eyes met the deep blue of Vali. It was something like a defense mechanism from an unknown predator.

"That's just a new friend of ours. She is really shy so she doesn't talk much.", she practically lied about everything. She didn't consider her as anything else other than an unwelcome guest here. "Aiden, dear, would you mind telling me where is sweet Priscilla? Is she doing alright?"

The boy nodded and stepped back on the ground, ran inside and when he returned, he brought a small girl with him. Both of them had burgundy red hair and grayish-green eyes and nearly the same height as they were twins. They were referred as the Gallagher Twins by the vast majority of people. While Aiden had short cropped hair, his sister Priscilla fashioned her tresses into two low pigtails with a pink scrunchie on both sides to differentiate them from one another. They were a part of the foundation the eccentric surgeon had started and the house was his property where he raised gifted children and other less fortunate ones in harmony instead of leaving them at some orphanage.

Both twins then went to Chesare and Castor and hugged them as a greeting. They were so elated to see both of them since they had been busy and hadn't had enough time to visit. All of the children loved them dearly with some preferring the soldier and the others the trickster surgeon but nevertheless; they loved them equally for everything they had done for them. It was no secret that a good amount of the money they earned was being used to maintain this house as each man divided some of their earnings and transferred them into multiple bank accounts under false names for protection. The whole place was surrounded by a complex multi-layer over another two layers barrier of the same kind. It was as though as the modified defenses of Issei's house.

Even if something got past these insane defenses... _Something_ else awaited those who dared enter this house invited or uninvited...

Vali looked at the children dispassionately, not paying them any mind over their cheesy antics. She even went as far as to avert her gaze from them for one simple reason...

 _"Мама! Искам да отидем в парка. Искам сладолед! (Mama, i want to go to the park! I want ice cream!)"_

 _A small girl around the age of eight held her mother's hand as they were walking around the city center of Sofia, hand in hand and_ _they_ _were heading towards the park called Borisova Gradina in which the monument of the Russian soldiers who took part in the Russo-Turk War in 1878 was erected in honor of the sacrifice of all of those brave men who fought for the liberation of Bulgaria. They were walking around the park together, on a sunny day with no care in the world._

 _"Добре, но нека да не закъсняваме. Все пак имам работа за следобеда(Very well, but let's not be late. After all, i have work for the afternoon)", the mother said with a small thin smile on her face, as if she was struggling to find a better reason for something._

 _She was walking down to the nearest bench with her daughter after she bought her some vanilla ice cream and sat down with her comfortably as both leaned on the wooden bench to gaze at the sun. Yet, her face bore a pensive, worrisome look as she shifted her focus towards the marbled floor past the monument of the Soviet Army._

 _"Обещай ми,каквото и да се случи с мен... Няма да плачеш. Защото... Винаги ще съм до теб...(Promise me, whatever happens with me... You wouldn't cry. Because.. I'll always be with you...", she spoke with tranquility in her tone, masking her dreadful thoughts behind a pleasant smile of joy. She pulled Vali closer to herself, letting her rest on her shoulder as looked once more to the endless blue skies above their heads._

 _"Обещавам (I Promise)", Vali whispered when she snuggled into her mother with a neutral expression. Yet there was sadness in her eyes as well as the realization that one day this might be the end. Everything had an end, everything had a beginning but she knew all too well these moments... Every single one of them could be the last time they would share a hug... That she knew all too well to deny. Even if she didn't want to_

"What's your name, miss? Are you friends with big brother?", Priscilla politely directed her question with an innocent, pure gleam in her eyes. Not a single malicious thought was present in her mind when she asked her, even if she did so with caution.

Vali didn't turn. She continued to stare at the distance with an empty gaze before the moment her lips quivered in inexplicable pain over that dear memory she held. The way Eleanora held the children was something that reminded her so much of her dear mother Lyudmila, so much as it stirred her emotions to something fragile and honest. Not a mask of arrogance and cold indifference to hide behind. The real person behind the identity of Vali Lucifer spoke up without thinking.

"Tina... It's Valentina Mayer but call me Vali if you want.", her response was emotional in spite of her neutral look which was not so neutral as of now. Feeble, weak and truthful were her words when she introduced herself. Not as the descendant of the Lightbearer, Vali Lucifer, she chose to follow the side she was shown in which she could belong as she was... As the human girl Valentina Mayer...

Castor nodded in appreciation.

"It's time to go. I can't have Stela substitute me so often or she might bust my family jewels for being underpaid.", Chesare laughed at the mention of his inhuman, inorganic assistant Stella who acted like him and imitated his surgical skills flawlessly as if she was born for that sole reason. "I brought the big guns this time. We'll definitely need them for what's about to happen. It could be in an hour or seven but we gotta be ready. So I'll drop you off at the center and straight to the hospital for me." he finished his tea while holding Priscilla and gently let her step on the wooden veranda as he stood up.

Eleanora eyed him once more and whimsically grinned in one mix of irritation and idiotic laughter as she was ready to snicker. "Are you forgetting something? We haven't done the _calling_. Don't you remember?"

Aiden and Priscilla went together inside, hand in hand to give some space for the adults to talk. When this was called up they were instructed to wait inside and not to peek for anything in the world while they did their thing. Castor followed suit and stood up to stare at his companions to the best of his ability as he was a 1,95m giant in comparison to the eccentric surgeon who stood at 1,72 with Eleanora being taller by 1 centimeter from her cousin and.

She was, in fact, the tallest lady from the four who participated in the 7th Daze club with the loveable Hilda being the shortest.

Vali didn't understand much other than these three staring at each other, it seemed like some ritual or something to her.

Something about it felt different. It was a calling, an indescribable feeling of fear she felt at that moment. Something beyond the mortal comprehension, surpassing that of divine and wretched made her want to run away but her legs did not respond to her will. She couldn't think of running even if she desired so much for escape. Only one thought flashed in her mind; they were doing that thing.

" **Number 5** **.** **The Existence** **Eater**.", the African man's hazel eyes with brownish scattering in the irises lost all color in them, fading away to leave only the ideal, pure white eyes with no pupils or sclera to glow with flames forming around them as a mask. The empty white eyes of certain death, a call to the nothingness of oblivion as everything was burnt away from existence.

Next the surgeon took the chance to announce himself with a lackadaisical, whimsical chesire smile of a jokester. " **Number 6** **.** **The** **Angel** **of** **Death**.", with his brown eyes whitening around the irises to pure white, the pupils erased from existence forever in leaving white orbs to look at the rest, his sclera bursting into myriad of red colors till they settled into one bloody shade with those eyes resembling something no further from an abomination of the highest order. Black mist danced near his eyes with various abominable forms flickering back and forth, with two single purple lines trailing down to his neck like snakes.

Eleanora hardened her resolve, flashing a wicked grin with bared canines at the World in delirium and subtle madness as her eyes twitched into something abstract and different from rational thoughts, stepping into the world of concepts and ideas. " **Number 9** **.** **I** **am** **t** **he** **Calamity Queen!** ", her voice roared with the force of the wind. What were once greenish-gray eyes were nothing more than a pair of transparent organs with the irises turning completely black while the pupils became two singular lines of red as the veins in her eyes glistened with red inside those see through orbs of hers. There was an invisible force field, writhing and wriggling like a sentient being in gathering every single particle of dust in the air to form a semi transparent domino mask of conceptual anti-gravity to display the born she was born with.

The gift of Telekinesis.

She was born with the phenomenon of extra sensory perception as an Ability User, not unlike the owner of the bar they visited. Only that her's was Telekinesis and her Affinity of Air reflected that perfectly well.

Vali couldn't say anything. She just blinked reflexively. She had seen the encroachment of the world and she saw it, she saw it's eye and heard the howls of something…Nothing was there, it was still the same situation with everything back to normal. The world was the same but she knew better than most that it was real.

"Ok. Now we're good. Let's roll." Eleanora clapped her hands without a single care, remaining neutral this time as she took the cups and put a tray to deal with later. It was the command to go now.

Both men acted casually after this small act, it was just another regular thing to agitate the system from time to time for the kicks. Sure, it was fun indeed but scary for the rest. They lifted Vali off her chair and began to carry her since she was still trying to process what the hell had happened, it was too annoying to deal with explanations so they just gave her another tiny peek under the human visages. Actually, it was always fun to do that to people.

"Damn, now we just gotta get Issei on board for today-

The glasses wearing man realized what he had just said by mistake. Something in him snapped, he paused for a moment to gather his strength, remain silent for seconds and just in the right moment, "In one, two, three...RUUUUN!", started running like mad. Actually, Castor started running the same time he did, dragging the helpless Vali with them. Towards the car.

Only one horrible shriek, bordering on murderous, split the air in two. And that being nothing else but...

"ISLEEEYYYY! YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"

They just triggered the hate the Calamity Queen had for the being called Issei Hyoudou. Hell was about to break loose.

XXX

13th September, Las Vegas, Nevada, Caesar's Palace, Casino, 01:15 am

 _"Sometimes i really wonder how did i end up in this mess like it was no one's business? Maybe because it's damn fine for the world to screw up my mood for the sake of it's wicked judgement on a snarky bloke as me. But still... This is no coincidence."_

Issei was having another one of his monologues as he drank from glass hesitantly in big gulps over the sheer brutality of the situation. Having Hilda call him to act as her bodyguard was one thing. But this... No way in hell was it not set up by someone to see his miserable face wince in an awkward grimace of uncomfortable lined with even more weirdness on top of it.

He was sitting on his table, observing the whole place for anything unusual in one calculated gaze of scrutiny, prioritizing his work over enjoyment as he didn't need to play on any of the tables to win some cash since he got his payment from one of his clients for his services. It was all good by itself, if the fact of sitting between two girls with whom he had awkward moments and history wasn't included.

On his left sat Hilda, who was drinking some random cocktail and enjoying the atmosphere like it was an everyday activity for her. While on the right, for some reason in being found out, sat Cecilia Elizalde who leisurely crossed her legs and leaned back to relax and indulge herself in the exquisite mood of money being lost and won over cards.

He really hated it how it turned so awkward for him as he hadn't called even once in these past two months after that moment underneath the umbrella. It was confusing, it was some stupid moment of misunderstood affection that he knew had made her do that. She was quite sensitive and easy to give herself into her feelings on the spot, something he found troublesome but yet admirably honest about her.

And still, he did his best not to stare at the black dress with white accents on the sides in keeping his eyes away from drifting towards the deep cleavage that was displayed.

"Well, how's it going, Ise? You sure took your time in calling me and giving me a response, didn't you?", sly as ever, with an obvious hint of playfulness in her tone, Cecilia casually spoke like nothing serious had transpired with her eyes locking on the new black suit and the nice haircut he had with some secret approval of such change. "And i like the suit. You should seriously consider wearing stylish clothes and doing your hair like that more often. It's quite the nice change of pace given how you always ignore your looks and say that it doesn't matter because you're ugly", she loved to unnerve him at times, taking every opportunity to direct a friendly jab at his style. It was in her nature to tease and annoy him whenever she could as both would divulge into witty banter with arguments being thrown left and right.

Knowing he couldn't win against her, Issei spoke with a calm tone of serenity, always having that robotic, monotonous tone within his manner of speech as he addressed her professionally with not a single shred of friendliness.

"I had things to do, places to be and it doesn't matter how i look because i know I'm ugly and distasteful. So save your silly attempts at cheering me up for later.", not paying any attention he lifted the glass and took a sip of his drink slowly as to make sure it would offer him a few moments to think. A good excuse to leave but it wouldn't have mattered because the lovable Hilda was next to him and drank with no restraint her second glass and he had to be her bodyguard.

After she had enough of her drink, Hilda nodded in agreement over what her friend had said. It was by her indirect persuasion that the rotten eyed man would take up such a drastic change as to get out of his usual look and try something nice for a change.

"She's right, you know? It's a good thing i paid for her flight tickets and the room since i owe her for the booze last time." she concluded her statement by downing the glass to the bottom.

Collectively, the short blonde and the Red Dragon were known to comprise the entity of banter called the Archbishop of Banterbury for their own way of communication and delivering witty remarks at each other like it was some sort of game.

"Well then", the blonde singer merrily began her speech, "I'll go check on Rose and I'll be back in a few minutes. So keep my spot empty of any pests or rabid fans, please." she firmly responded with her standing up and moving away slowly as she headed to the next table to check on Rossweisse who, as usual, was probably drinking out her frustrations despite the wonderful show they had delivered in one of the bigger concert rooms in the whole complex. She moved away, leaving only the feisty dragon and the charming brunette alone.

 _"Sly move, Eugen. Don't think i didn't notice that. Leaving me all alone and throwing me under the bus with this is so like you. No sense of responsibility or tact, it seems."_ he thought in recognition of what she had done. It was plain obvious as day that she left them under a false pretense to leave them alone in order to chat a bit.

So much for subtlety so far.

It was probably going to be some stupid conversation about how things were going, school and such which was something annoying at best with some minor distractions here and there to fill up the pauses in between.

Issei tried to move to put some distance in between them since it had been a little tight while the other girl was around, moving away inch by inch to make it unnoticeable as best as he could to regain his private space. The most important thing for him to have. _Enough_ space.

Still they were actually looking at each other with their peripheral vision flickering back between awkward and uncomfortable. There was a bit of curiosity in what they were thinking as both remained silent, another fact in making the mood feel unnatural. In her presence he always avoided disclosing anything as she would pick that up and use it against him in various ways, as she was the few who could actually make him do things out of his usual hesitancy and slothful disposition for being hard working was a bother and living lazy was the engine of all productive advancements in making life easier. But somehow he felt a connection. It might have been born out of necessity but it was there, no matter how pestering and annoying she was at times.

As to bring an end to this silence the brunette took on the task to strike up a conversation with the cynical loner in clearing her throat in trying to find the right words from the get go. In reality she felt awkward and confused at times but she brushed it off as unimportant. Having the chance to talk was something she wouldn't let slip past her as she was always talkative and vocal despite her cool demeanor in trying to be respectable.

She squinted once or twice before she twisted her neck to look at his direction.

"Are you leading another one of your monologues again? How do you get by with so much thinking i wonder at times?", and to make it even worse she shifted her stance to move a bit closer. "So i want to talk with you about something. Is it alright with you? I know you're not very keen on conversations but i feel the need to talk with someone given how they always forget about me existing."

Unlike the rest, she could not control the ability to make others forget about her, leading to the point of her being forgotten by everyone she met. In her case it was automatic as she embodied the fourth Sephirot on the Tree of Life, namely Chesed which corresponded to the nature of Kindness and Love. It was in tune with her kind and sensitive nature as well as what she felt lacking in her very life. Kindness was the sole thing everyone always forgot about, it was momentarily forgotten once there was no need for it in this cold horrid world of ours.

And it was funny when she always got it right when he was leading a soliloquy with himself since he didn't know how her guess was right most of the times. It was what visibly unnerved him, making him frown in a somewhat pensive, worrisome look at the second mention. He knew her story and reasoning but he had enough problems on his own to deal with. He never gave her a peek at what was going on with his life as it was his concern only. It wasn't right nor did he want anyone to mingle in his affairs as avoiding anyone else getting involved was his primary principle.

"Depending on what you're going to say. If it's something stupid i won't waste my time but why are you here anyway?", asking the first thing he had on his mind, his eyes hardened quite a lot in a distrustful gawk with sharpness as that of a blade. "You might get in trouble if you're near me. So how about we part ways and be on our merry way?", there was nothing more than a frown when his brows arched down in a cold, washed out of emotion face that remained unmoving when he said that.

"Isn't it obvious? Hilda invited me to her concert and i thought", putting up a hand on her chin, trying to bite back with more than enough sassy and whimsical fortitude, Cecilia bared her teeth in a secretive smile that spoke of many things. Her eyes flashed wide and stared back with a hint of irritation at him like she was insulted. "Why the fuck not? I was bored, business at the restaurant isn't going so well so i thought of calling you to do me a favor and here we are."

"It will cost you extra for favors. I don't work for free." he immediately replied. He never did anything that did not involve any benefit for him in the bag, be it knowledge, information, valuable objects or mostly cash. And he loved it as someone who knew what it was like to be in crisis.

"Cheapskate. You'd never get a girlfriend if you're always so finicky about spending cash. No wonder you're single." it sounded more as an accusation than a typical jab at his reluctance. It was not in a mean way but more of the friendly tone she used when dealing with him, only this time it was a straight blow at his nonexistent pride.

"Says the chick who doesn't have a boyfriend at 23. So much for me being single when you're the same fuck as me.", he answered with a twisty smirk of satisfaction at this small victory over her when he harshly responded and retracted his arms from the table to cross them before his chest and take out a blue Dunhill pack from his breast pocket to get his daily fix of tobacco in his system. He pulled out one with his teeth, traced his front pocket for a metal zippo lighter and ignited the cigarette to inhale and sink in the comfortable sofa like it was no one's business.

"So anyways", he pulled out the roll and puffed a few circles, "...what was your request. I think i can manage if i know what you're asking me of. I have my reputation as a service provider so hit me up."

"Ain't you sweet? Always blunt and straight to the point. Fuck it, it's your win alright." she grumbled in defeat. She always had the habit of switching up the theme when things didn't go her way, switching her neutral mask to one of a difference essence. Something honest, something unrestrained behind any other questions and poses. It felt cold and real, the sad gleam in her green eyes was evident when she leaned back and sunk in her seat.

Gesturing for a smoke with her left hand, the sly brunette made some stupid smirk of seductive and flirty when she did not wait to have him pass her one as her hands were already on the pack with one being already set in her thin fingers with a lighter in her hands having sprung from nowhere.

She ignited the cigarette and took a deep inhale to relax in her seat. Her gaze traced back to the other table where Hilda was talking with Rossweisse and sighed in some resignation. She exhaled the smoke and slyly smirked with a sultry look on her face as if recounting something nice.

"I just wanted to talk with someone. That's all there is to it.", dryly she responded after another inhale from her Dunhill. "Those things you said last time made me think about something. So i just thought i wanted to spend some time with someone who didn't treat me as some hot meat to fuck and throw away like a used tissue." her voice sounded somewhat strained but he could easily tell it was hurting by the small gestures she made.

Issei looked down at his feet in trying to match her outburst of honesty.

 _"At times i wonder how did you end up with such bad luck as i did. You are beautiful, graceful and probably a decent girl so why did you ever think of yourself as ugly? This stupid role we have to take in to be a part of society... To fit in a horrible place... I would forever reject it as much society viewed me as nothing more than a simple, disgusting piece of shit. You didn't deserve this."_

"Being lonely and unwanted was never my desire to begin with. I didn't want any of this but what can i do about it? After all, nobody would remember me. Not a single trace or a touch upon someone's heart would i leave... I really wish i could leave a lasting impression on someone." her gaze was distant, cold even as she fell back into reminiscing about her whole life in a flash. "And still... I wonder what was that which made us beautiful. Life, in general, where was the beauty in everything that i sought only to be met with an ugliness so repulsive? It was in the mirror..."

Beauty. What she wanted to be was to be seen as beautiful and to be accepted. To feel kindness, to reassure herself that someone would remember her as they did not exist anymore within the system. In trying to be beautiful she nearly died of the detestable sickness, a horrid obsession with the aesthetically pleasing alure of the physical aspect.

She had nearly starved herself to death because of her desire to be beautiful. She had been a victim of anorexia and bad body image which drove her to such lengths.

"Having to deal with expectations just to feel you belong somewhere is delusional. Unlike me", the Devil spoke clearly and impartial in his response, "you had atleast felt something real. I don't think i ever felt like i belonged somewhere. You have someone who cares about you, a family, friends and something more", his eyes narrowed with a sharpness like that of a blade, his voice as ever monotonous and disinterested as he took another inhale in between words.

"I feel so distant from everything around me. I didn't care about being liked or accepted, i couldn't feel much after what happened with me and then it all turned around. Before it was me doing my job, doing my hobbies with no interruption and searching... But after i was unwillingly transformed into a Devil that peace went to hell. Literally." he concluded with a serious sarcastic sneer at himself. It was so weird when he realized he made that association since Devils were the denizens of hell and he was practically there even before he got turned into one. Such an irony.

"Even so... Why not give a look around you and you'll see it. You might think nobody cares but that's not true because you're needed. We don't get to choose but we atleast get the choice to make a difference in what we do", Cecilia was nice, indeed. But her extreme kindness and caring always irked him and made him recoil in the thought of being something so wretched. It felt fake at times, he knew some of the abilities she received through her own characteristics which were twisted to become anything but kind. Kindness was like a poison, a drug for the junkies and a fragile straw for the drowning to reach out for.

But... It was something that ate away at everything she came in contact with.

"Funny thing when you people need me for the link to flow properly and have the set full", smiling in a painfully disgusting smirk of self-deprecation, Issei made one quizzical look at her in what could be said to be his 'nice' mask, brutally honest in his delivery. "Even if i kicked the bucket... someone else would replace me. I've always looked around and i saw nothing but shadows instead of people. Pretending, lying about themselves to stand out and think they had even a sliver of importance to the rest. Wanting to lead the parade of fakes. So what else could i see other than a single lonely girl among a crowd of faceless spectators before me?" it was obviously directed at her. His intonation, the way his vision flickered and his gestures being made were cutting deep into her, searching for any small chinks in the teasing, sly armor she had crafted herself and clad with.

"You're just scared of being left behind. To be all alone with not a single shoulder to lean on." he didn't look at her. Avoiding her stare was a usual practice of his, in doing so much to put a line between them. No way was he going to burden someone with his problems. It would have meant having to surrender himself to them completely and be dependent on that fickle kindness. He lacked a good amount of empathy, he was Spartan-like in the emotional aspect as he was unable to connect with someone else properly.

He walked alone, he fought alone and helped through the shadows whenever there was a need for it. He didn't go out of his way without there being something in return.

"...Then you're just as scared as i am." the young brunette gritted her teeth but no unpleasant grimace was made. "I really hate that side of you. But i won't judge you. The only thing I'd tell you is this" she took a breath in and extinguished the cigarette in the ash tray. "Why couldn't you just try to see it differently? Would it hurt to let someone in... instead of pushing them away?" she was practically pleading at this point.

Ashamed, dejected he was. His tone faltered for a second, practically whispering at this point what he knew and was proven so many times. "And have them see this horrible thing right here... I would never let you see the ugly things underneath because you would die. The last person that did died and turned into something despicable because of me..." his shakily hands were clenched into fists, disgusted not with how things were but rather with himself. "...and she became a freak like me." he concluded in a low voice.

"Funny thing since we're all monsters, Red. As insignificant and useless we are... Why don't we try to fight back together?" a serious, honest face was her response in trying to give him a shred of hope, no matter how cruel it was. He couldn't trust anyone for real, he didn't trust himself in the first place and coupled with his own awful sense of identity, she knew he would shrug that off as always. Yet, she was willing to try again if it meant once more beating some confidence in his head. "The inferiority you feel is actually a quality of a may grumble a lot, but you know how small you are. And yet you still struggle to reach heights greater than you can imagine." mellowing down, the argentinian girl unbridled her feelings to flow through him as a mental picture, never trying to deny his idea but also to show him an alternative. "That's what i admire about you. You're way too honest and brutal for your own good, people hate the truth and you but... You're real and you don't care about the impressions others have of you."

He didn't let her continue.

"Because i hate pretending to feel good about myself. I hate telling myself how much i envy you people but that's the truth. I hate it how nicely you always treat me as some damn pet." and he took a look at her chest since he couldn't resist that anymore. There were other things at play here.

"It's not that bad! It's nice to be showered in affection!" Having protested rather loudly, Cecilia leaned forward to grab his shoulder and smirk like an idiot in his face with a hot, coy expression in a calculated gleam and luster in her greenish eyes deceptively. She was messing around with him, it was that. No denial on such course of action.

This made him look at her and let his vision trail down from her neck to those breasts of her's that were on display through the dress as she brought her arms closer to her torso and with that motion they were lifted a bit. She had the gal and confidence in her appeal, trying to use female tricks on him to mess around and get a reaction from his non-responsive face once more as she had a habit of doing so. She was trouble, that's why he avoided her.

 _"If you keep saying cool stuff like that i might seriously fall for you and consider taking you for myself. Why do you have to mess up my mood? Damn!"_ , his legs froze in a familiar sensation he knew so well as any other human male in the world did. It was none other than...

 _"Stay down! I command you to stay down, boner! You will not control me, i will make you submit! My dick, my son... Not again, shit. Fuck this shit! First Hilda and now you?!"_

And just like that... he had the weirdest boner at the worst time possible.

However, it brought back the strong revulsion of being touched. The fear of closeness and touch...

 _"You're so disgusting. Don't touch me, you filthy fag. Yuck. Now i got filth on my sleeves." a girl yelled back at him with utter disgust flaring in her unforgiving eyes."_

 _"Please just die. How do you even look at yourself in the mirror? Disgusting... You make me sick... Who do you think you are? You're an ugly freak, stay away from me." another one slapped him back with abhorrent slander and vile looks were directed at his way. Everyone was snickering and laughing when she landed her slap on his face and sneered with bared teeths as if he were radioactive. "You make me sick... Please do us a favor for the sake of everyone and go hide in some pit."_

"Get off me..." he mumbled weakly in protest. Cold,hard and blunt were the words he said in rejection. The worms wiggled for a second underneath the skin but he made them stop in order to calm down and look away in shame.

" **Don't be like that... I know you want it. So I'm all yours**...", faintly he heard a whisper in his ears that could not be heard by anyone else. The voice died out just as suddenly as it spoke. And he knew whose voice it belonged to...

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable." apologetically she responded with concern in her tone. Her timbre was sultry and glamorous but the way she looked away in realization spoke much more.

"You deserve better than this..."

"They always say you deserve better but no one is willing to give it to you." somewhat frazzled and awkward, the dragon had his pokerface on but not quite. A glimpse of his scaled face she noticed but it was way too fast to even register. "People always think they are entitled to everything they have until they lose it and realize how much it made their world better. I would never say i was right, in fact I'm wrong and i know it. However", he squinted while he craned his neck, "what was wrong for someone else was quite the right thing for me. It's all about relativity, we view the world through our own subjective truth since that's how we think. In an anthromorphic way and the truth has many faces. It's all about abstract and that stuff."

"Sometimes happiness is an illusion we require to function in this world. Not that it would be better if we were all snarky and dejected as you are." despite the sickeningly playful tone she used, Cecilia had this mixed with many different emotions look in one comforting lustrous gleam in her green eyes as she ran a finger down her neck. "Being overly skeptical of everything would leave you unable to take even a single step forward. But the solution is to trust someone for a change. There are undeniable facts you can't shrug off with that cynicism of yours, Ise. You just have to believe in someone."

"Who could i believe in when i don't have any faith in myself? Back then i was some stupid kid who wanted to be liked by everyone, to be seen as dependable and respected but i knew it was fake. It was nothing more than a delusional, superficial wish of mine. So tell me, Elizalde" he went on with his professional tone and business face he used while at work,and unsurprisingly, as a general rule when around others or by himself. He grimly nodded in lamentation. "After all, i don't know if it's really _me_ or someone _else_. But one thing i know with certainty; people suffer around me because of who i am so you should go before you get burned."

She bit her lips. She despised that tone he used with her. It was like acid to her sweet persona, a clash of hopeless against hopeful, dreaming and believing in something.

"Then I'll tell you who you are. And don't avoid me because i could help you" she whined.

Now he was making a ludicrous face, a tinge of mockery and disbelief intertwined with an unmoving visage lacking any warmth and life in it. "I don't need help. I can do it on my own but... If i ever need help I'll ask for it since that's the last thing i would do." he coldly concluded with a weary sigh.

"Then believe in me..." her legs felt weak at some point. No longer was she annoying him and acting sly in front of him. This was the real person speaking, sliding off her facade a bit more for her sincerity to show much more than before. That gleam, that luster in her eyes... It was one of hope, it was not of pity nor sympathy but something more. Something inherently nice and benevolent. "Because i believe in you..." she said with utmost certainty in what she was going to say next. No hesitation was present in her anymore.

He picked that detail as he was quite observant of everything, keeping track of multiple things at the same time but he was listening. No expectations did he project onto her but found her trust dangerous. "You wanted to say something? Go ahead because i need to return to work right away."

"Jeez... Now i feel weird about it." she closed her left eye with touching the mole under it in feeling appalled by his perceptive attitude. "But I'll say it!" raising her voice as embarrassment struck her and broke down her cool demeanor, the argentine girl slapped his thigh hard to get back at him, jokingly and giggling like some damn kid.

 _"What the hell are you? Some cringy Umaru or something? Not even that bloke Ferrid Bathory makes me cringe like that! And damn is that series gay as fuck. Not watching season two when it comes out."_

He wheezed in pain upon feeling the hard slap on his thigh but at a lowered damage rate since he had consciously armored his legs with scales underneath the pants. So instead she felt her hand having slammed into something hard and strong.

She did look at his accusingly. Like what did he do wrong now?

The pretty girl shook her hand in the air, as if stung, before she shot another spiteful glance at him.

"Then fuckin say it already, you damn drama queen!" he growled in annoyance.

"Fine! I shall propose you a deal that would benefit us both in the long term." now she was willing to talk. "Since we're both lacking what we need i offer you this deal. We're both detestable fucks and no one wants either of us around. What I'm going to say is-

"Not interested." he cut her off.

"Atleast listen to what i have to say, damn it!" he irritated her with his hasty response. It wasn't like they didn't annoy each other for the sport or because they always ran to each other when they got stuck. "As i was saying", it was a lecturing tone right now. "if by the time of 9 months from now you and i are still single and nobody wants us... We get together. I'd rather go out with you than stay single forever." rather prideful and spontaneously she finished with her offer.

 _"Hey,hey,hey! Why are you making it sound like I'm the least desirable option there is. Oh, wait. I am -100 on the desirability scale so knock it off! You damn..."_

The offer was desperate, somewhat superficial and impossible to even think of. It felt insulting but alluring as well in the same time. But he didn't make promises. He didn't do threats, he delivered promises he rarely made but it meant someone was going to die.

So why wouldn't he accept it? Sure, she was emotional and annoying at times, way too nice and plastic at various occasions but she was kind. She was attractive, charming and still older than him by a few years that could make it awkward but what did he have to lose?

He would lose everything...

"Do you even know what you're saying? Are you right in the head? Did you smoke weed or something?!" flabbergasted, flushed cheeks and the loss of his composure was what he represented right now. It was his ingrained skepticism to believe he could even accept such an offer right off the bat. It was more concern that denial, it would have meant to have expectations.

If you had no expectations you couldn't get disappoint with the final result. No expectations equaled no shattered dreams, no pain and agony over the choices we make.

"I was just kidding, man. Chill out." In an attempt to defend herself of these accusations she played it out as some innocent joke. However, it didn't work out as her face was red with a crimson blush marring her cheeks, thankfully not so visible due to the minimal tan she had. Still she felt insulted by this rejection.

 _"Why didn't i accept this? Because it wasn't going to be something real, it was nothing more than simply licking each other's wounds. And because i didn't think i could actually feel what was expected of me. In a few months i might be dead so what was the point to inflict even more pain than i usually did? Having expectations, waiting for something... I didn't have the luxury for such a thing because it would make me regret everything... I have one thing left and I'll finish it till the end. The only thing left is to pray i manage to do it before my depleting time is over..."_

"Just so you know, I'm not going to be a waiter. I'll do the cooking at the restaurant." batting a single glance of respite, the devilish Dragon made it clear that he wouldn't be dealing with people but didn't mind the prospect of being the second chef at her family restaurant in the capital.

"Very well. Our deal is accepted by both sides so i wish you the best of luck. Don't go around getting yourself a girlfriend before i find a man for myself. Otherwise we'd be stuck together... But i don't mind it, actually."

It was a promise. A good one that could possibly work and all they had to do was trust each other...

It wasn't easy at all. Trusting someone was the hardest thing to do.

"So I'll be going then. Bye bye." she stood up and waved back as she slowly escaped from his field of vision and lost herself in the masses of people...

The only thing Issei did was to smile uncomfortably.

A saddened and painful look was on his face as he drifted into his thoughts for a second. He wasn't smiling out of happiness.

It was a smile of miserable realization.

XXX

13th September, Nagata-cho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Hibiya High School, Park, Friday, 13:45 pm,

It was quite the nice day for a Friday noon, the sun was still up and the leaves were falling on the ground in a multitude of colors. It was peaceful, there was no rain so it was atleast alright since the summer had not yet left and would still stay till the middle of October.

Hibiya High School was quite the prestigious educational facility in the past and present, having a large number of graduates enrolled in the University of Tokyo, one of the best,if not the very best, universities in the whole country with incredibly difficult enrollment exams and a great post-educational realization for it's students in the mainland or in a foreign country. And this high school was the school Irina Shidou once had attended before moving away to Italy before the beginning of the school year in 2008 to live with her mother Avrora Agnellini.

Yuuto Kiba was walking around the park near the school as he had actually feigned sickness and left Kuoh Academy an hour or two earlier and decided to talk the train to Chiyoda for a walk to clear his head from all of the thoughts that plagued his mind. Things had gone somewhat strained in the club but he had noticed how Akeno and Rias were acting - it felt completely different than the usual in a new, fresh way. It didn't feel fake and obligatory, it was something he preferred nowadays than the previous stagnant atmosphere that lurked around the club room where they resided.

He had not received any new assignments from his new master and savior, however, he awaited for his next mission and a call from his female partner with whom he actually had a proper meeting at the roof of Club Feria, more than a week ago. On their first joint operation with the straw haired woman, they had been fed enough information about each other through a memory transference spell as to establish a quick bond between them and assure their mutual compatibility with each other. And after it, he had to rest for a while to heal the wounds he had suffered from that dreadful night his long awaited quest for vengeance had been fulfilled.

His wounds had mostly healed thanks to Asia's work but some of them had not healed enough to return him to his peak condition but he was on his way.

And he could never forget his first time with the buxom Queen, it was what they had needed to feel better about themselves and it was the best, most loving and tender moment they had ever shared with each other. They had went at it for atleast three hours with some breaks in between and did their best to please each other and did many, many things out of lust but he wondered if it was really love at times. He had feelings for Rias he could not express, his memories of Tosca kept his love for her as he could not part with the one thing that made him who he was and still he had love for Akeno as she was there for him and he wanted the best for her.

Even if it meant having to tolerate the detestable Red Dragon Emperor for her sake as he never liked him and actually had hate for him. It was mutual as he knew clearly but if he could help the black haired Queen and return the twisted between love and hate attraction she had for him... then he'd be fine as long as she was fine as she mattered the most to him. More than Koneko, more than Gasper and maybe more than Rias herself at times.

But one thing was certain. The sex they had was great and he wouldn't hold back if another chance arose.

The handsome man was garbed in a black tight fitting jacket with zippers around the chest, gleaming leather with a row of shiny zippers ran across his arms while the shoulders were padded to make the outerwear more comfortable. It had a high colar with a zipper for a hood to be attached as well as two small metal buttons on either side to fasten it. It wasn't long and looked more like a leather blazer over black jeans with some faded areas around the knees and the back, secured by a big belt with a rotating skull belt buckle and he had totally fashioned himself in the color black as he wanted to reinvent himself from the image he had to put up with and so vehemently despised.

He kept the jacket slightly unzipped from which a white v-neck shirt was poking out.

His choice of footwear were some Nike shoes in black and red, comfortable and suitable for sprinting if the need arose. He wouldn't have felt bad if he had ripped them if the situation demanded their sacrifice as they were nothing more than shoes.

But the greatest contrast to the false image of his was the change in outlook and his hairstyle. A modified undercut with shaved sides down to a number three measure, his sideburns were cut under a sharp angle to make them somewhat like a blade, while the bangs before his eyes were cut short and pushed to the sides to make him look more serious and to accentuate on his cold gray eyes and cheekbones. The rest of his blonde hair on the top he cropped down to a more manageable, stylish and easy to maintain haircut with them being rather short and swept up to stand spiky and tidy.

It was his old self he reconnected with, bringing him closer to the past under the support of Akeno Himejima, having approved of this drastic change as it was nothing more than him returning to his roots and reclaiming back the real person under the guise of Yuuto Kiba. He now preferred to use his real name instead of that alias, having made the point to the rest of the Occult Research Club to call him Adam Bernhardt as that was the name he was born with. Everything had changed after he listened to those words he heard on the rooftop bar and he felt different, more alive and stronger than before as he had found something of worth.

His soul was unleashed, freed from the Evil Piece and it brought a change - he had a Mutation Piece as what Ajuka Beelzebub had told Rias at the infirmary.

A Fairy Chess Piece bearing the characteristics of Empress, or also known as a Marshall Piece.

He was now the same like Asia Argento - bringing the number of Mutation Piece users in the peerage to three. And both him, Asia and Issei having their souls untouched by the devilish tool used to reincarnate them. Devils with a human soul were something of a novelty to the point of impossibility if the notion of Demi-Devils wasn't brought up.

And just as he was walking, he noticed a familiar face sitting on one of the benches to the left.

He hurried his pace, practically speed walking at this point to reach her as he was in need of some counseling. So he walked till he reached her and casually spoke up with no tension in his voice.

"It's been a while, hasn't it? Takeyama-san..." Kiba waved a hand at the girl sitting on the bench with a sense of familiarity.

The girl in turn, stopped what she was doing and turned around to greet him with some tension in the way she moved. "Hey, long time no see, tiger. How's the jazz going?", in an elated voice and a pleasant smile, the girl waved back at him and moved a bit to make some space for him to sit on. "Fancy meeting you here, Kiba-san. What brings you to these places around here?" and thus she beamed a few honest gestures that predisposed him to sit down and have a chat.

He glanced at Sayaka's uniform: it consisted of a black pantyhose with a magenta colored pencil skirt with black lines slightly above the kneecaps, a black long sleeved blazer with a colar like that of a business suit with three black square buttons resting on the front, buttoned up aside from two that were left open. From underneath the blazer was a dark violet vest with a rhombus pattern like that of a sweater with a ridged edge on the bottom and a deep v-neck at the top.

It was quite form fitting and stuck to the light violet dress shirt with a black bow tie adorned with dark pink stripes around her neck. And for footwear she just wore some black inexpensive shoes that went along with the color scheme.

If one thing was certain, the color scheme of black and violet suited her really well and accentuated on her pleasant and attractive persona, especially in how the blonde Devil secretly eyed her and approved her look. She might have been a normal human girl but he wouldn't deny she was quite nice and pretty, in a way that reminded him of the charm Tosca had.

She was totally his type, alright. That sexy high ponytail and the general aura she had around her. And something else.

"I was just having a walk, actually. No particular reason." Kiba sat down next to her and leaned back on the wooden bench, relaxing and letting his arms fall down on his lap. Despite trying to smile, what came out was a confusion laced ghost of a smile, thin and cold unlike the fake one he usually gave to people. He intended to be honest and himself, not trying to hold up any expectations she might have had about him. And he suddenly spoke up. "...You know, those words you said back then... You were right about it, and thank you again,Takeyama-san."

Sayaka nodded in recognition but shrugged it off as nothing more than what anyone would have done for someone in a tight situation.

"You don't have to thank me for something so simple, you know?", she raised a brow in some sense of humor that didn't have to do anything with the situation. She crossed her legs and put the messenger bag she had over her lap comfortably and leaned forward, bending with the bag pressed against her chest before curling her lips in a sly teasing smile of a joke.

It made him flinch.

"Maybe, but you see... It's still there, i finally found peace but i still feel empty inside. I just don't know what to do right now", Kiba's face grew to a stripped down, washed up grimace with thinned lips in a confused look. He sat there quietly, thinking and pondering about how he felt and how much he still missed his friends even if he had found a new meaning. He had closed the door and might have opened a new one, however, he hadn't fully opened up that door, leaving it halfway open. "I feel confused, i wonder what i should do now? My friends are gone and they're not coming back but the ones i have at the moment... It might get a little bit challenging, if i might say."

"There are times when we don't know what we should do. And you feel stuck, i assume it's something connected with a girl or two maybe." it was a mere guess on her part, it was a plausible reason so she went with that. "If you want to do something about it, try talking with someone. If you got this far then you should continue, even if it's hard and painful. That's what life is - a big road you need to walk upon. A detour or two won't be a problem."

The blonde Devil sighed in some resignation. "Do you sometimes feel like no matter what you do... It's just not enough..."

Sayaka didn't look away. She only looked down to her feet in trying to suppress that uneasiness she felt inside. But she wasn't someone who hid how she felt, more than anything else she was honest and spoke up in some hollowed out of emotion tone, one that remained cold and somewhat distant. "Sometimes, even when i try so hard it doesn't happen. I know that feeling very well... Because I'm alone. I tried my best in trying to find a place for myself but the truth is that there's nobody in the world who cares about me." the brunette girl rose up to stare at the sky, seeking something invisible that she could not have.

"You see, my parents abandoned me since they couldn't bother to raise another child and thus i was given to my uncle but i don't feel at home..." her countenance went awry for a moment.

It felt quite close to the blonde boy, it made him feel like he could understand her a bit better now. He remained as he was, yet he knew quite well that they weren't so different after all.

"I was an orphan, i don't remember my parents or what happened with them. All i did was try to keep walking but at times it felt pointless. What was expected of me to do? Who was i in this vast world beyond us? I keep asking myself why do i chase after shadows at midnight when there might not be anything. I'm tired of everything, of all these expectations." he spoke in a hoarse, gritty tone that wasn't faked like the usual pleasantries he responded with at everyone. It was his real, unrestrained tone with a sharpness and a raspy intonation that he usually hid from others.

"Nobody expects anything from me. In fact, I'm nothing more than a government child insurance coverage till i turn eighteen and then i won't be needed by anyone." the green eyed girl didn't grimace at that fact. The resignation in her eyes was evident, the acceptance of such a turn of events was unsurprising. Her brows scrunched down to the point of making some morose sarcastic sneer in accepting her fate. "I just love it, i just love everything about myself."

It was bound to happen, she knew she was nothing more than a cash cow and once she reached the legal age she would stop being useful. Her parents couldn't raise another child and didn't want to so they gave her up to her uncle who was usually busy and didn't come home always, as he took her in since the government paid monthy for the raising of a child due to the declining birth rates. Her aunt left her uncle, technically ran away with a flight attendant and it was just them now.

Things weren't better at school either. She was usually alone, sitting on these benches near the park as she had no friends nor was close with her fellow peers. She was an outcast, people didn't notice her at all as she was invisible to them. When people perceived something as slightly different than the norm they shunned and picked on those who didn't fit in. Her family wasn't rich at all, she was doing her best to earn the scholarship to make her life easier and have a chance to enter a good university in the future.

"Why did you want to summon a Devil in the first place?" the grey piercing eyes of the Knight searched for an answer that would have matched with what he had thought in the first place.  
He had the impression it was for reasons like his other female clients so instead of bothering with her request, he passed down the task to Issei since he already had enough clientele to deal with.

"Did you want some hero to turn your life upside down and show off? Some prank to deliver on someone or just for fun?" he didn't hold back at all, he narrowed in his assessment of her motivations in searching for a common reason or it was maybe something entirely different...

Only for her answer to be so far away from what he had expected. Sincere, simple and gentle was the way she looked at him when she turned around, displaying nothing but a tender soul that wanted something more, something different from what she had seen all her life. There was this unrestrained, pure emotion in those melancholic dark green eyes that peered deep into his grey, cold eyes. He saw a glimmer of sadness lit up in her, an unreadable expression of many feelings that hurt him with it's bluntness.

It was totally different. He was wrong about it.

"...I wanted to have something i could call my own...", she averted her gaze in embarrassment. Still, that did not stop the words that came out of her lips like a poison. "I wanted something different in my life, something that could break the routine of the miserable reality i live in. An escape from the stagnant loneliness that feels like forever." she spoke clearly despite lowering it's intensity, bordering down to a soft whisper of a voice so nothing else could hear her wish. She had abandoned all hope for a better day, living in a painful life that she only observed but didn't truly live.

"I wanted it... Just once. Someone who would believe in me even if it was only one person who did. Because nobody ever believed in me but... I w-wanted n-nothing more.. than a... friend..."

Something deep down resonated within the heart of this man - he had stopped for a moment, unable to say a single word as that brutal realization struck him. Regret. He felt ashamed of himself for having ever had those thoughts in the first place, she could see through him like a glass window and still reached out towards him and he denied it.

 _"_ _I a_ _m_ _such_ _a fool... If i only knew_ _._ _.._ _i wouldn't have handed you over to someone who would certainly hurt you. If i just thought for a second, if i just took a better look... How much of a fucker am i to do the thing i hated the most... Judging by appearance."_

The silence sort of unnerved the sophomore as it was quite uncomfortable. It felt austere, awkward as hell like a sterilized room of all of the vermin within it's confines.

 _"Oh my god. Did i fuck up this one?! Why does it always happen to me?"_

"Hey, you got silent all of a sudden. Sorry", the girl responded with actual dissatisfaction directed at herself. Her brooding had returned to form a second mask over the unfurled serenity she had presented him with. As much as to recoil and slowly scale up the distance between them with a few carefully placed steps to put more space between them on the wooden bench. Thankfully nobody had noticed them, since even here, Kiba was quite popular and requested by the girls around the area and in Akihabara he was quite demanded.

"No. I misjudged you, i did something i hate and yet, here we are searching for something." with a cold shrug he dropped down his gawk into a nonchalant, guilt ridden attempt to save face before her.

He wasn't feeling well but he did his best not to let it get to him so he rested his chin on his palms in brooding over, glancing at the falling leaves in a dance led by the wind. "I lost something and i gained something. And still, I'm not content with it because i could do so much more for them. But I'm not sure if I'm up to the task. What if I'm not good enough to make a difference?"

Her response was a blunt look through half-lidded eyes as she pursed gracefully in trying to find a suitable response. Her thin lashes winced, half closing her green eyes in a complacent yet envious gleam in a weary, tired of everything glance. "No one is ever prepared for everything the world throws at our way. No matter how much you'd think you're not good enough... Maybe if you cast aside your doubts you'd see the answer before you. I know it's hard but we don't often get a choice and we still have to keep walking." somehow it sounded painful when she mentioned that.

As if it were nothing more than a self-gratifying lie to reassure herself it was alright. Her hands trembled all of a sudden as her pleasant voice lost all luster and appeal to become a loathsome shrill whisper. "Because you have someone who would miss you even when you're gone..."

Kiba turned around and only stared at her puzzled. He heard that last part due to his superior senses only to find himself feeling heavy. In the back of his mind the blonde Devil acknowledged how much he had now, how much he had people who cared about him despite his flaws. He had people he would grieve for and in return they would miss him while this girl had nothing like that. It felt bitter, the aftertaste in his mouth was a bitter ichor of how unfair it was. How cruel it was for him to try to give a helping hand when he refused to give one the first time. If he had only known better... It might have been different.

"Life is really absurd, you writhe in pain, struggle, fall and rise because it's the thing you're supposed to do." atleast he tried to ease the tension, using a motivation of sorts to accept it. "Sometimes, there are moments that so utterly crush you that you don't think you'd ever be able to stand up again. At times you don't want to rise up, because it's much safer to lie down in a past failure because it's something we already know. They might say that all of the all the misfortune that falls upon us is because of our inability or fault but was it my fault for being abandoned? Was it my fault for not having had a good start? It's not so fuck everything else!" he swore.

It was unlike the pleasant, gentlemanly Yuuto to curse and spit, however, this man wasn't acting anymore. The real man behind the pretty face was much more brusque and lacking restraint than the false image in comparison.

"It's not. We can't control everything, we can only go with the tide because sooner or later you'll go to that road, like it or not. It's easier for pretty people to be liked, accepted and successful since even if you'd say looks don't matter - It's all bullshit. Looks and money matter." she retorted. "But I'm not pretty nor rich so i can't say much about success." she laughed in a hollow self-deprecating mix of acceptance and sheer resolution.

 _"Are you for real? Damn gracious, you look like a shorter Kirasaka without the super long bangs and you think you're not pretty?! That's bullshit! And she's best girl with La Folia."_ Adam fell into a weird feeling of despicable disillusionment.

In his mind it was hardly the truth. Sure, she was a normal girl in every aspect you could think of, lacking confidence and a good image of herself. And her humbleness irked him this time for the sole reason of denying that she was charming and pretty since he was sure many others would say that. He found himself enchanted by the dark green eyes of hers when she made a serious face, he didn't deny it.

"You're parents should have named you Shiori." with gal and confidence he jokingly mentioned the thing he had noticed in her back then. It didn't help much if you took in account the sole fact of him saying it with a straight face.

In turn, she made some coy expression in a calculated gleam, smirking uncomfortably but not enough to unnerve her as she dropped off the bag next to her side.

"Even you had to make that joke about my butt. I knew you were going to say that but sorry. I'm not in love with anyone at the moment so I'll keep it that way." Sayaka cut him off in crossing her arms under her bust and doing that dignified rich lady look whenever they felt their pride being tarnished. It was another teasing smile of sassy and whimsical, it felt like a gust of fresh air seeing her back in the way he remembered her. "Since i don't think I'd love someone else when i don't feel any of that for myself. Atleast i got a great sturdy ass to compensate!" she concluded with a hint of bewilderment and jovial laughter.

It was a joke in her language by having the letters of the name Shiori being rearranged to get the word for the rear region. In all, he just told her something she already knew and made fun of herself as a silly joke.

"Hey, do you like stories?", Sayaka stood up on her feet, leaving her messenger bag on the bench as she stretched her arms and fixed her shirt colar, rearranging the black and pink bow tie.

"I do." shortly without much thinking to fuel his answer, Adam spoke in a collected tone that burst with feelings behind each word he enunciated. "Why do you ask?"

She dusted off her skirt and blazer, seemingly occupied with the act, stretched her legs one by one and searched through the inner pocket of said blazer to take out a brown leather wallet with many pockets and look for any coins.

"Because each life is like a story, centered around your experience and everyday existence. We write only a part of it, the rest is continued by the circumstances and the people we encounter even if we don't want them to be present in the pages, called days and years." something was about to change in the way she spoke. The feeling behind each word felt transparent, the flow of the conversation was going to a different direction. "But... I feel like I'm nothing more than an observer in this typical story of mine. I don't feel like I'm living at all, stuck, frozen in time without a step forward no matter how much I'd tried... It just doesn't feel right.", her hands started clenching into fists and releasing back in a single moment of painful honesty.

Her face lost it's shine, her eyes didn't have that glimmer of life in them like before. It was something deeper, much more painful in it's mixing of emotions. Her gaze diverted from him and she closed her eyes once, taking a deep breath that was like a sigh of exhaustion before she looked down to the ground with leaves and asked a question directed at herself. "You have something i didn't possess and it seems like despite that fact of wanting it. I just don't have it." she was numb. "If i wasn't here tomorrow, would there be someone who would care? I know the answer... Nobody."

"What about Hyoudou? Aren't you two friends?", trying to dissuade her of that stagnant doubt, Kiba asked her straight if she had thought about him as a friend since he sort of pushed her into him as an assistance. It might have been a twisted joke but now he was earnest in his implication.

To that question, Sayaka didn't respond with hesitation or anything else. It felt hollow, the way she spoke was devoid of any lingering emotions as she bluntly answered his inquiry. "As much i as i want to be friends with him, it doesn't seem like we're friends at all. I would liken it to a deal based on a contract between two parties since it's basically that. Yet, i can't deny that even if he's scary... He's someone that makes me feel a little bit less lonely." it felt warm and friendly when she mentioned him, without any disgust or obligation. "And that time i just felt lonely and i was drunk. I don't think either one of us believes in love since we're the same kind of rotten trash." and she tried to smile but it didn't work out quite well. It was fake, it felt deceiving.

He huffed once, moved his hands a bit before changing his stance on the bench, plastering himself in one comforting pose to avoid any strain on his spine. "Have you seen what he is really? Do you even know what you've gotten into because of this?"

"I do know. I've seen a little of it and i was scared. It was so painful, it was something that made me shake from fear to the bottom of my heart." she recounted the first time she had seen the initiation of the Juggernaut Drive a while ago. It did shake her foundations with the only difference of not having seen the full thing which would drive her insane. Because of that she tried her best to keep a distance, he in turn did as well and still, they tried to get along despite the brutal handicaps that followed their contract. "I'm scared, i know i could die any moment. I don't want to fade away without ever having left an impression on someone's heart... If i wasn't here tomorrow."

She turned towards the direction of the sun, putting a hand on her chest before curling her fingers into a fist, shakily holding it as she made a step back. "...If my time was up... I wanted to know someone was happy i was there..." her hand slid downwards away from her chest, falling and shaking back and forth with the fingers released. "If i wasn't hollow, if i was someone else... Then maybe someone would miss me."

She knelt down and her nimble fingers picked up a shriveled, decayed leaf past it's life cycle and she brought it to her face to take a look and nod.

"...At times, i just wish... to dissappear." she sluggishly dropped her hand, discarding the dead leaf from her clutch as it fell down to covered in leaves ground, the wind blowing it away crushed to a pile of other dead leaves. "I-i want to die..."

Kiba felt his heart bleed. Hearing that made him feel so bad he wanted to stop, he felt so conflicted and couldn't dare to look at her as it was something he had clashed before. The absurdity, the futility of the struggle always ended with those wretched words at the end of the day, right before sleep would take place. Hearing those words with such certainty, such unnatural calmness bordering on the lines of numbness made his blood freeze.

The rose was most beautiful right before it was picked.

"Hey, I'll go for some drinks. Wait here for me." the ponytail girl coldly stated before she started walking towards the nearby vending machine around the corner.

He had noticed something on her neck when she fixed her bow tie; at one of the moments she had lifted her arms he spotted bruising and her neck marred with a few black and blue lividity marks she had involuntarily unveiled when she moved around at that moment. Most of them were covered carefully with foundation makeup that could fool almost everyone else but not him, his heightened physical aspects saw through the rouge like glass in recognition of a fact he hated so much as to make his blood boil.

Clear, evident signs of abuse.

XXX

Sayaka was standing at the vending machine around the corner, rustling through her wallet in search of coins to get some juice since she was thirsty. It was an excuse to hide for a moment, to try to fix the holes in her mask that had nearly slipped off her face enough to show some of the real girl behind.

What she stated wasn't on a whim, she felt comfortable around him so she unveiled some of herself in order to help him, to show him she could be trusted and to think about what really mattered to him as he was different from her.

He had something he cared about, she didn't have anything special like that.

She felt mostly apathy towards herself, never considering anything about herself and mostly thinking of someone else. She hated relying on others but didn't mind giving them a hand when they needed one. At times she had a streak of altruism that overcame her own feelings and wellbeing, however, most of the times she felt apathy towards life and didn't wish to place expectations as it would only happen to be another failure of the many.

As she was about to put the coins into the machine, she noticed dreadful steps and the sound of clatter behind her.

Someone she hated a lot.

"Oh, it's the little skank. How's that filthy mouth of your's, slutty Takeyama?", in a high-pitched girly tone a female student of the same school spoke at her in a ridiculing way. There was arrogance, a smug sense of satisfaction lined those words in some jovial, sardonic smirk on her face.

She was a honey blonde girl of average height, a rather slim body frame that implied she was athletic even underneath the uniform. Black eyes that that didn't match with her dyed blonde hair, an attractive face and luscious lips with transparent gloss. The uniform she wore was unbuttoned with a black criss cross camisole underneath the shirt, brand designer shoes and a leather Prada bag was on her shoulder. Pierced ears with multiple earrings, all in different types and a nasty smirk of satisfaction marred her pretty features. She was the typical rich girl that every school had.

She was a pretty girl, popular and well liked around the school, having friends within the upper classes and being the president of the most popular club in the facility. Everyone knew her, the staff adored her as her father was some big shot in the administration and frequently donated a large sum to the school, having influence and fame around the Chiyoda Administration of Welfare.

Yukina Saejima, the daughter of Councilman Ryo Saejima.

And she wasn't alone. Her clique was behind her, laughing and teasingly staring at the brunette girl that was before them. Two girls and three guys, all part of the " _high society_ " of the school with some of them being Student Council members and other club members.

"What do you want now? Leave me alone...", dispassionately Saya muttered as she brought her wallet back into her pocket without facing them. It sounded like a plea, it felt weak and broken with no strength behind it other than animosity as the driving factor.

The blonde girl didn't like that answer, grimacing in displeasure over the fact of this girl not paying any attention to her. It irked her to no ends, like who was this poor bitch to ignore her when she was talking? It only made her vicious smile stretch further. "What do i want? What do i want? Is that how you speak to a friend, Saya?" she feigned the nice tone in trying to make herself seem friendly. There was no doubt that she was smug and proud of herself when she walked towards her direction with a heavy step.

"Just leave me alone...damn it." numb to the point of not caring about anything, the lone girl spoke back with a blunt tone, denying any friendliness between them. She tried to walk away but was barred from doing so by the three guys that circled around her to stop her from leaving.

One of them, the tallest and most handsome of them put a hand before the vending machine to stop her from getting away. He was a tall, slim and lanky guy with a naturally athletic build with an attractive face many girls liked and black hair in a crew cut. The aura of a nice guy surrounded him as a front, when in fact he was a womanizer with a big number of girls hanging around him at clubs and the parties he hosted. The other two males didn't really want to be here but they were pressured to do so by their friends or they would lose their standing and the spot they had worked so hard to get in the clique of the popular.

"Oh, not this time, bitch. You ain't going home till you apologize first." he gritted his teeth in a ugly grimace when he leaned forward to sneer at her. He was quite pushy and annoying, acting like he was the bomb. Flashy, flamboyant and cool for the rest he was but to her he was another idiot with cash and a silver spoon,who didn't treat people right.

The other guys were on the other side, using the typical tactics of a hooligan to unnerve her and barr her way. They muttered cheap whore, slutty bitch and other derogatory terms at her, trying to ruin her already bad mood since the day wasn't the best for Saya. Anything that they did was ignored, the girl with the high ponytail dismissed them casually and took out her hand from her pocket in a clenched fist.

"What the fuck is your problem? Leave me alone, damn it. It's not my fault for your crappy mood today so why don't you chill out, you fuckin' cunt.", Saya didn't stand them at all, she was tired all of this bullshit. She just wanted to go home and continue her work as she had to go to finish what was left around the house. It was going to be another lonely day so she had to get back and make dinner, clean around and read her books to prepare.

"Is that so?", Yukina directed her ire with a snarky, annoyed look as she made a gesture to the tall guy to push her in the vending machine. Anyone who disrespected her was trash that needed to be reminded where they stood on the hierarchy. On the bottom of the food chain. She raised her right hand in a fist and shoved it against her head, landing a punch with strength behind it as she gestured to that guy to hold her still.

He grabbed her hand and pressed her against the glass with no mercy, using his other hand to reach in her other pocket and take out her Sony Xperia Z2, probably the most expensive thing she had as a present from her aunt, only to give it to the blonde ringleader of the group. The rest were bystanders, snickering and smiling like a mob at this display. They didn't mind it, in fact they enjoyed it despite the somewhat troubled faces of a few.

There were other students passing, averting their gazes from the scene as it didn't concern them at all. It was a common thing so much as to not make them bat an eye since it wasn't their problem, it didn't concern them so they strayed away to continue on their way since it was a break. It was common for people in large groups to do nothing as nobody wanted to get under the radar of this punishing squad; out of fear, apathy and possibly becoming a victim themselves.

Nobody wanted to risk themselves and take responsibility, always thinking that someone else would do it and vice versa.

There was nothing more terrible than the bystanders who did nothing and watched the parade.

Yukina grabbed the phone, holding it tightly while the tall guy turned her around to watch, holding her hand so she wouldn't try to do anything or else get hit. The blonde ringleader furiously looked at her with hate filled eyes, malicious and haughty with her hand grabbing Saya's colar and shoving her back to the glass. "Shut your mouth, you filthy slut. Everyone calls you a whore since they say you fucked with Okajima from the upper class. And you gotta pay for what you took from me", threatening and mad, Yukina released her and delivered a strong slap to her face in retaliation for the earlier insult.

Those were all rumours spread by the said guy who was her former boyfriend; a friend of Yukina and her company who told them about it. He was only trying to sleep with her, pretending to be nice and cool and when he tried to force her - she had punched him in the nose and smashed a vase in his face before running away. She had broken up with him but the fucker didn't understand a thing and bloated things, spreading rumors around the school to make her life hell.  
Before, the bullying wasn't as horrible as it was now. Sayaka told herself that she just had to get past it and ignore it since it was a waste of time trying to be liked by these people, everything would be alright as long as she had a golden chance to set up her life for the future. She was insulted for being poor, for being an outcast and because of a personal grudge that the StuCo President Saejima had due to said girl looking better than her and having been in a relationship with that guy.

"This is what happens for talking back at me." enraged, with blazing eyes of wrath, she dropped the phone on the ground and lifted her foot, landing on it with the sole of her shoe and crashing on repeat till the phone broke on the second stomp. She was going to humiliate her once again, it was her pastime to deliver judgement on people she didn't like for a reason or without one.

The poor girl could only stare at her phone in shambles, the present she had received for her hard work left in pieces on the ground. Her cheek was reddened from the slap, it hurt so much and she wanted to cry now. It made her sick, rage and hatred boiled within her at this moment so much as to explode, it was another repeat of the daily abuse she experienced every day here. She would have changed schools but it was hard since it would have been at a point where she would have skipped a lot of lessons and there was no guarantee that she could get a scholarship like here.

So she endured it every day, living with fear every single day she went to school. Just to support herself and make it till the next month.

Everyone else laughed, it made them feel so good as to cackle and smirk, whisper between themselves in satisfaction over what they had done. Yukina felt like she had done a good deed - she had used her authority and her father's influence to get away with practically everything as she always had their favoritism and held a high place in school, even the staff were wary of her.

 _"No more... I'm tired of this, i don't care if they kill me. But no more, i want to go home... Enough is enough!"_

And just like that, the green eyed girl with a ponytail elbowed the tall aggressor who held her arm, kicked him right in the sack and freed herself from his grip.She definitely cracked some eggs. Enraged, humiliated and even if she was weak she couldn't take this any more. It didn't matter what would happen to her,so what if they were many?

Atleast she'd dish out some pain to show them she wasn't going to be pushed around any longer.

Using the key she had hidden in her palm, she slid it between her index and middle finger and clenched her fist hard to hold it, took aim and jammed it right into Yukina's cheek, stabbing her face and punching her at the same time, leaving a bleeding wound underneath her right eye and landing a second punch with her knuckles into her neck.

The black eyed StuCo President coughed in shock from the pain, shivered in fright from the hit before responding with a left hook to her stomach, threshing her hard and fast. She squirmed and folded on the ground with her hands raised to protect her face as the company of the vicious bitch started to kick and stomp her. It was their time to act, nobody would see them since they were outside of school.

"You goddamn bitch! You ruined my face!" the bully yelled at her, wrathful and twisting in pain but she continued to kick her where she saw as she didn't hold back at all.

All of a sudden, a jab connected with Yukina's cheek. The momentum of the punch brought the fist further into breaking her nose completely and a knee struck her stomach as she folded around it like a snapped in two twig. Blood and saliva flew from her mouth but she was given no time to respond as in the next moment she was hurled away several meters from the spot and landed on the ground in a big thud.

The next moment two of the males were brought down to their knees with a flurry of kicks, strategically aimed at the kneecaps and the chin, incapacitating them with utmost savagery as they were kicked away into the wall and crashed down with blood spilling from their lips.

The two girls that were kicking the cowering Takeyama were rammed against the ground, their arms twisted till they snapped like a stick yet it didn't stop. The attacker brought his foot above the back of one only to mercilessly bring it down with superhuman speed, leaving a crunching sound when it connected. Rattling her bones, the leg of the defender twisted a little and for a spinning kick that split the air like a phantom as it was too fast to register with human eyes. It downed her immediately. It surely broke some bones.

The other one got hit by an elbow in the eye, leaving her on the ground where she stood.

And the final offender, well... Two thin pikes solidified into Kiba's arms as he blocked a punch head on, spun around and stabbed the thin needle-like pikes into his thighs without any consideration. It was so fast and unexpected; with a flying kick the blonde Devil smashed his ribs, making him fall down and for the final he dislocated his arms and crushed his wrists for the sake of poetic justice.

No sound did he make as a sideways chop slapped his temple and knocked him down.

They were all dealt with, no mercy was given as Kiba made sure not to kill them but nobody said he couldn't hurt them really bad and break bones.

He knelt down to the bruised and battered girl, held her hand and lifted her on his arms to dissappear into a teleportation circle. He had already secured her bag so there was nothing left to do here. He took the broken phone, retrieving all of the pieces and put them in his pocket.

He had teleported them back to Kuoh, having no intention of letting her continue her day at school. The location was a corner where people didn't come often as he didn't want any observers around to disturb them.

He left the girl to stand on her feet - what he saw was dirtied clothes and several bruises and marks left on her face from the hits she had endured, there were swollen cheeks and she spat from the pain in trying to catch her breath. It wasn't pretty at all, her uniform was ruffled and covered with dust and a few drops of blood he had noticed there on the sleeves.

He tried to give her a hand but she refused it. "...t-they wouldn't... s-st-top now... You just made it worse...", her lips quivered in inexplicable pain over what was going to happen with her. It would only get worse and she couldn't transfer at this point so it meant having to endure the events that would follow. They wouldn't leave her alone.

Kiba clenched his fists in anger, his features twisted into something cold and merciless. He didn't let her see his face but he didn't hide it how weak he felt at this moment. The artificial skin glove he wore on his left forearm was torn; the shining, silver-flesh almagalm of an arm was revealed from the tears in the glove that imitated healthy human skin. He had hit hard enough to damage the cover but he didn't care at all. What mattered now was to make things better.

Despite her rejection, he hugged her against her will in a tight embrace, holding her steady in trying to comfort her as he felt like she was about to cry.

Feebly, really faint was her voice drowned in pain and frustration. It lacked any presence, no spark of life was present in it as she shoved her head into his chest and gripped his back with whatever strength she had left. "I know... I k-know I'm a mess and i-i w-want to be... Someone...", she still tried to remain calm but it wasn't working at all, it was just too much to bear as her voice shivered in dread. It wasn't anything beautiful at all, it was helpless and nothing else other than a deeply seated desperation running through her strained, hitched voice. "I-i...someone that i l-li-like better..."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?!" a cold fury that was mixed with anguish flushed over the blonde man's face like a layer of paint. It was the other part of him speaking, the one that was real and gritting his teeth, he knew what would happen if she had. It was so painfully obvious and he couldn't do anything about it, that was the thing he thought. He subsided his fury and let her stay like that, deciding to ignore his question in favor of silence.

"...i d-don't th-think...I'd make it... t-t-through a-another...day's humiliation...", it was a helpless plea, a hollow shriek and a broken voice of hopelessness.

In that single moment she broke down in bitter tears.

Saya croaked under the emotional duress as her eyes twitched, blinked and her lips contorted to form an ugly grimace with so much pain and hate to even speak further. It was painful, it was miserable and it was nothing more than reality. The reality she was forced to live in and keep going without any choice...

"...Don't stop. Keep walking. We're going home now." Kiba rubbed her back while he looked at some blank point, an empty gaze that held nothing more than a hollow, lacking any emotions luster to the sharp gray eyes like the cold steel his swords were made of. "I'll do something about it. Just get home and I'll handle the paperwork, she owes me one and she'll make an exception this time..."

After a good wait of ten minutes to have her calm down, Kiba led her back to her house through the small alleyways and corners to keep her from being seen by others as he had given her a handkerchief to wipe her tears and treat her face and bruises.

He left her at her house, standing outside with his phone in hand, dialing a number he had received awhile if it were that, he remembered something and why he was going to do this. His eyes were grim, he exuded only coldness of a soulless machine yet so alive and real. He waited for the other party to respond as he braced himself for this plan he had thought of. He could rely on her, he knew they could respond to his request as his benefactor and partner had kept their word and trusted him.

The response was immediate.

 _ **[What do you need me for, Adam? How can i help you, sweetie?],**_ a mature female voice rang into his ear with a sultry, teasing tone.

 _ **[I need a favor from you, Cassie. I want to make the life of a few people hell. Can you do that?]**_ he replied shortly.

He had called the straw haired woman. It meant he was going to do something only they would do. His master and savior wouldn't mind it, as the thing, if it was a person in the first place, granted desires and power to people it found worthy. And with Cassandra Sandmark, it would have praised him for the well done job with the Carmila and Tepes Factions.

He ended the call after he heard what he needed, brought his phone into his jeans and started walking away. He had made up his mind, he was going to do things his way. Not through methods that only glanced over the problem, he was going to do this his way.

Not as Yuuto Kiba, a Devil of Gremory. But as Adam Bernhardt, a human being. Not just any ordinary human being but as the calling of those who had turned their backs on everything.

...He was going to deal with this problem... As a **Betrayer**...

XXX

Power.

What was it really that made someone powerful, i wonder? Was it the sole fact of being in control over something or was it something more than just a concept we created to explain why the weak fell under the foot of the strong?

I honestly believed i was strong. Stronger than anyone i had met in my entire life which was only less than two decades to truly understand the world around me. Not that we could really understand how the World functioned as we were limited in our nature, weak...but we were tenacious. But in reality, i wasn't strong at all in the least. I had power but was it ever enough to change my life? It wasn't.

With all the power i had i fell down due to my own twisted sense of hybris that led me to believe i could do anything as long as i crushed those beneath me. As long as no one stood in my way i was the strongest but...

I was wrong.

I was just pretending to be brave, trying to fight against the odds with every ounce of strength left in my body and yet... I was scared. I hated it, i wanted something more than mere strength. I wanted to have a place where i belonged for i was stuck between two worlds: One of Man and One of the Paranormal as i walled the path that led me to believe in nothing else but my own strength. I was foolish, i couldn't do it alone as i was a lone girl. I so blindly believed in my own strength just to receive a hard slap on the cheek to be reminded that there were things beyond me. I thought that i was a monster as they always told me of being one. That i was no good, that i was weak and nothing special.

I wanted to prove them wrong. They were wrong about me. But i understood how right they were about something. I was just a lone girl trying to find her place in a cold harsh world that rejected me that in return i pushed harder and harder to get back at it.

I don't know what i was doing anymore. But maybe i just wanted to feel the caress of a gentle arm on my back, someone telling me it was alright even when it was not. Maybe i wanted something else all along.

Not just strength... I wanted... To be loved.

But I'm not alone anymore. I found something, it might be wrong or right but it's mine. It felt like i had woken up from a solemn dream and stepped back into reality. The world wasn't so black and white, there was more than one color other than gray. It was so cruel yet so beautiful. Just as darkness was brought upon me from the day i was born...

Then i shall bring them light from the day i understood something i cannot deny any longer, it was the truth that was laid bare before me to grasp and take a hold of. I understand it now...

I was never alone to begin with. So wait till they get a load of me...

XXX

13th September, Las Vegas, Nevada, Caesar's Palace, Casino, 02:16 am

Ravel was playing cards at one of the tables, carefully observing the moves each of her opponents made with such care for even the slightest detail she could possibly notice. The card dealer was purposely trying to prevent her from winning anymore as her winning streak was quite good and she had already won atleast 15k from all of the games she had led but she did lose some money as it was a matter of luck at play.

The card dealer was one of the Devils occupying Las Vegas and a Bishop of the Belial Household, namely one of the servants that Cleria Belial had in stock, making it dangerous for the Phenex Lady to use her **Glamour** on the other bidders.

Riser was nearby her, watching over for any dangers that might lurk around as they had been prepared to fight back this time. Crazy prepared and ready for the next assault from those who would target them. He was always watching every move his sister and her friends made as to make sure nothing bad would happen to them.

Asia and Xuelan were watching next to the blonde girl as her semi-rimmed glasses peered at the gentleman across her, the very one with whom she had the most difficulty. Nobody had recognized them at all, the illusions and Presence Concealment was working quite well but they never let their guard down for a second. Ravel did keep some distance from Asia as she was scared and confused about her - it might have been her imagination but she still kept a distance between them.

Things weren't going well for her. She was getting somewhat nervous and was bound to make a mistake soon, she may have been good at cards since Ruval had taught her how to play as an avid game enthusiast, ranging from the innocent competitions to the bloodiest Rating Game there were.

Yet, Asia was watching until she felt a little tug on her dress. The blonde girl didn't grimace nor react as she knew the source of this disturbance so she kept her cool demeanor in place. And just like that she had an idea.

 _"I need a favor. So can you help us out, Aisa? I did what you wanted me to do earlier and i know what you are... So help me out again, partner?"_

And no vocal response followed.

Instead, time stopped all around her. The people, the music, the lights and anything within the complex was frozen and static in time. Whatever activities that were happening were now stopped in motion with the blonde girl with a ponytail and braids being the only one free from this prison of time. Slowly, the former nun moved around the table with grace, shuffled the cards that were on the table and rearranged them to give her friend a better hand of cards for the next round as things were going bad for her. She even took a good look at the cards of the other bidders and made another plan when she sort of pushed the glass Ravel had on the table and she bended the Chinese Rook to lean forward as to make it seem like she had knocked it.

It was quite the formulaic plan she concocted in less than a minute. But she wasn't in a hurry at all; Time was on her side, after all.

Asia casually strolled around; drank from several cups, twisted people in various weird positions, made someone ready to trip, chopped a little one of the legs of a chair on one of the players to make them fall, moved the hand of another over the breasts of a girl spectating them and took a good look over the seals placed on the exits.

During that moment she scouted around the place for any signatures but found none and when she returned to her spot - time resumed once again like it was supposed to be.

One of the players tripped, the other was smacked by the girl hard and ran away, few tripped down and fell and caused a bit of ruckus. She even made it look all too natural for anyone to suspect.

It was time to reveal the cards as everyone laid them down on the table and the result was ; 4 losses and 2 victors who had to share the money they had won. Ravel, sadly was one of these losers so she sighed in dejection, pushed forward the chips that corresponded to the money she had placed and noticed her glass was knocked down. "Damn it! I'll win the next round, for sure. Just you wait..." she grumbled in defeat, vowing to win the next game with her hoping for a good draw in her favor.

"Then why don't you bet everything on this one, Rae? I can feel it, it's going to be a good game." Asia chimed in near Ravel's shoulder as she had already seen ahead of time the possible draws her opponents had. So she tilted the odds to be in their favor, patting the younger Phenex on the back as she smiled mysteriously but not so much as to raise suspicion.

Xuelan leaned forward to secure the empty glass, not even paying attention to the fact of her dress being quite revealing as she took ahold of the cup and accidentally the men caught a glimpse of her generous bust and it distracted them for a moment, enough to make some of them rethink of what they were going to say. Asia had used the charm and beauty her friend possessed as a part of her plan, resorting to the tactics of having beautiful women around the table to unnerve and break through the stone cold faces of any gentleman who would play against her friend.

"Hmm... Well, why don't we bet everything on this one, ladies and gentlemen? All or nothing as they say." a man with bushy eyebrows, a thick neatly kept beard and strut in a fancy business suit offered in a elated voice, one that expressed his certainty of being able to win this round as he did with over half of the rounds they played. He only raised his brow in acknowledgement of the idea the former nun proposed, being seduced by the sure victory he would claim and by something more.

"And I'm sure that young lady would agree to have another deal, no?"

The other players left, leaving only the blonde bespectacled girl and the rich gentleman with the beard to play as they didn't want to lose the remainder of the chips they had.

"What shall you offer then, good sir?" Ravel spoke in a calm tone despite being unsure of her chances for this round, faking an alluring smile that radiated like a sun and her eyelashes pursed gracefully in trying to use her physical attractiveness to her favor. She tried her best to appear charming and irresistible to lower his guard while she recalculated the chances in the back of her head.

Plans were brewing, possible moves to make were being thought out at this moment.

"A dinner with a lady as lovely as you. And i will treat your companions as well if i am to win." brusque and confident, the man spoke with a clear and cumbersome baritone as he gathered all of his chips and smiled further with a intentional flamboyance to present himself confidently. "And here is my card to my office as we must be polite and introduce ourselves. Manners, i would say."

By the looks of it, this man was quite the high-class and rich businessman type who was likely to work at some office for a big company, as that was the aura around him. When Xuelan took the card instead of Ravel, she checked and noticed the words Maybeline New York stamped on it. He was from the HQ, possibly one of the higher ups there which made her think of something.

 _"Gremory own a series of entertainment industries and shares in Sony Music, recreational facilities all around the globe, real estates and Sitri were all about the health and education industries."_ , she pondered on whether there was a connection. Till a small flash in her mind made her remember something. _"Wait! I remembered. The ones who actually own more than half of the brand were... the Astaroth Household. Bingo!"_

They now had a way to drive out Astaroth and surprise him. They had the idea of using a human to summon them through their respective seal but they didn't do requests as the basis of the modern circles Devils used were a product of the Astaroth Household and their very own could not be used without permission, it was locked and impossible to use to call them. So they had to go roundabout to get him and find out whether they were involved in the culling, instead just being a target of it.

Instead, Asia took the chance and accepted the bet, introducing herself with a feigned interest in the card. "As if my friend is to win... All of your procured cash and 10k on top of it." she curtly responded with a streak of playfulness. She was carefully selecting her words to predispose the competition to let his guard down, make him see them as unassuming and easy prey in accordance to the trap she had already laid in wait.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." for a second she thought about something. Until the moment her lips curled into a subtle smile as she blinked once and only said, " _Beatrice Fairchild_. That's my name."

"Then let us play, shall we?", confidently the man spoke with a soft timbre as he nodded in agreement.

It was the time to play, win or go home with no money in your pockets. The decisive moment was now. Everything was on the line.

Yet, something else caught the attention of the charming black haired Xuelan. Enough to make her turn around and stare.

 _ **"Where are you... I... See you..."**_ she heard a voice...

Immediately, she twisted her neck and rotated to see something that sparked her curiosity. She felt this tug on her shoulder, like something was patting her on the back and calling for her. At the very moment she turned around to see... She wasn't there anymore...

 _Everywhere she looked as far as the eyes could see was nothing more than a forest of black wood. The trees were black and tall, cold and unmoving was the air as nothing seemed to move in this forest. The ground was black and stained with no grass ever having grown there. There was no sound, it was quiet and nothing was there. There was the sky; it was a mix of black and grey, monotonous and dead so far away from reality. Static, unchanging, motionless it was as everything was monochrome and morbidity was all around it. This was somewhere she didn't know..._

 _There was no light nor color existing. It was monochrome, faded and colorless as if all the life had been drained. It was truly a lightless realm, if it was somewhere to begin with..._

 _"_ _ **Come... Come... Come...back home**_ _..."_

 _Xuelan heard the voice again. She couldn't distinguish whether it was a manly or an effeminate voice but she couldn't deny the surreal, ephemeral timbre it had. It was calling her, beckoning her to take a step forward. She was scared, she was confused. She was deathly quiet and couldn't speak at all..._

 _There she saw a house. A house of pure black standing tall with not a single window on the walls, it was like a coffin, grand and huge but devoid of any ornaments and signs. Plain and simple but frightening it was as a domain of something that called for her. There was no exit, the only door was a small black one, made of pinewood and painted black with a small doorknob resting on the right side. The house was squarish, like a block with mist surrounding the complex whenever she thought about it. The only thing she heard was the voice..._

 _It was a place. That she could tell. It was drawing her towards it,she felt the distance shortening as the house was coming closer...or rather, she was walking towards it. She was walking towards the_ _house_ _as something in her ear whispered softly._

 _"You need to go now... It's not safe here... Don't come back... Run.._ _Malakkar_ _."_

 _She closed her eyes in fear and turned her head away from it._

"Lan, are you alright? You don't look good for some reason.", Asia's voice rang in her ears. The Rook looked around and all she saw was the casino room and Asia worriedly staring at her with concern in her eyes.

 _"Oh my god, what was that?! I'm scared. I need to get some water."_ she tried to hide her emotions from spilling but it wasn't as hard to notice because her expression was usually reserved and serious, discipline and calmness emanated from her all the time. So for her to seem so disturbed meant something.

"I-I'm fine... Don't worry about me, i just need a drink, that's all." she put on a fake smile to dispel her worries but Asia knew better than that. Xuelan wasn't a liar; she didn't deny what she felt and always presented herself earnest and truthful but the blonde girl let it slide this time.

She gave her a glass, her very own,to calm down and relax, working with each second ticking away till she calmed down enough.

The game was about to start. In reality only five seconds had passed and she was back at the casino,never having left it in the first place. But she didn't remember anything... or perhaps something else remained in her memories...

Nobody knew what it was...

And thus the game begun as cards were dealt and the time for winning struck again.

XXX

13th September, Astaroth Manor, Underworld, 13:55 pm

The fated day had finally arrived after many tribulations and preparations had been made. This was something that would have never happened before until today, in all of these fifteen centuries since the end of the Second Faction War which took place simultaneously with the Battle of Camlan so many years ago. It was quite symbolic; it was exactly on this day that the conflict had started and ended after so many corpses littered the ground. Until the first iteration of the Devil Civil War at the end of the seventh century and into the eight.

While the Underworld was being wracked with paranoia and civil unrest, the Lady of the Astaroth Household was preparing to depart secretly from her domain, dressed nicely in a fitting Victorian era dress of black and magenta with laces, neatly kept hair with a small clip in the shape of a pike to hold her hair into a single high ponytail while she had some braids going behind her ears and took a pair of black satin gloves to finish the look.

Malina von Astaroth had the servants of her son around her; Lucretia Fabiano carried a small glasses case which she handed to the snake eyed lady with care, slowly opening it to reveal a pair of black aviator shades that would hide the yellowish eyes with thin, snake like slits with a lighter sickly yellow scattering around the slitted pupils of a reptile. Just like her sons, Malina always wore shades to avoid freaking out anyone she knew because people hated their eyes and beauty, as well as the sole fact of keeping their Sorcery Trait a secret from everyone but a few individuals.

"Is it ready, Lucretia? I must depart right away for business." the most beautiful woman in the Underworld spoke with a calm, strict tone that didn't have harshness behind it but more of a presence in everything she said. She placed the shades over her eyes, blinked a few times and took a breath to relax. She was preparing for anything that was going to come at their way and was pretty much there to represent the Devil Council along with Grayfia Lucifuge, to relay their wishes for cooperation and peace as the Council was quite effective and dealt with many problems that Devil society experienced.

The ice platinum blonde Queen bowed down with respect next to her leader,showing professionalism and honesty with her as she took care of them always whenever her son would bring a new one home. She had practically taken her as an assistant,a companion for conversing whenever she felt her guilt and regret overflow from within her.

The other girls from the peerage were standing by in two lines, perched up and acting like guards around the dirty blonde haired lady. They observed the room, every corner, the floor and roof with weapons and magic ready at their side for any assassination attempts on their benefactor. They got along quite well with her as she treated them with respect unlike the rest of the Devils, because she knew how it felt to be scorned and rejected by others.

"Please guard the house while i return. I know you will not disappoint me, Lucretia. So i speak on behalf of the-

She didn't get the chance to finish her speech.

A large thud of steps was heard through the large walls like an echo, booming and rattling with the sound of uneasy and heavy steps on the floor behind the large mahogany doors of the room where they resided. There were some noices, and just then there was the sound of someone falling on the floor.

Diodora's peerage steeled themselves, took their respective positions to form a circle around Lady Astaroth with weapons raised and magic weaving around them while the leader of the Household did not seem impressed in the least. She remained perfectly tranquil with a bored look on her face, having expected such an occurrence happening so she took measures in order to ensure her work from being interrupted.

From the large black doors a girl with elven ears and light hair entered enraged. She had a darker skin tone than most Devils, her hands clutching two warhammer constructs of green energy around her arms while she was still in a black dress that contrasted with her light blonde hair. She was rather small and obnoxious, carrying herself with pride and dignity as she stepped forward to face the peerage with a sour, angered look of hate directed at Lady Astaroth.

Christina Glaysia-Labolas was here to seek retribution for the death of her brother and their servants.

"What brings you here, Glaysia-Labolas? What business do you have with us as to barge in uninvited and disturb the peace?", Lady Astaroth spoke in one relaxed tone and disposition, belying her calmness and patience but there was disdain in her voice for the girl. She tilted her head as her posture straightened to make herself seem casual. "You are in clear violation of the veto enforced by the Council and the Lords of Darkness for gathering with other Devils. What do you have to say in your defense?"

To that behavior Christina reacted in rage as her voice sounded somewhat strained and wrathful in her roar. "Business? You got it wrong, Astaroth! I'm not here for that." she grumbled in anger as her eyes flashed menacingly with a glint of madness. "Where is he! Where is that piece of shit Diodora cause he's gotta pay for what he did?!"

No better words than being consumed by wrath were to be applied to the girl. Her hands were shaking anxiously in spite and frustrations despite the sickeningly arrogant mask she wore as there were tinges of fear lining it. She was scared to some degree but her negative emotions were enough to mask it and keep her focused on her task. She had actually ran away from home and dove straight here to enact her revenge on the dirty blonde haired Devil with snake eyes. From all of the tears she showered her room in rows, her pretty face had puffed cheeks and dark circles underneath her eyes, locked in a delusional glare.

Malina von Astaroth waved a hand at her companions to lower their weapons and move aside as she decided to deal with the problem peacefully through talking. She wasn't in the mood to fight petty battles so she opted for a more peaceful approach but she did hate them a lot. Just like she hated the Bael and Belial families who ruled the Underworld for personal reasons.

"Stand down. I will handle this personally." her eyes behind the shades glowed once as they narrowed with a sharpness like that of a cleaver.

"Your sick excuse of a son murdered my brother! He killed every single one of my servants and now he needs to pay!"

"Oh...", the mother said with a small thin smile. "Is that so? So you think my son did it, i assume? But what proof do you even have when i know what you did to mine?" she started walking slowly towards her. Each step was graceful and elegant; she did nothing more than simply question her with a raised brow in disbelief intertwined with an unmoving visage, lacking any warmth. But something felt wrong about it, something vile and scary hid behind her fair skin. Her lips curled mockingly in a smirk with her never dropping the tranquil mask, which only further unsettled the young girl.

"Don't think i don't know how you uncultured, barbaric runts treated my son and Sairaorg. Misla never deserved this either. Because i know everything you people did to them." she firmly responded with actual venom in her tone, mixing serious with sarcastic into one sneer at her.

"Isn't it obvious? You people are weak and the weak should die. What we do wasn't wrong, we were just giving them a taste of reality." Christina was speaking whatever came first to her lips. She didn't care anymore about anything, her fear was growing weaker as her pride took ahold of her in her prattle about power. "Those who don't have power are useless and weak to us. And your bastard of a son is a prime example of that. Pitiful, weak and disgusting!"

Instead of feeling threatened, the snake eyed woman looked at her with pity.

"So what are you going to do about it, little runt? Are you going to insult us and bash us again? Or you're going to act like a spoiled princess and attack those weaker than you?" Lady Astaroth continued to smile mysteriously as she turned around and ignored her. "After all, what could you expect from a filthy, basic woman who derives her misguided pride out of abusing those weaker than you. What a false sense of superiority,don't you think? **.are pitiful**."

No shame was present in the blazing with rage girl. She couldn't care less about her words. What mattered only was to give them a lesson.

"No wonder you're a laughing stock. After all, you married a pitiful man who had no place in this world." the Glaysia-Labolas girl smirked victoriously with her hammers raised and crossed before her eyes in an X formation in preparation. "What can i say? A disgrace gives birth to another one disgrace. Misla Vapula was such as well." she knew where to strike with her words. She insulted the mother of Sairaorg Bael with a light twisty smirk like it was nothing more than stating facts.

After she was kicked out and exiled, Misla was taken in by her closest friend and her husband to live with them in the Astaroth Household alongside her son to protect them from the backslash and animosity the Bael Household held for her as a failure. Even now Misla lived here with her son despite the fact of him being recognized as the heir to her husband's family. They were practically like family here and Sairaorg was treated as a child of the Astaroth and Eligos, and this insult would not be tolerated.

The raged girl with elven ears cracked another smile, growing larger in it's sickeningly foul constitution by tenfold. Nothing but pure, unadulterated hate swam across her eyes with her power spiking further through her body as to cover her with makeshift armor over her limbs and torso, simple and crude but strong and durable with transparent green plates formed through her Sorcery Trait.

She gathered enough venom in her tone to deliver something cruel, something disgusting that no person would have said that and spit on the dead." It's good that fucking Eligos died like a dog on the rope. A failure and a freak in one romantic story? Everyone can be strong? Pfft, such bullshit. You people make me laugh. Even now they're the same" she laughed in delight.

It was the last straw. Even if she intended to end this peacefully, Lady Astaroth found herself baring teeth in an unsightly, savage look of noble and enraged at the girl who dared mock her beloved husband's memory and humiliate her family. It was enough, no more would she stand this verbal assault on the dignity of her loved ones. She was used to being underestimated, insulted, reviled and despised but to have them be seen as nothing more than failures was unacceptable.

"Like father, like son. You're nothing but an exaggerated Councilwoman and a snake eyed freak." she finished with pride everything she had to say. Christina felt visibly relieved, enlivened and so haughty and eager to prove the notion that the title Most Beautiful Woman in the Underworld was nothing but a fancy plate and the achievements of the mathematicians of her House were nothing but mere copies and stolen from humanity.

Something snapped in Malina's mind. She did not make a move nor did she stop smiling; she had the same twisted smile her son Diodora always plastered on his face, sarcastic through her rage and yet she felt nothing but pity for her. Lady Astaroth twisted her neck a little to the left, unflinching and undaunted, declared with a clear voice. "Christina Glaysia-Labolas, hereby i declare with the authority of the Devil Council and Lords of Darkness, your privileges and high-class status revoked for infringement of the veto and for spreading false information. All of your benefits procured through the Rating Games and your achievements are to be distributed to those less fortunate than you and you are demoted to a Low-Class Devil. Enjoy your time serving Misla, bitch!~"

Now did the resemblance show in it's full glory. The guise of a trickster, the sheer marvel of a magnificent bastard and a riddle lover was presented. As they say - like mother, like sons.

Frightened, losing herself in wrathful hate that held no boundaries, Christina left out any reason behind the door and glared at her like dead meat for belittling her royal birthright and pride. No longer was she standing still, her arms and legs shivering and her teeth clattering in unleashing her vengeance sworn onto the woman who dared to deny her authority and show respect to the daughter of a Demon Lord.

"You fuckin' bitch. I'll kill all of you till there's not even a single drop of blood left!"

Her energy constructed armor begun to grow in strength; spikes and spines begun to knit and jutting out from the plates, an armored skirt formed before her legs and pauldrons with spikes blazed across her limbs with blades of green shifting like razor blades across the surface. A bladed colar formed around the nape of her neck, two sets of green wings spewed like flames from her armor to clad her Devil wings in armament to slice apart with ease. A helmet in the shape of a canine skull with large fangs clad her face with two patches of teeth acting as a girdle to protect her mouth and nose.

She was going to prove why the name of her ancestor was associated with carnage. Glasya-Labolas, the president of Hell and captain of manslaughter.

She flew with with her hammers raised in a style that reflected the philosophy of putting everything into one lethal strike to cripple enemies; fast and reckless with a terrible presence around her moved the armored Glaysia-Labolas in superhuman speed, rivaling that of her brother as her posture straightened and her deadly left swing was prepared to execute the detestable woman in center. The air was ripped apart by her momentum, gliding like a bullet with a set course of impact upon sight to thrash down her prey with sheer speed and brutal weight upon them in lowering her right hand to rotate and wait to crush the snake with her hammers in a two step formation of a butterfly kick and a high and low strike at her thorax and head.

She was like a flash.

But she wasn't as fast enough as she thought she would be.

Her spinning kick was blocked by two small hexagonal barriers composed of Numbers - Lady Astaroth had thrown away her black shades to reveal her glowing yellow eyes and used the Vectors of her attack to redirect the killing blow of her kick, slowing it down by a second to use her Sorcery Trait to possess the Vectors and numerical value her hammers had and counter them with two insane strikes that rammed against her forearms, sliding her hands across her biceps and pushing her arms back before the consecutive strikes aimed at her head and chest could be executed.

The air rippled with Numbers as mathematical formula crafted numeric symbols over her back in the form of wings, forged out of Vectors.

The wings of Vectors and Numbers swiftly moved around her back, curling into fists to repel the hammers with a spinning twist straight for her shoulders, landing and reducing her pauldrons into disjointed numbers lacking any cohesion, preventing them from combining and sustaining themselves further. The chink in her defense was exploited - there were rows of numbers lacking any direction and focus as the way she saw things through her eyes allowed her to perceive them in numerical value, namely using the principles of the three forms of Logos to disarm her shoulders of any defense she had layered herself.

She did so by actively possessing the values of the vectors of her armor and doing that in one second to save her body from the fatal flaw of her Sorcery Trait.

"I'm the first thing that greeted you in the morning and the last thing that goes out. I was the first thing you saw when you were born and the last thing you'll ever see. What am i?" she spoke in a soft voice but there was no mistaking the hateful glint in those slitted pupils of hers. She loved riddles and puzzles like her sons, having nurtured that interest in them for a long time and she always used riddles to play with her family.

Only that she didn't let her answer at all.

"It's the light,sweetheart!"

A quick flash of light blinded the beastial girl, making her close her eyes instinctively to protect herself from it's irritating properties. There was no thought of action behind it, it was pure instinct that drove her further to redirect her blows and use her knees to shatter the barriers in précise hits with the hitting strength of a truck to reach her as her arms flashed in a flurry of a second row of strikes to bash her side and right shoulder in crushing blows sideways and landing her hammer down.

The barriers broke down, making her overconfident in the process as they shattered into tiny specks of lights around her but at the cost of producing motes that were rearranged into one smaller, efficient shield that swung back and blocked her strong leg from connecting.

But it was a hastily made mistake. The Vector wings spun back into coils, slid over her shoulder and left side to solidify into a tightly knit and definite answer by subtracting the friction by two and multiplying her inertia and weight by ten to increase her heavyweight armor and knocked out her hammers while also blocking the knee with a small barrier of numbers involved.

The increased weight made her drop down if it weren't for the right hand of Malina to take a choking hold over her neck, bruising and slicing her palm due to the colar she had on her neck but she gripped further due to the adrenaline rush she experienced. With no time to waste, the dirty blonde haired Devil steeled her legs and stepped forward in standing up straight while her arm extended forward and began to grip Christina's neck with the fingers crossing around her skin and she lifted her off the ground and held her while putting force behind her grip.

It was a strong choke, leaving the blonde girl unable to speak as her legs tried to kick but the struggle was futile. The Vector wings dissappeared, the formulaic combination of each disrupting and dissipating into the air like a cold breeze, returning her normal weight back to prevent her from being crushed by her own armor. And yet those eerie eyes greeted her with their audacious glow, promising something wretched to happen.

"Tell me now, _little girl_. What do you know about my children?" dead serious eyes greeted the weakened Devil. "Where is that bravado now? Yes, they might have been weak in comparison to you lott... But you know what?" she tightened her grip on her twofold. "True power comes from knowledge, understanding, mettle and aspirations. Without them power is nothing but a mere toy. And no matter what you people do to hurt us" her voice became steel and her words became daggers when she brought her closer to have her stare into her eyes.

It wasn't the mask she had placed upon herself speaking. From somewhere deep within, a voice of compassion and motherly love broke through the facade to let the remorseful, caring mother speak in defense of her children. Vicious, noble and affectionate with nothing but pride in her own eyes, Malina von Astaroth unleashed her nature upon this wretched girl with every ounce of strength she had. She was going to show her why she was known as one of the strongest demons from the first hierarchy.

"You could never understand the aspirations of the weak! Because you could never match the tenacity of the weak,no,because you could never be as caring as my husband! You could never be as tenacious and stubborn as Sairaorg! And you could never ever beat the hopes and dreams of my son!" she screamed at the top of her lungs when she made all of her body go soft and numb with a squeeze, nearly breaking her neck if she did not hold back because she heard a voice pleading her to spare the daughter of Falbium Asmodeus.

It was Misla Vapula at the edge of the room with Diodora's peerage holding her to stand on her legs. They had respected their patron's wish but they could not stand idly and endanger their caretaker by having her kill Zephyrdor's sister.

Annabelle, one of the Rooks, had called for Misla to persuade her from finishing her and talk her into sparing the foolish girl.

"...Don't do it... It's not worth it for trash like her...", Misla spoke through teary eyes as she had heard everything her friend had said in their defense. She could not hope to ever repay the kindness they had showered her and her son in place of those who discarded them. It always hurt her seeing her closest friend hurt and miserable so she tried to stand up on her feet, even if shakily, and reached out to her wish a hand on her shoulder.

Malina stopped at her behest. She released her grip on Christina's neck slowly, letting her sink down to the ground but not before spinning around and delivering a brutal kick to her forehead with her high heel and sending her flying into the wall at the entrance of the room. She did put some strength begin that kick and she most definitely enjoyed it, there was no doubt about it.

The obnoxious princess had the best of luck since the Representative of the Pureblooded Devils in the Council had not used the characteristic goat leg crowbar her son had been known to use as his iconic weapon otherwise there would have been grievous wounds.

And she could always make her inherited familiar after the death of her husband, Lord Saul Eligos, chew her up and spit her out before the front gates of the mansion. The very same Steed of Abigor, the steed of Eligos given to him by Beelzebub after crafting it from the remains of the last horse in the garden of Eden. It was known for it's preference of young and tender females and it wouldn't have been disappointed if it had the chance to stomp her to death.

"Milady, your hand is bleeding! We should take care of that right away!", Lucretia Fabiano noticed the torn skin around her palm and rushed to patch it up for her on the go but was stopped by the gesture the beautiful lady made.

Instead of fixing it right away, Malina dipped her index finger in the freshly spilled blood and ran her finger across her lips like a lipstick, dying them red as the glow in her eyes dimmed back to normal but she wouldn't turn around as not to disturb them. Instead, she knelt down and lifted the thrown away shades in good condition and placed them once more over the ridge of her nose.

Yet, she did it to hide something from them - she didn't want them to see that tears were forming on the corners of her eyes so she used her shades to hide it. "It's alright, I'm good at hiding bruises." she swallowed down in turmoil.

She knew how wrong she had been, how disgusted she felt with herself about everything that she had done. And she knew he could never forgive her when she was at her weakest and would lash out at her son - it was never hate in the first place. It was disappointment, dejection and frustration with a deep void in her heart that drove her to such lengths to make him grow up and find his own path. She had molded him like herself to protect him from the cruelty of the world - Because she saw her deceased husband in her son and every time she looked at him she was reminded so much of him that she couldn't bear the pain.

 _"You are ready. It is time we exposed the filthy lies of the Underworld and destroy this horrid system of power. No more are the less fortunate to grovel under the feet of those with power. No, we shall take that and strike back at them."_

She started walking slowly towards the exit, not turning back and definitely not paying attention to the unconscious girl she had kicked into a wall as she gracefully walked in light steps. "I'll be back soon so if you see my son... Tell him i need to speak with him. But first" she paused for a moment to turn back enough to show them her wicked smile with blood, "let's make some peace and shut up those idiots and their fallacy on what is power." such a smile she had, prideful and yet humble at the same time but nothing less than unnerving to the rest.

 _"Let's get this over with. You're next, Old Kings. No longer will we lay beneath your feet."_

And she dissappeared through the open doors in a flash...

XXX


	23. Act 21

Act.21 Coconut Rum & Viniq: Argento Mail

13th September, Las Vegas, Nevada, Caesar's Palace, Casino, 02:35 am

The Dragon was standing on a high chair at the bar with his suitcase near his legs as he drank another drink, this time it being a Cosmopolitan cocktail even if it was known to be a lady's drink but he liked it as it was yummy in his own words. He was growing anxious and more uncomfortable with each hour passing, knowing it was a simple but effective strategy to unnerve him and make him further spiral into paranoia as he continued to look at every corner, checking on every two minutes for anything and being on edge.

Ravel and Asia had won the game they played with earning some nice cash since they played a few quick games and scored over 80k in dollars and had to turn in their chips to be exchanged for cash. He scrutinized them with the mindset of an enemy, thinking of any situation and angle to attack as he knew they were not so easily to trust and that was what they had agreed on. Riser was standing nearby with Xuelan, carefully watching over the rest and looked a few times at Issei to coordinate and communicate through simple gestures that were masked as mundane, involuntary actions.

It was easy to keep track of Hilda as she was sitting on a few chairs away from him at the bar with Rossweisse, otherwise known as Roselyne Sturlurson from Norway, who kept her company while the contractor was to act as a civilian and mix in the crowds to keep her safe from any harm.

He did notice there was a lack of anything paranormal, only sensing no more than six or seven signatures of the supernatural as he walked around the place in between games and when he was nearby said individuals his scars glowed underneath the violet dress shirt and suit coat to warn him they were not human beings.

The atmosphere was alright, it was interesting to see as most were playing and having the time of their lives and by the looks of it... some were having their bachelor parties here on this day.

 _"It's just like in the Hangover series."_

He was distant from everything around him, bearing a cold-hearted, professional disposition with nothing else than the thoughts of getting out of this and going home peacefully with a bag full of money to save for bad days as most of his finances were blown away by paying for those Phoenix Tears they had used before. And from time to time, he would come back to that conversation and proposal he had been offered and think hard upon whether it was the right thing or not. It was like an one of a kind offer most would have killed to have and yet something told him not to think about it as it was a sidetrack to his main objective. Even if he wanted... he would have come to realize how painful it would have been as it was another hope he knew would be crushed again for the myriadth time.

The seats around him were empty so it made him feel safe with no one nearby him as they would sooner or later notice something about him and if they were pursuing them... it would have been disastrous. And he knew it was obviously a matter of time for it to happen as he was tensing his muscles and sharpening his senses to react in time. So he took a sip of his glass and stared at the many bottles layered in the background behind the barman serving drinks.

"Mind if sit next to you, kind sir?"

He heard the voice of a woman.

Instantaneously he swiveled his neck around to the left, slightly shifting his position to take a look with his reaction speed being précise and inhumanly fast in it's delivery, only to notice the presence of a woman who pulled the chair up and lifted herself onto it to take a seat near the bar plate. He wouldn't have reacted like this if she was a human being; his scars flared up with a strong pain in her presence, glowing bloody red underneath his suit in warning him of her presence in being something paranormal or a user of magic but it couldn't tell him what exactly she was.

 _"This is definitely not a coincidence. I just know it, oh shit, it's going to be hell again."_ he recoiled in his seat, holding the suitcase in his other arm to prepare for a quick dash in snatching his client and running away with the rest but he chose to remain neutral and impassive as it didn't take a genius to figure it out. Namely, staying calm and playing along to win time. _"Stay calm, stay focused and use wits to get out of this. Always remember that it could be or it could not."_

When he glanced at her he noticed nothing strange about her. Rather, she was pleasantly honest and quite modest in the way she carried herself but with a natural grace that did not belong to a human being as she was not.

She was a tall woman with nearly flawless looks - the darker skin tone coupled with the Mediterranean beauty she possessed gave her an exotic yet charming aura around her. Smooth skin with not a single blemish upon it, soft features that posed with a pair of intelligent looking, sharp eyes with a touch mellow looked back at him. Long brown hair streaking past her mid-back gently stood below her shoulders with her bangs parted sideways while a few strands rested over her ears and bounced up and down as they reached to her neck in covering her ears. Her fringe was left to hang between her eyes in a few strands that gave her a sophisticated yet dignified look of an intellectual, bearing sharp eyes of frosty blue with grey scattering around the pupils, hidden behind semi-rimmed glasses with ornamented flowers cut into the handles themselves.

A slim body with mature proportions, somewhat frail looking like a glass, a lean build to the point of seeming breakable that did not match with her intelligent look. This woman was garbed in a violet long dress that only exposed her shoulders had a short black jacket that reached only halfway to her stomach to cover herself. The dress was plain looking in design with no heavy decorations aside from the high colar in black that tightly held her neck while her jacket was unzipped completely. And on her thin but strong legs she wore black closed platform shoes with a small bow on each.

Anything that could have been said about her was beautiful, graceful and elegant while her face radiated calmness so inhuman in comparison to the rest. Undeniably there was something noble and intelligent about her but he couldn't quite pinpoint it.

"May i sit here? Please excuse me for having interrupted you." she firmly responded with a apologetic tone and a face which held a look of relaxed contemplation.

"O-of course. You don't have to ask." Issei responded nervously with a startled look as he felt uncomfortable around her. So he returned to drinking when she climbed up the chair and crossed her legs while awaiting for the barman to take her order.

 _"So far she hasn't noticed anything about me. But i doubt it's true, depending on who she is we might get ratted out and put on trial for breaking the law and like hell would i be dealing with some Devil court down there. I could always run away but the rest wouldn't be so lucky."_

The barman took her order and made a Pína Colada with pineapple in a medium sized glass with a round bottom like a pear, decorated with a pineapple garnish with coarse salt around the edges of the cup.

She casually took a sip of her drink at her own leisure and somehow felt rather talkative when she noticed the silver chain on his neck. "Sterling silver or the usual kind? You don't seem to be from around here, a trip to this overcrowded place, i presume?" there was a genuine curiosity in the way she spoke with interest. "I assume you are new here and just on business, right?"

Issei tensed up as he took a large gulp of his Cosmopolitan, holding it in his mouth for an extra long ten seconds before he gulped down and slightly half-turned in her direction with a dispassionate pokerface from all of the occurrences that he had experienced these past two days. "Sterling and just business around here. Arrived not so long ago." he concluded shortly with another sip of his drink and he reached out for his left breast pocket to take out one of his favorite tobacco brand cigarettes and placed it in his mouth before he begun to rustle through his pockets for a lighter.

He searched and searched but he didn't manage to find it anywhere on his person and if he tried to use magic she would have sensed it for sure as there was a minimal taint mixed in his casting due to the Evil Pieces that resided in his heart. _"Damn it, i hate it when it happens. It would be embarrassing if i asked for one right now or let me guess...she'll give me one?"_ he thought in a sarcastic voice while he barely moved his lips.

"Need a lighter?", the woman offered with a neutral expression of half-narrowed eyes and relaxation as she pushed a gunmetal silverish clipper with two snakes coiling in the shape of a heart with a skull in the center over the bar plate. "I know that feeling when you run out of smokes or you don't have a lighter on you. It is truly most unpleasant." the blue eyed Mediterranean beauty raised brows in understanding the situation.

Issei fastidiously took the clipper with care, examining it for any spells drafted onto it's metalic surface and when he found none - he flipped the light and ignited his tobacco roll before he returned the clipper with a small gesture of gratitude. Something in him clawed at him through curiosity, a predisposition he felt unnatural as to wish to speak despite his terrible social skills and experience. "Joshua King. And thanks for the lighter." was the way he chose to state his name as he had multiple aliases throughout his job as a service provider and courier.

"It's a wonderful night, isn't it?" she responded with a banality by beginning with this so overused topic as if it were something normal to do. But somewhere deep within, there was something more to her than just a mere paranormal being. "Oh, forgive me for my belated introduction. Katherine Lewis, it's a pleasure to meet you, mister King." finishing with a subtle smile with something mysterious behind it, she took a sip from her drink and in turn lit up one of her Rothman's from a metal casing where she kept her tobacco dry.

Somehow this feeling was quite thrilling. The sense of danger, the unfathomable risk was exhilarating at the most primal state with a growing curiosity in between.

"What brings you here, mister King? There are two reasons why people come to this place", a neutral expression greeted him back in the moment he was drinking. She spoke with a bewitching voice and those clear, intelligent eyes peered through the lenses of her shades in a quizzical look with a lightness in them. "Either to escape from something or to find something they seek as we are all lost into this vast world since the day we were born. So which one is it in your case, i wonder..." and thus she laid out her question with a blink of an eye.

Honestly, the brunette wasn't so much into conversing with strangers but maybe once it wouldn't have hurt for as long as he didn't give out any hints about himself.

"Honestly i don't know. I'm either seeking something while I'm lost on the way and there's no other path to walk upon." his rotten eyes narrowed slightly with the bluntness of his tone gaining a streak of sarcasm to mingle. "Isn't life all about seeking something to chase after, no matter how stupid or ridiculous it is. But even so... At times even i wonder what i was chasing after." he was the type to lie through his teeth, always say half-truths and outright speak cryptically as he would rather lie to the rest but never to himself. So he was presenting himself in all of his sick, twisted glory of brutal honesty.

Katherine once glanced without saying anything for a moment, recollecting her thoughts to deliver a more meaningful answer in correspondence with her earlier question. It was surely her testing him. And like that her intonation grew a tad bit more brusque. "It's what they go after first. Lost in confusion souls, easy prey to manipulations as they offer you many things and pretend to be your friends while they put the colar on your neck." there was a distance in her clear eyes that spoke so much in turn. A long repressed pain flared up with disgust on her twitching lips while she turned to face him. "So what did those Devils offer you as to throw away your humanity, child of Man?"

 _"This is definitely going bad. Atleast it doesn't seem like she knows my identity. I should make a run for it and have her forget."_

She did not do anything more than to back off and give him some space to breathe. "It's something i picked up along the way during my interactions with other Devils. I won't ratt you out as I'm the same like you. Every Evil Piece emits a really faint signal during a concealment spell for approximately two seconds in which they cease all higher functions and cloak you. So what did they _offer_ you in exchange for your soul? If they ever did in the first place..."

His expression soured. "They didn't. They just hopped on the first opportunity to get a new slave, even if they decorate it as a vassal to a lord in the feudal system. I didn't get a choice in this and honestly", he sighed wearily, "my life turned upside down but i will not submit to the wishes of some spoiled princess for nothing in the world."

"Nothing less from a race that denied their origins." Katherine scrunched her brows in dejection over the sheer stupidity of what she was about to explain. "I always knew our ancestors were once mighty Angels who protected humanity and thrived in honor and glory till the day they wanted to become like you, the very same humans they were watching over. The Devils,the Angels and the Fallen are all one species in three different types but they would never accept it to be associated with the other two. It's honestly so ridiculous!" as of a sudden she became more lively and enthusiastic. There was life and warmth in her cold piercing eyes of a bluish sky. "They rebelled and were cast down to Hell but if that were the case then why did they still exist?"

"Because they were given a new purpose." rather monotonous like always, Issei made one stern look with certainty over his words.

The brunette woman nodded in agreement with his answer. "Devils were given the task to test the potential of humanity, to prove they were more than mere mortals with a small lifespan and a flawed nature in comparison to Angels and Demonkind who were born perfect and unchanging. But what did they do? They abandoned their noble cause in pursuit of enslaving and snatching away that potential for their own wicked gains..." her thin lips soured as her gaze turned into one spiteful mask of disappointment. "I wonder where were those sworn protectors from the skies when this started?"

"They couldn't care less about humanity. We are nothing but livestock to them, a mass of sheep to be ruled by those _higher_ than us."he sarcastically mumbled."The Devils steal and take humans in to fight for them in a conflict that was never their to begin with, giving you power in exchange for shackles so many would rather bind themselves with than to stand up and fight.The Angels trick you and would use you,while the Fallen would probably try either way. But there are decent people among all of them, no matter race and belonging."

She agreed with a nod.

"I could never understand why they would throw away what made them so unique, so beautiful in their own way only to become something so wretched and less? For things like power, immortality and such foolishness it is when they would cast aside that ingenuity, that creative spark they had evolved with and managed to create so much even without the aid of any external force despite their extremely limited lifespans in comparison to us."

A sardonic smirk graced his lips as he took out the half ashen Dunhill from his mouth. "Because we are weak and imperfect to handle life ourselves and because of our desire to have what we do not possess."

"…Because they do not understand what they would sacrifice for such a gift." there was sarcasm despite the serious face she made. "You have had enough time, i suppose, to notice how they copy human achievements to improve their society as you could see. Meet a human once and when you would see them again they would be a brand new person, changed and always changing. Meet a Devil once and they would still relatively be the same even after hundreds of years as that is the price for our long lives. Frozen in time, frozen in evolution as we were born perfect and thus we would be like that."

There was some understanding between them. He felt like he could reason with her despite his low amount of empathy, a connection between them was being formed as he noticed the pain and body language she use as his pointer to her mental state.

"I would rather live a short but happy life than to live in regret for eternity. Mortality is both a blessing and a curse; but in that way everything is worth much more as you only get once chance, you get unique experiences that would never happen again." in those words she spoke of the beauty of transience, how everything had more meaning because it would only happen once. A glimmer of sadness lit up in her like a flame, looking away down to her feet in deep reminiscence.

"Unlike us, who are ancient walkers upon the earth, bound to walk for eternity with no rest as everything would repeat itself again and again, you have that luxury. However, there are some bonuses in being long lived." now that was something sarcastic in her. Enough to have her make a lighthearted snicker akin to a little child.

Issei made a self deprecating smile. It was not out of any kindness nor anything else but pity. She was mistaken, humans were not as fascinating as she thought they were.

"You seem to adore humans quite a lot, don't you? When we are no different than the rest. Vile,cruel pests who would reject their fellow man for the slightest difference. I may be biased but i once used to think the world was a good place where i would feel like i belonged but... there is no place like that." with downcast eyes he glanced at his drink with a ludicrous face that did not show emotion. He was like a machine in the way he talked, never using more than the bare minimum to function in society. "But even so i once heard and saw something more. Something more than just the mediocrity we are forced to live with, instead to aspire for excellence. We hurt others to relieve the burdens of our everyday life as it is too much to bear. And yet, I saw something of worth."

The Mediterranean lady coughed once before her arms drew closer to the plate. She did not seem to deny that fact, rather she looked away in the distance as it was the truth. But alas, her soprano voice echoed with a hope for something better. "It is true that humanity has done so many horrible things but instead of looking down on their primitive, unscrupulous nature of a beast..." that conviction blazed like a sun in comparison to the skepticism of the cynical loner like the difference between night and day.

"If we only looked at the downsides and never once stopped to look at the other side then how would this world exist? Humanity reached out towards space, always aiming for something more than mere everyday existence and i would personally identify humanity with hope. Not the majority of this putrid race but the hope of those who try to make a difference in a harsh world of foreboding gloom. Because that is the thing i believe in, those are the aspects we should try to bring out more."

 _"Somehow this woman reminded me of those words i had heard not long ago... Even if it was a mere_ _wish_ _to believe in such ideals so impossible like these... Why would it hurt to try?"_

"You asked me why i adored humanity?" trembling with emotion she interjected. "It was because in just a single day i witnessed both the cruelty and the dignity Man possessed. A single man was all that took me to believe in the rest as we could always give our best and try to put aside our differences to reach something higher..."

No words were enough to describe the anger and misery she felt at that moment. Her beautiful visage was tainted by abhorrence, such pure melancholy she presented in a broken voice of memories long abandoned. "I despise the Evil Pieces as they take away the dignity of man, they corrupt them further and morph them into something detestable with no pride nor dignity left. They change people into Devils to prolong the inevitable end of our race, tightly clutching onto the rest like leeches to sustain themselves. I would never forgive them for what they do. Humans should be humans because that is the way it should be..."

"No, they would achieve more than we could ever be able to. From the weakest sentient beings to walk upon the face of the Earth to equals who could defeat even the deadliest adversaries through wits and tenacity. Humans are imperfect but in that imperfection i see beauty, something wonderful and diverse... Because i see hope despite the darkness that dwells around us. Because humans are so fascinating and beautiful as well as so evil and merciless... But to change what is hope into stagnation... I shall not allow them to take any more innocent souls like they did with you."

Issei found that resolve admirable. The person who had no hope to dream and reach out for tomorrow saw a glimmer, no matter how faint it was in the darkness. This woman loved humanity, this woman wanted to fight back and keep the balance. An idealist who was bound to be crushed by reality and die in a pit.

"I knew it was a fake name from the very beginning." he concluded.

Katherine Lewis brushed her hair past her shoulders, finished her drink in one go and nodded in respect.

"Because history is always written by the winners and they would write it to glorify themselves when what they're trying to do would bring chaos. If you knew who i was you would despise me as that is what they teach you. However, they're not going to tell you the whole truth..." she extinguished the cigarette she had lit up and left to burn out on the tray, standing up and stretching her legs as she turned around with the money she had left on the bar plate. "After all, they wanted to take the world for themselves alone and that's why they fought against them as they had a different goodness and wishes for the best of our people in comparison to theirs. Wars are more often led between one good and another one."

Monotonous and blunt with a dead stare in the rotten, disgusting eyes was the Red Dragon Emperor when he remained in his seat. Only that his lips were curled in a thin, faint smirk that spoke more than words did. "Even if it means having to sacrifice everything and everyone for your hope? Even if it would lead to death? I don't have such ideals to die for nor do i have any faith left..."

She did not turn around, standing there tense and dignified. "Tell me,mister King? How do you identify yourself as?"

He had anticipated that question.

This time the brown haired Devil did not hesitate in his response for even a second. With nothing else but one word he spoke grimly in a harrowing sense with no pride nor esteem, however, with a certainty in his intonation. "Human. I am a Human Being."

He could not see her face and yet he knew quite well her reaction - confidently, Katherine placed her hand on her chest with closed eyes and a relaxed contemplation peering through her features in a radiant smile as she lowered her head in respect.

"Because no matter what, i can sense that ingenuity in you. Not even those devilish tools could take away that from you, never. A Devil with a soul" biting her lips to suppress her amusement, "...It's something miraculous. I highly doubt we would ever meet again as my time is drawing near... If we are fated to perish and be superseded then so be it. Our time has nearly ended so let us not make our brethren wait. It is time for the rotting carcass of the Three Factions to make way for humanity and leave the future to those who would take the mantle."

"I wish you luck in your endeavor, miss Lewis. May we meet again." were his final words to her.

She took a few steps away before she stopped to deliver one final farewell. She looked so noble and honorable, something he could never be. "As a human i showed you but allow me to introduce myself as who i really am, dear child of humanity." she made a curtsey. "I am Katerea Leviathan, the Primordial Lord of Darkness in the Khaos Brigade, presiding over Envy. And i will set things straight with those who dare encroach on humanity even if i am to give my life for it."

Riser was watching all this time, having sent a notice as a human benefactor to the Devil Council to alert them of the Brigade's presence. He walked straight towards Issei with a slightly ticked off look for endangering them but more so of some sort of concern when he noticed Ravel nearing the bar as well from the other side, Asia from the north and Xuelan from the west, heading straight towards their companion.

Katerea Leviathan was gone, having dissappeared just like she had arrived.

Instead gunshots were heard and the doors were sealed tight as a big six elemental and kinetic barrier encased the complex to trap them. The barrier was strong and multi-layered, with the intention of sealing everyone inside alive and to prevent anyone from escaping.

Mass panic took ahold in the casino as people started running towards the exit, pushing each other, stumbling down and erratically shoving others to escape. It was chaos, tension was rising.

Some of the people began to morph into hideous beings with stretched down mouths with razor sharp teeth and elongated talons in place of hands, clawed feet burst through the shoes and clothes were left in tatters. Deep sunken eyes of pure white rolled as pupils were erased and the skin darkened to the deathly coloration of a corpse,burned like ash and blackened by blood till it was dirtied like a filthy rag. Golden bracelets formed around their ankles and wrists as their heads bloated to the point of no neck being present to connect the head to the body, ears stretched down and in that moment their eyes turned bloody red. They were of different height but sharing the same ugly, deathly visage.

Vetala. They comprised a big legion enough to wipe out everything in the casino complex in just a few minutes. And to make matters worse than they already were - a sickly pale man with blonde hair stood up maniacally with a briefcase from which he pulled out semi-automatic guns and behind him formed multiple summoning pentacles in a dark violet shade with Arabic scripture in their layers, bringing forth multiple creatures of flame.

He was a Natural-born Summoner, judging by the amount of Efreet he was able to summon as his Guardians, which meant it was going to be hell.

Those creatures were tall, black skinned beings akin to humans with flaming hair of red and orange, framing their fanged maws and somewhat skeletal faces in flames with their pure red eyes blazing with dark red fire and muscular bodies with clawed, five digit fingers of black up to the biceps and ending in swirl like tattoos in contrast to their bodies. Bearing golden rings of flames flaring over their arms and forming fiery blades down their forearms and shoulders, feet of fire tongues spread as they took ground and circled around their Summoner, their elongated ears and flat noses made them menacing to look at with those white fangs of a canine but much more when they were in a pack.

An Efreet was not a strong Guardian, it was at best slightly above the middle and alone was not much of a threat. They dwelled in the deserts of the Near East, hiding in the sand and near any rocks and when you conjured more than one it was bound to be a tough fight due to the ferocity they exhibited in packs. Alone they were not strong, together they were dangerous and they were enraged and voracious.

And Issei had destroyed a whole lot of them recently in one of his assignments which brought a hefty sum to his assets. But it wasn't going to be easy...

"Are you guys ready?" Ravel spoke in gravely tone as she readied her stance to move on command. There was some panic in her but she braced herself as the presence of companions gave her the courage to fight back and keep herself calm.

There was no hesitation in Asia's eyes, there was no doubt in Xuelan as she traced the chain that held her scale medalion and bared teeth. "Then let's get home in one piece, hopefully."

Riser sneered as his hands twitched with sparks forming. The sense of duty overpowered his fear as she was here with him. Even if he would not admit it, he found people worthy of his respect standing alongside him, he found understanding and gratitude for his deeds. "Then let's give them a taste of some burning, hot Phoenix love, shall we?"

"This time we are ready. Let them come and we'll come for them." Asia twisted her lips in a delirium induced nasty smile of compassion and insanity intertwined with astute green eyes with a touch of sublime madness as she didn't come out of her incident unscathed. Issei had been giving her pills for this case, to keep her safe and sound. Her hands trailed under her dress as she crouched to reach the thigh straps she had attached to them, carrying her miniature Black Key blades for concealment. "Time to wrap this vacation like the Hangover!"

Issei found himself in a state of calmness. He switched to his cold blooded mentality, emptying himself of any lingering emotions before he crossed his arms into an X formation and brought his right foot forward as he closed his eyes for a moment and muttered, "Let's get this done so we can go home. I wanna laze around and sleep like a boss." and he threw his suitcase at the bar.

And then he opened his eyes in the last moment.

XXX

13th September, Las Vegas, Nevada, Caesar's Palace, Casino, 02:39 am

Mass panic was spreading through the premises of the casino - it was stacked to the brim and people were pushing each other in trying to escape from the exits, shoving aside each other and fighting for their survival at any cost. The summoned Efreet legion was burning everything in sight while the walking corpses, known as the Vetala were running rampant around and splattering any unfortunate human they could get their hands on. It was a calculated attack with the timing, location, and most of all the coordination each one had with one another.

Blood, organs and limbs were flying all around the tables and still the guards of the complex were trying to fight back even if they were scared and in a mass panic, shooting at the assailants but without much effect as they could not damage an Efreet because their bullets flew through them and instead, the blazing dwellers of the desert charred them from head to toe with leaving only burnt husks of them crumbling on the floor.

It was nothing short of an extermination.

The walls glowed with a series of strange sigils onto them, shining bright with an illustrious black light that begun to form threads to the other runes layered around the big complex, crafting and knitting a series of smaller pentacles with their alignment based on the moon and the sun, mercury and lead alchemical symbols blazed to life in the center of each circle in swirling and producing connecting threads that slithered over the walls and floor with one another until a pathway was formed between them. The connection was established; it was a high fifth tier spell that weakened elemental barriers and with the principles of the moon and sun it would also act as a self destructive mechanism and a dampening field for anyone who the caster did not recognize as a comrade.

The fifth tier spell from the Golden Dawn of Hermeticism, Celes Sol Elies.

The craftwork encroached the barrier around several places, making small exits for the struggling humans to escape, running past their aggressors as more gunshots flew over their heads but it was obvious that not everyone could be saved. As much as possible was the only norm, those who were bleeding on the ground and the dying... There wasn't much to do about them with the threat before them scurrying around in a tight formation that seemed chaotic at first.

From the walls emerged 20 black figures in thin suits that had no human features recognizable as those were not human beings at all. Bearing an unnatural lightness to them, these black clad figures started sprinting across the surface of the walls, denying the law of gravity by walking sidewaws on the walls and grabbed whatever they could reach with their hands; chairs, roulette wheels, sticks and anything else that could be used as a weapon.

Those were the amonia constructs hidden in the walls for such a case like this one. Atleast one of the constructs threw itself on the wall, releasing it's colar for air to mix inside the empty suit of fabric and the mix of air and amonia led to a unrestrained explosion, throwing rubble in every direction, dust was lifted in the air.The sound was enough of a diversion but it was muted by the screams of the people trying to survive this slaughterhouse. The seals and the well placed explosion made a bigger hole for people to run through; on the other walls it happened as well as another one blew up to make an exit past the barrier and it would have been enough to make a dent in the Physical Attack Barrier layered over the Elemental one.

People ran like rabid dogs to safety, pushing each other and still it was mostly out of the way as the attackers paused for a moment to regroup and seek out their objective.

The Summoner commanded his Efreet to burn everything in sight, having locked his gaze upon Hilda and having recognized her.She was his idol, he had atleast two restraining orders not to get close to her because of his obsessive love for her,bordering to a deadly wish to kill her so he could have her forever. He aimed his gun at her, pointing at her head and without a moment to think, he pulled the trigger.

The bullet flew past anything else, gaining momentum and friction as it went through the air and was made sure to hit her and kill her in one shot as she seemed to be the weakest link among those few who remained. It was about to reach her but she was knocked out of her chair on the bar, Issei breaking his focus on moving the remaining constructs to hug her and jump away from the trajectory of the bullet with superhuman speed that saved her just in time.

He rolled to the right, holding her tight and having dusted his dress coat in the action but it didn't matter at all. It was a panicky action as he crawled with her behind the bar plate and told her not to stand up, no matter what would happen. She was scared from this near encounter with death, hiding under the bar plate and cowering.

"Stay here. Don't move." were the only words the Dragon said as he slipped past the bar.

The other constructs had been dealt with swiftly, exploding and creating a volley of smoke and shockwaves, yet it didn't do much to the incoming enemies. The Vetala were left undamaged by these small series of explosions, having superior speed than them due to being dead bodies that were not restrained by the limiters the brain imposed on the body. They didn't feel pain at all, marching forward with their sharp talons grating against each other as the first wave came upon them.

The flaming Efreet rose their hands to charge their scorching flames in rows, bearing a strategic position and using a tactic that was attributed to a gunner squad back in the days. Fiery blasts of flames were crafted in a mere second, the heat was skyrocketing around them to create an enclosed dome that would fry alive anything else but the Summoner and his troops.

"Oh, shit! Run,run,run!", Ravel screamed as she took a moment to get a grip, forcing herself to manifest her burning wings as there was no point in maintaining any Presence Concealment and illusions as they hindered her flaming wings burst through the back of her dress, burning two spots on it as she made a gigantic leap to the closest table through a glide, knocked it over and ducked over.

 **[~** **Blues Saraceno – Blood Shot(Megas XLR OST)** **~]**

Riser followed suit, running towards his sister before the blast could take place and damage him seriously, Xuelan and Asia were thrown away by Issei, who spun around and flipped the two girls in throwing them away to the left corner to hide behind a sofa and other furniture. He stood there with his arms crossed and ready for the impact, fastidiously layering the spot with multiple hexagonal seals, all amped up with a defensive spell that connected with the seal network on the walls to bolster a miniature barrier around the place to act as a wall of defense.

The fiery vicious ghosts of the desert unleashed a huge heat wave that burned through the air and erased anything in it's path, turning tables, furniture and the very floor into cinders as well as making it harder to breathe due to the rising temperature. Multiple signatures mixed into another wave to support the first one, bearing a magnitude of a crushing strength that would kill any being that dared to cross their path alone. The waves formed into arcs, blazing like a sun as they were about to crash with the barrier and burn him alive.

He took a small mirror from his pocket and threw it forward, reflecting the light from one lamp and it activated the second use of the spell already layering the walls; the combination of sun and moon symbols blasted away two of the walls towards his way, mere seconds before the twin waves could even reach them, producing dust and smog as the smithereens flew sideways and stuck back around the barrier into two 5m in width walls that clasped together before him and the mirror broke into tiny pieces to make use of his next move.

The arcs met with the wall, blazing and scorching everything else but it did not budge as the broken mirror was emulating the reflected shine of the moon, dispelling the wicked flames of the Efreet to a degree, absorbing them till most of the wall crumbled and the barrier was pierced through but by a sliver it withstood the waves as it was strengthened by the wall seals to act as a shield even if it was a mere 4th tier spell.

It was uncomfortable for him to fight in a suit, so he tossed his coat to one of the chairs near the bar, removed his tie off his neck and crossed his arms in a X manner, focusing all of his mana into calling forth his personal black seal into his hands.

"Now it's my turn." he spoke in a mechanical tone that wasn't anything human at all. It felt austere, cold and serious with a tinge of death lurking behind it.

The two seals glowed with an ominous shimmer as two balanced throwing knives appeared through them, a black handle and a blade similar to a khyber knife formed around his fingers as he flicked them and spun the cold metal into swirls. It was the time for a counterattack, the moment to stand up and fight to live another day. His body was ready, his muscles tensed and coiled to react with no mercy to these aggressors who were sent after them.

The atmosphere was heavy, the spreading flames made it harder to breathe.

The enemy Summoner shouted back from the cover of his Efreet guardians in a shrill, sickly tone that bordered on the lines of a screech. The pale man licked his gun once with joy before he aimed his other one and screamed back. "The master sends his greetings. Come here to die, Devil~" he ushered his troops to climb at the walls and charge ahead as the dead walking corpses split into smaller units and started crawling across the walls that were undamaged, leaping forward to cross the distance between them.

Both legions of beasts were running rampant around, incoming and seeking blood. They were fast, the flaming Efreet were in the air while the bloodthirsty Vetala were running and leaping forward in a frenzied, intoxicated delirium bordering on suicidal.

The moment was now.

"I shall assist you. For my friend!", Rossweisse had switched to her battle armor and ran closer to the Dragon, swinging a gunmetal colored spear with two smaller pikes across it's surface and rushed to cover his right side and conjured her runic seal of protection on her other hand as a makeshift shield to dual wield and defend.

Help came from an unlikely ally but it didn't matter much as it was going to be a massacre.

Both Dragon and Valkyrie began to run towards the flocks of monsters coming their way; side to side they ran ahead with inhuman speed with the Red Dragon Emperor's feet digging into the ground and propelling him forward with stepping seals behind his soles to accelerate. He couldn't risk using his other skills, choosing to use his own craft than risk falling under the effects of the curse stripping him of his magic and higher leveled powers. Rossweisse was practically flying at this point with her spear charged up with multiple fortification runes springing up to stun and withstand the pressure of her thrusts.

But the first to strike was the smaller Phenex.

Ravel had lifted herself from her cover, bearing the Dragunov sniper riffle she purchased for herself and bringing it forth from a customized seal, she jumped out of the flipped table and knelt down with one leg forward and her eyes were on the scope. Her boosted form had superior strength and endurance so she was going to show what the insane amount of practice they had been subjected to after their departure from the hospital had done to her style.

Her flaming wings spread around her like shields to cover her sides and back from any attackers as she took aim and pulled the trigger, unleashing a cartridge at the skull of the first Vetala that was closest to Issei. The bullet flew past the rest, lit up with the carved seal on it's surface and blazed into a flaming shot that bathed the revenant's face into flames. Her aim was précise and remarkable, having earned her the moniker of Tsundere Sniper among company.

The foul revenant fell on a slot machine hard, breaking the cash grabbing tool into pieces, trying to extinguish the flames that engulfed it's head and mouth. It's claws did nothing as the flames continued to burn mercilessly before the moment it suffered enough and rose back up with a blackened, burned face with a big gap between it's eyes. The back of it's head was now like a blooming flower but no blood was present as it was drained upon conversion. It was definitely enraged and wanting revenge.

Issei threw both his knives in a spinning motion simultaneously with a small lag between each knife, whiplashing his fists in having more throwing knives appear in between his fingers through his magic. He spun on his heels fast as he ducked and twisted his upper body to avoid the claws of a Vetala, took a step back jammed one of the knives into it's neck and twisted further to retch it deep. He bent his knee and swerved back with a brutal swing of his foot in kicking the revenant away to counter the Efreet that was first to reach him and another three that had created flaming shamshirs to cut him clean and sever his limbs and head off.

The two knives he threw were deflected but it was what he had anticipated, having stomped the ground to activate a three bladed link between them and the one he rammed in the neck of a Vetala. The shockwave his foot produced triggered the tags written on each piece of metal to produce thin blue threads into a circle as he jumped back when the first flaming desert dweller swung it's wicked blade across the air in having nearly cleaved him.

The formation of three knives sparked and made a burning triangle that flamed the back of the ashen corpse and caught the blazing sand creature into an arc that cut through it's torso, paralyzing it's legs for a moment before the coiling of the thread twisted enough to surround it and extinguish it's ardent flames to nothingness.

Rossweisse parried the killing blow of one with her spear, thrusting further to crush it's arm with the long spear sliding under it's arm and striking it's armpit in a quick stab.

The blue eyed Valkyrie rushed forward with her spear gutting the ugly beast as her face bore a wrathful gaze filled with malice when her shield spun like a jigsaw and stuck to it's head. The spinning shield was layered with another row of Caunnan runes that lit up in flames to burn it's eyes off and split it's forehead cleanly with her push growing stronger.Her flight pattern was disrupted in favor of pushing it down to the ground, making a large crater with the thing laying on the floor pinned and having it's rotten brain cleaved.Next it's shoulder area was sliced with a precise stab that opened up like a flower as the fortification spell on it turned it into a solid, unmovable block of corroded flesh.

The two of them moved forward as more and more reached them while Ravel used her Phoenix Flames to create a chain of levitating orbs around her wings to strike down enemies.

"Now Brother! Show these fuckers what we're made of!" she had cursed in a uncouth way that did not suit her dignified look as unloaded and loaded more bullets into her sniper riffle. Her sniping orbs flew past ahead in reaching the few revenants and flame guardians that were around her vicinity.

Riser jumped out of his cover, holding two semi-automatic Uzi submachine guns, loaded with 9x19mm Parabellum cartridges and came at his sister's defense to form a firing line with her. His ferocious steps of a nobleman were heavy and fast for the fact of his wings manifesting like blades when they compressed into sleek flat surfaces with sharp tips. He approached Ravel at her back, having swallowed his pride and being brutally, painfully taught to use firearms to widen his arsenal by the harsh training of his sister(at which he cried) when she had swatted his face with a Glock 17 and hit him in the nose during mock battles in the backyard.

The older Phenex flew above his younger sibling while taking aim for a spinning tornado through using his Sorcery Trait in it's Aerokinesis form to extinguish and absorb any flames nearby to create a flaming whirlwind. His cocked guns were brought to life when the parabelum bullets were ejected through the muzzles of his firearms, sending a rain of metal bolts and pressurized air slashes to support and cripple the enemies before them. He spun while unloading his first cartridge into several misshapen freaks before he paused to throw aside his Uzi in his left hand to crack his index finger.

The gesture brought forward a scimitar of fire with a orange tint of flaming tongues into his grip. The formation of his main weapon of choice was instantaneously completed in the second he cut through a flying fire breathing Guardian that managed to rip his clothes into tatters and leave a big, deep gash across his chest before the dignified Phenex shoved the muzzle of his remaining firearm and blew it's skull like face like a blender, shoving his scimitar into it's black chest but it made a final struggle as to shank his neck with it's fingers and slice open his throat.

Riser sneered in rage to this act and thus brought his wings together into quick thrusts, stabbing the black solid parts of it's body and hacking and mincing it's organs while spilling his blood onto it from his instantaneously regenerated neck in a matter of seconds as it poured over it's wounds and with a snap... The tall man's blood blew up the crazed wretch through the napalm spell he had created on his own in emulating the BloodEdge Manifestation spell he had been subjected to. And they were swallowed by explosive flames.

The blood of the immortal Phoenix had turned to ash the Efreet. It had burned it to death, a fire user itself. Literally.

But no matter how hard they repelled them. More and more were coming and rising back.

Some of the dead bodies that had fallen during the initial attack had risen from the dead and slowly and painfully turned into walking revenants to bolster further the already large number of assailants.

It was going to be a serious bitch. Again.

More and more were advancing, forming a solid structure by standing side to side like a wall of defense.

They stopped their charge and instead begun to channel their dark and flame capabilities in a combined series of multiple arcs of darkness and fire as the oxygen in the air was lowering.  
It was going to be one repeated barrage of blasts and wisps of dark mana, gaining strength and momentum with each passing second.

Even more when the conditions in the large complex went awry; a Vetala's natural ability to leech energy and life from it's prey and surroundings had been incorporated into a suitcase with an heavy layered pentacle with Arabic scripture over it and the pale man had it disperse like mist through the walls, slowly eating at the network the devilish Dragon had placed earlier in secret.

"Get back! Now!", through a hardened battle cry, Asia screamed in a crazed pitch as she flung two of her Black Key blades towards the dense wall of corpses and horned monsters as she rushed forward with two more between her middle and index fingers on each hand. She had torn her dress at the thigh to have better mobility even with her shoes, went behind Ravel at her left side and further threw her second pair of blades.

Through her own mana they expanded into sleek flat blades with silverish tint on them as a strange glyph carved onto the handle of each one glowed with a sickly yellow tint. The second set reached the first one, spinning like saws before the glyphs sparked and resonated to morph into a single square shield of lightning.

Those blades had the property of channeling magic and phenomenon through the carving of glyphs into them to gain the properties of the being they invoked. And the invocation she had chosen for these two sets was Barakiel's name, written in Hebrew to invoke a small scale use of his infamous Thunder.

Issei swerved to the side, avoiding the claws of one and twisted his upper body for a spin to return a jab at the face of an Efreet, landing a bone crushing punch as the sound of snapping bones echoed and it's horns were broken. Not sparing a single moment, the Devil called forth his Boosted Gear and made a run for it, slid past the incoming projectiles and boosted his parameters to make the dash and jump behind the nearest slot machines.

Rossweisse dug her feet into the ground with a thud, breaking through the concrete beneath her feet in a quick shove. Her armored leg was lifted up with rubble and dust so she kicked it and using her magic had it spread out like a smokescreen to cover her retreat to the bar.

The square made of Thunder expanded as the flying blades hit the Russian Roulette table, a blackjack playing table, the other two rammed through a chair in the middle and a statue. It had become a layer of defense that could give them some time before the second blast would burn them. Even if atleast three of them were True Regenerators, it was without a doubt going to hurt them really badly and hinder their movement to pause and mend their injuries. For the other three, they would probably burn like cinders.

Xuelan had remained for the time in reserve. They had instructed her to deal with the problem, as in to make dents into the physical barrier that overlapped the Elemental one. From her position she had been repeatedly striking in the same spot over and over to weaken it in one place that would provide them with an escape route because teleportation through a Devil circle was impossible now. The outside couldn't reach them, the quality of the overlapping barrier was top notch but it also required an energy source to sustain it.

All this time they had been running around to distract and buy time for her.

And just like that, the whole unit was brought together in a tight spot. Xuelan had to run back to them before the blast that was about to be unleashed, pushing her body to the limit to get to them just in time. Rossweisse was already there and producing warding sigils onto the ground with her finger to make something fast as to withstand it or hope to even survive the second blast.

The leeching effect of the field had negated the territorial boost to their power, no matter the density of sin in the city. It was bleeding them dry slowly and getting past any magical resistance as for the great number of creatures were responsible for such a feat. If they didn't end this soon, they would wound up being their next meal.

The blasts were triggered by the wave of the Summoner hidden behind his elite personal guard. "Fire! Burn them to death, my mighty brethren!" he screamed in outrage, ushering a command in the second his left arm was lowered and with his other hand he shot to give the signal.

Coming like a tidal wave, the darkness infused flaming waves were already upon them, having transversed the distance and inflaming everything they touched into nothing. They were enraged by the loss of their brother, the sand dwellers put even more into it as they shot and extra gust of their element from their mouths to make another volley follow the initial one.

"We can't escape it. We need to act now!", Riser brought his hands together to his chest in curled fists of fire as he moved before his sister to shield her. His eyes were static in a horrified but intent expression of care for his sibling, his heart was pounding fast as the waves were incoming and his adrenaline rose up. He was feeling the bleeding effects of the field, but he wasn't going to yield so easily. Rather, he would never wield to some dead corpse and some measly pale bloke.

"I'm working on it! Fuck,fuck,fuck. Why does it have to be me!", through a feigned innocent tone, Asia's face never dropped the insane smile for a second. She was calm in her maddened disposition, her eyes shone with a glimmer so wrong as to smile in despicable joy as she dove forward to do something in mind. "I'm not gonna be Phil who gets shot every single Hangover movie!"

With a Black Key blade in it's miniature form she ran it's edge across her forearm in cutting through the artificial skin glove on her left hand, making a clean incision on her forearm to slide her fingers in it and rip it off up to the scapula joint. She tore the other one as well, letting them fall down near her shoes and crossed her arms before her face.

She was now free from the constraints of her gloves; black arms as the night were revealed before them with blue diamonds resting over the back of her hands, circled with two pentacles of scripture in an unreadable language as they shimmered with a bluish tint and the multi purpose formula lit up with power coursing through it. The rest were shocked as they had never seen it before. Only Issei knew about it as he was there when her limbs were restored upon her reincarnation into a Devil.

"Here come that boy~!", she bared her teeth in a secretive, delusional toothy grin with something wrong in it's making. It stretched out like a mask of madness upon her innocent face, locked in a static, unflinching look of boredom. The moment her arms were brought down and made two slashes in the air, she yelled with every ounce of strength in her body the words nobody would have expected to hear from her in a monotonous tone.

"Balance... Break!"

 **[Twilight Healing: Poison of God: Samael's Blessing!]**

The blue gems on her hands started to glow blue with a sick, radiant light from them. Black veins streaked down her eyes like the cracks on a clay pot, reaching down her neck in a series of scars and her lips were colored in an unnatural black shade as she moved her hands around in weaving a layer of defense. Her skin tone was pale as that of a corpse, mimicking the look of a lifeless mannequin with her eyes rolling back till only white sclera was left.There was poison in her. She was poisonous so much as to cry black ichor from the rolled back white organs. It made her look sickly pale as death while the black veins pulsed upon the surface of her skin. A doll of poison with the veins furhter popping out of her eyes and lips in an eerie visage that had nothing human left in it. It was just blank, her white eyes were locked ahead with the incoming wave only.

Black ichor formed from her hands and feet, dripping down the ground and spreading across the floor like the roots of a willow tree, menacingly twitching like a crazed beast. From these marks a row of thin spikes erupted into forming a defensive layer of ichor, spreading and knitting together like a shield while the rest traveled on the floor through the corners, aiming to reach the opposite side and damage it.

It was something that scared the rest, how vile and unsettling it was to see her like that. But there was no time for questions to be asked, surviving this meant much more.

But it wasn't going to be enough.

The blast tore through the electric barrier.

Issei instinctively brought his left leg back, shifted his position into leaning forward a bit and stretched his jaws to open, taking a deep gust of air as he concentrated. A Dragon Shot was mixing with the Flame Breath of the Devil, spinning and gaining momentum enough to grow in size twice in less than a second.

 **[Boost!]**

It was forming between his teeth, spiraling and further being boosted to grow in size and intensity as he craned his neck up and made the shot through a hole that the tainted, poisonous ichor had not covered as it only shielded one side but not enough it was to defend them.

The wave was already close to them when he discharged his Dragon Breath with the added properties of his Dragon Shot, creating a circle before his mouth to use his **Generate:** spell to use the style he had thought out in cases where he had only his 3rd tier natural reserves to rely upon. What he was doing was the simple principle of Overlaying - using Generate to create another duplicate and fuse them together to cast a spell with a higher destructive rate with the amount used for a low tier spell, proving capable of maximizing low reserves to lead a prolonged fight against opponents with higher mana reserves.

The ichor patterns pounced at the wave, the wide Dragon Breath crashed against it hard and begun to fight to a stalemate. Both were pushing forward to return the attack, counter the properties of these wicked arcs with ardor. Two attacks clashed, battling for supremacy as the signatures begun to mingle into something horrid. Still, the enemy attack was of a much higher density and it was only winning as they were much more and Issei was being pushed back to a standstill.

"Brother! Fire it up!", Ravel dispelled her wings while she moved her Dragunov sniper riffle away and instead extended her jaws down to breathe out her own Phoenix flames like a flamethrower. Riser held her hand and imitated her movement, building up a large amount of flames within his mouth and discharged it together with Ravel in creating two more blasts that flew forward.

The twin flamethrower-like beams crossed the distance with ease, coiling and spiraling around the Dragon Breath viciously with gaining momentum and inertia to push back and support him. The three beams combined due to their similar nature, extending their output considerably into blasting forward the wall that was trying to kill them.

Ravel reached out and held Issei's hand, standing between her brother and friend, because she wanted for them to be more than strangers. Her resolve was unshakable, their combined might was staving off the blast as all three further pressed ahead with inhuman strength and fortitude. They were going to win this, they were going to get home alive! That was the only thought that kept them strong and unwavering.

Rossweisse's warding sigils erected more and more layers to cover the chinks in the dense ichor that kept them shielded. She inscribed Caunnan-Aesir over the floor with a few swipes to combine the runes and spell Torch God - the runes activated and morphed into a humanoid figure of flames that condensed and then splattered on the floor, oozing out of the ichor and running straight ahead before the combined Phoenix-Dragon Breath beam and brought it's hands together to release a torrent of flaming tongues itself to further help the already struggling fighters.

The ichor patterns were eating at the dark properties that bathed against it, devouring and poisoning the wounded. It was a poison, it was a toxic agent that tainted and devoured while leaving enemies in contact with it in a growing state of hallucination induced psychosis. It could also rot and slow down within time and depending on the ammount of exposure.

Asia was a poisonous flower, black and alluring with it's irresistible charm. After all, the most beautiful flowers are covered in thorns and hide a second nature underneath that deceitful beauty.

It was Xuelan's turn to turn to the offense. Concentrating her mana around her right fist and having it spin faster and faster over her knuckles, she took a breath as much as she could and gathered the pressure generated by the coiling mana into dense spirals by applying the Qigong striking style with no momentum to bring even more of it's piercing capabilities forward. With a heavy step forward, the black haired beauty punched forward in releasing the piercing strike to dash forward like an unstoppable force.

And it pierced through. They had managed to turn the tide into their favor.

XXX

The air was tingling with the burning sensation of magic all around the shaken to the core spot. Once in pristine condition, the casino was now demolished and should have been completely eradicated if not for the barrier that kept it in place to act as an arena. Most of the interior was destroyed sans the bar that had survived the onslaught due to the multiple barriers that had been erected and the timely comeback of the combined attacks of Ravel and the others.

 **[~** **Pendulum – Blood Sugar** **~]**

The lights were flickering in and out like in an old fashioned arcade, the rubble and dust had settled down as the smell of burning furniture could be felt. The interior was demolished, the walls had been burned and scorched black. It was ugly and smoke was rising from multiple places. This didn't look like a facility anymore. It was a battlefield where everything was put on the line for the hunt.

From the dust a glowing blue barrier had been fading away, barely withholding itself from collapsing and flickering out completely. The tainted ichor had been torn aside, thrashed and splattered everywhere around the shield and corroding the premises. The combined efforts had proven capable of withstanding the insane amount of punishment but it flickered out weakly as the sound of it breaking down into light echoed through the walls.

From within the spot stood Asia and the rest. Bone weary, drained and tired despite the sleep they had, it wasn't enough to have them in peak condition as the leeching properties of the barrier had weakened them and dropped their strength within time. They had survived the onslaught in the nick of time, the attacks and defenses erected had protected them enough but rattled their bones due to the sheer impact of collision and the following waves that crashed into both sides.

But the instigators had suffered as well.

The combined might of theirs had made a wide hole into their lines, littering the destroyed ground in craters with burnt corpses and smoke. The attack had thrown aside some, burned to cinders the front row and decimated a whole line up to the wall but their Summoner remained unscathed. Even with these losses, they completely outnumbered them and despite the damage rate it had, it had butchered only a fraction as most had managed to shield themselves and still suffered injuries but were in a manageable condition to continue.

And they had circled around them, surrounding them from every side but did not attack yet.

Asia's Balance Breaker turned off as she wasn't used to it at all; it had been able to poison and inflict mass panic as a hallucinogenic compound but it didn't work on undead beings. Yet, it had made the Efreet it struck more sluggish and frenzied, slowly lowering their capabilities within time to finish the job before they would rot away from her ichor.

"It seems your time is up, laddy. Don't worry, i have more of these coming.", the pale man spoke through a raspy voice with a sick cackle as he loaded his weapons once more. He was standing at the back, guarded by his elite warriors and blew the muzzles of his firearms. "And thus... I'm a good sport", he swiveled his neck a little, "so everyone deserves a chance. Any last words?", he spoke grimly with enthusiastic ecstasy like some gentleman in the dark alleyway.

Tired and weary, Issei directed his gaze at the sealed exit with a disgruntled look as if it meant nothing. His hands were lacking any weapons at the moment and even one move would trigger the surrounding them from every side guardians to attack. Yet, he felt relief as once more it felt like the last battle for him - every single one was fought like it was going to be the very last one since it could turn out to be that way. Even now he didn't feel anything other than a composed tranquility on the surface but deep inside he knew it was time to fight with everything they had.

He half-turned to glance at the rest with an empty look in his eye as he twisted only enough to have the left side of his face visible. "You should go now. You don't have to die here, it's not your time." he concluded with a serious tone and a lax gleam in his eye. His facial muscles tightened into a defective, awry smile that felt just like something he would make while delivering his own sense of dark humor.

Ravel brought her hands up to her glasses and brushed her fringe in this form a little. Even if she was scared, she felt a feeling brewing underneath that lulled the fear in order to stand tall. Her face broke down into a compassionate, sentimental grimace that gave the impression of her wanting to look good in the face of peril. Atleast it felt genuine and honest, she had pushed back her tsundere antics for the moment to smile and then clench her fists, ready to fight. "Not a chance. We stay together and go home."

Next Asia decided to deliver some words. Her hitched and heavy breathing didn't hinder her as to say some words with a narrowed gaze onto the left. Her hands were readied to slide down her thighs and reach the thigh straps on which she carried her throwing weapons, coiling forward and her fingers itching to grasp the blades. "It makes the difference on a Friday. I have a debt to pay off and i don't think I'd be able if we kicked the bucket now.We stick together,Ise." she grasped the hems of her dress and waited for the right moment.

"I haven't gotten back at you so we're going down together.You're a good bloke, even if you lack life in you", snarled Riser with flames about to form in his right hand while he clutched his machine gun in his other.

And when it finally came down to Xuelan, she made some ludicrous look of not a single care given about the warning, not having any interest in going down without a fight. She brought her fists up and switched her stance to the zhen dao footwork of the Shaolin Luohan 18 Postures style, combining a move from Bajiquan with the ancient style her father taught her. And she just casually said with some annoyance in her voice, not having taken off her stoic mask. Those words she said weren't beautiful at all. "Fuck him!"

Issei turned around to face the enemy, bearing a complacent mix of surprise and satisfaction. "It's an honor to die alongside you. And Lan", he actually used her name for the first time, having said it with a bit of affection that was barely noticeable, "i love the dress and you have the best legs I've seen.", he was honest at the end, for sure.

In the tick of a clock arrow, the Red Dragon Emperor whiplashed his hands like a snake. A tainted black shimmer spread around his palms, forming and shifting to take a solid shape. The black immaculate luster of two Desert Eagles shone underneath the flickering lights that had survived(some of them gave out this instant) as he took a stance and extended his arms forward with the fingers on each trigger.

It was seconds before they would be overwhelmed.

Issei rose his left hand upward in one fluid motion, tossing the gun forward above their heads into the right corner. The Desert Eagle swiveled in the air like a buzzsaw, moving at a high speed that would kill anyone upon impact before it transversed the distance of 300 meters and reached it's destination.

"You didn't mention what the favors were." was heard in that moment.

From the right flank were two figures who had managed to pass through a tiny tear in the barrier that had closed after they had entered.

All it took them was a glance to understand what was happening; the short blonde girl gripped the handle of the pistol midair, rocking her body back from the recoil in the moment her raised arm took a hold of the gun and brought it down with as much strength she could muster to keep her balance.

In a fraction of a second she gripped the trigger and took aim - upon the pressing of the trigger she launched a modified, illegal Black Talon shell into the face of an incoming revenant. The animated corpse was stunned and blown away from the recoil at point blank range, it's body slamming against the surface of the demolished floor.

"Chun Li? You gotta be ki-

The white haired Devil with the short blonde girl was pushed back against the wall to avoid the slash of fiery blade aimed at his face. Instead she switched her hold into using the handle to hit it hard between the eyes and jumped back to avoid another blade aimed at her.

"No time to talk. Fight now, talk later!" the devilish Dragon roared as he lead the counterattack with no time to spare.

Asia took out another set of Black Key blades with the inscription being that of Armaros; even if she had killed him, his name carried power and it was a tribute to his memory to serve as her tool. The former nun flung both weapons with precision while spinning, bumping back to back with the Chinese Rook and quickly moved her hand around her neck to grasp the red scale medallion into her palm.

Upon touch, the medallion booted up the massive spell it had engraved on it's surface.

Her dress and shoes were completely erased as the scale begun to spread and suit her up into a black miasma. It spread throughout her whole body in solidifying into a form fitting suit. Her body was instantaneously clad into a black, form fitting compact armor. The back was covered into a conjoined row of black plating taken from the Scale Mail of the Boosted Gear.

Her back was covered with black, light-reflective plating in imitation of a spine spreading over it and snapping onto the shoulders like a harness. It clamped onto her collarbone, producing durable angular chest plating that was composed of coils that imitated human chest muscles with a few framing plates that had jagged edges made of a coltan-titanium alloy and snapped into place as abdominal armor formed in the same way. Her shoulders were adorned by symmetrical rows of draconian metal in a hexagonal shape with bolts on it and two smaller pikes jutting from it's rear edge. The arms were adorned by two metal mended and segmented gauntlets of black over gloves with razor sharp claws welded onto them, bearing keeled edges with three fullers cut into the metalic surface and mostly made to be slim and compact. Her legs were armored up to the knees with twisted and molded Scale Mail armor and sabatons with the same fullers craved into them, reminiscing the legs of a dragon with it's clawed boots and the sabatons being turned upside down to take advantage of the naturally sharp edges of the Balance Breaker with a grinder like edge on the front to stab with.

All of the essential parts were protected by metal tempered with magic; forming a semi-armored form over a black skintight bodysuit with nanofiber ligaments and insulation, shock absorption to withstand the pressure and armored up with multiple sections to hold armaments suitable for each one as they were customized to fit the user and adjusted completely.

The visage was covered with a faceplate affixed to the sides of a black featureless mask that covered her ponytail and neck into a big colar of segmented braces that offered mobility and resistance. The underside of the faceplate was engraved with two small lines while the the upper part was broken and twisted into a more human based shape with two smaller horns attached above the tinted green eyes that made up the visor. She even had something like a butterfly-dragon motif to it in bearing circuits, curved like the wings of the insect on the sides.

And the fully produced armor was finished by the presence of a cowl over her head, while the suit lit up with dark blue circuits across the chest, limbs and neck till it reached the chest plates in forming a circular pattern that was an imitation of the Balance Breaker of the Red Dragon Emperor.

The green eyes of the visor turned dark blue in color as every suit was designed to reflect a sense of uniformity and still have a distinctive look to differentiate, as well as it's circuits glowing in the color of it's user's energy signature. All in all, the former nun resembled a less armored, customized form fitting version of the Red Dragon with emphasis on mobility and a lightweight frame.

 **[02-Argent Ghost]**

The same happened with the Chinese Rook - only that her suit was based on defense with heavier plating, spiked claw gauntlets with a circular pattern across the forearms in mimicking traditional Chinese foot soldier armory with an additional layer of yellow to finish the look over the hooked tips of the fingers and streaking two sharp edges at the back and the front. All of her limbs followed the theme with scales and grieves planted over the legs to increase the kicking strength she had, her circuits glowing in a gentle cyan blue signature with shinning eye covers as she pulled over the hood on her head and took on a Quigong striking stance with zhen dao footwork.

Her mouthpiece was modified to have a set of sliders to guard her teeth with a second piece and it carried curved horns instead with a gentle orchid mark upon 's had more horns than the rest and some were formed like the petals of her namesake.

 **[03-Noel Orchid]**

Both girls spun around in covering each other; when the beasts were already upon them, Asia struck her fists in a fastidiously prepared strikes with two arm blades poking out of the outer sides of the gauntlets, shaped like stilleto blades from damascus cable into two repeated strikes of a left jab and a right hook by twisting her body and recoiling forward to punch and slice the eyes of a reventant.

Xuelan used the straight double edged knives mounted on the soles of her boots with using the claws at the same time to kick forward, rotate her body a few degrees more and build momentum for a butterfly kick that landed upon the shoulder of a enraged Efreet. Her strikes were further weighted with additional parts on the boots to open up and bring out a second curved blade to shred flesh apart with ease. The curved boot knife nicked the predatory djinn and she stepped down further and kneed it in the nether region as she didn't have time to waste.

Ravel threw away her glasses, kicked up her sniper riffle to block a fast hit from a few revenants before her brother swung an oversized claymore created out of his Sorcery Trait - his whole body burned as he raised his temperature to make his wings blaze and act as shields to cover himself from two blasts of darkness.

The younger Phenex used that moment to clasp her scale on her collarbone, burning her clothes and being covered in similar armor like those of her friends. Her's was customized with a sleeker version of the gauntlets without any cutting edges and a more human-muscle inspired design with two bands of metal over her gloves. Extra reinforcement was placed on her back and torso instead. There were multiple ports at various spots on her custom suit to be able to utilize her Living Flame Armor to it's full potential, having an emphasis on long distance combat and her suit was based on the gear of a sniper - compartments and a few gun holsters in excess was the norm for her.

The faceplate and visor clamped down together, encasing her face into a protective shell with the green eye shields switching to a heavy tint of red and the covered orb glowing brightly as mana poured through the circuits when she took a shooting stance and used her Dragunov in conjuction with multiple flaming orbs as a sidearm to support her. It had a set of miniature compound optics taken from the Scale Mail and affixed to her main eye pieces in tiny dots for a better vision and having two feathers of steel stuck on the ain horns.

 **[01-Ardor Maiden]**

The ports opened up for her wings of fire to manifest and act as shields when she begun to take down assailants coming at Xuelan and Asia's direction, acting as a support to bring down any fucker who was going to overrun them. She was shooting bullets with explosive properties, raining Phoenix Fire from each side and switched to a new cartridge when her previous one was spent.

Riser, with much hesitation, had his own version of the black suit of the unit sprang up to gard him in a similar one like the rest. His was an exact simulacrum of a skinless body; the metal that mimicked tendons and muscle expanded to a bulkier frame of rearranged pieces. His chest armor bore segments from the tail stacked like panels on it above the circular pattern with two small orbs on each one docked. It had a spiked colar of the same tail blades and two orbs on the shoulder pauldrons clicked at once. The hand guard was morphed to have a serrated edge of two individual pikes in curving inwards, the back was covered with black extensions and multiple ports were installed on it.

The visor was modified to have four eyes with the second set being placed on where the cheeks would be, two circuit lines zigzagging from the upper pair towards the back of the head while the cheek horns were elongated and and curved back in being stuck directly above the multi plated forehead shin with a smaller set sticking out forward. The circuits sparked in a burning orange-red mixture as he switched from his default to the Living Flame Armor from each port to craft the flames of his stronger form.

 **[04-The Immortal Poet]**

Now they were ready. It was the moment to deliver that promised burning Phoenix Love in one go.

XXX

 **[~** **Thunderstep Music – Entering the Warzone** **~]**

Issei ran like a rabid dog, clearing his way through the masses of Vetala and Efreet to reach the newly arrived Wilhelmina Carmilla and Aslatiel Bael, using his enlarged by magic throwing knife and Desert Eagle to shoot and stab at sight. He had boosted himself a few times, tripling his speed and reflexes upon which he utilized to jump in the air and do a somersault. Midair he casted aside his blade to pierce the head of an Efreet, brought his gun upon another one and shot with no reservation till his bullets ran out.

He didn't falter for a single moment - two more guns replaced his first one in ramming the muzzled into the Efreet and unloading a whole cartridge into it's body, spending bullets and twisted his lower body to bend over when he was above the sand djinn, sending a pulse to the blade he had stabbed to explode into shrapnel and lace the unfortunate bastard with hot metal that melted around it.

When his feet reached the ground, a large tremor shook the floor in creating two craters, sending a strong wave that knocked the nearest corpses into tripping. And he was at it again.

Unlike the rest he had no time to craft a suit for himself so he had to switch to the outdated second version of the ones he had used during the Rating Game. It was nothing more than a skintight bodysuit with a few sections of metal to guard his torso and hands and it had to do the trick.

More and more came at him, striking from point blank with talons and flames. He couldn't dodge all of them as the sharp claws of a few tore through his thigh, a flaming claw ruptured his shoulder and twisted his arm and another one broke through his abdominal muscles and grabbed his guts.

Pain laced all of his body like never before, he didn't have time to scream as his own hands went through the skull of one and when he pulled back - It's head was severed completely so he ran the deformed visage with his gun muzzle pointing at the mouth of another and he blasted it's head into oblivion.

His twisted arm rebounded counterclockwise in a fast elbow strike at the neck of the Efreet that had damaged it, twisted his neck and blew fire into it's eyes to blind it's red eyes for a second after the first hit. His knee was raised and smacked the Vetala that tried to pull out his intestines -only to have his corrosive, acidic blood burn it's hand and it stepped back to use it's second hand for a swipe at his head.

He was struggling for air as the pain was throbbing wildly through his muscles. It was maddening him to the point of moving his hand faster to intercept that blow and duck at the risk of having his intestines snapped. The Devil literally stabbed his gun into it's heart and pulled the trigger, riddling the body of his aggressor full of metal shells. It was enough to use his head to thrash and bash it's skull at the price of making multiple lacerations over his face that bled for a second but the blood evaporated and dissipated before a single drop could escape his body.

In the briefest of instances two hands ripped through his back, bearing multiple eyes and jaws hungry for flesh and blood. The appendages coming out of his Brand voraciously retched the ganging upon him monsters, biting into them and splitting into more clawed arms to decapitate and hack into pieces those that held him down. They brought a bloody justice upon his adversaries, drinking in the blood and further ripping apart their bodies.

His insane regeneration speed fixed his body in less than a second so he continued forward but this time he was going to use his Balance Breaker.

"Balance Break!", he screamed out through a roar of pain that ripped through the air, horrid to the point of maddening as he was covered in his altered Scale Mail.

Five rose to oppose him, only to get decapitated in one clean swipe.

In a second, the tall traveler and client of his, Aslatiel had rushed to assist him with his sword drawn out in the form of a claymore he swung with ease due to his nature as it's accommodator. They exchanged only one fast look that meant many things, choosing to go back to back against the horde.

"It's like that time a few months ago in Paris, remember?", the red eyed Devil spoke in a warm, giddy tone with a half-smile on his face in reminiscence of the past. His sword's reach was long but fighting in a suit was quite uncomfortable so he ripped off the necktie off his neck as well as removing a few buttons on his dress shirt. "This time it's just as messy but a damn shitty leeching!" he shouted in uproar.

The Dragon only shrugged as he produced two more constructs from his back to assist him. Using his custom pentacle Issei pulled out two cartridges with his red metalic hands while the other two removed the empty casings and reached for the new ones. They took them steadily as his lips twisted into something ugly behind the faceplate, he slid the new ones in one go to finish and reload.

"Sometimes i don't get paid enough for this."

Flying above them, Wilhelmina descended upon Aslatiel's claymore with grace. The pale blonde Vampire-turned-Devil with pink tresses had more ease in flying and raining down bolts from the air than to try her luck with her uncomfortable shoes. She bore some serious glare that spoke of malevolent desires and her long canines glistened under the flickering lights in a nasty, involuntary smile of thrill. "And thus the team has gathered once more. You need to get me something nice for this, Ise. And don't think that it would make my heart flutter if you took a look underneath my dress." no matter what happened she had enough calmness to deliver a dirty look of a tease even at a time like this.

Old habits die hard, they say.

Instead, the Devil was annoyed by this so he remained silent for a moment. He seriously wanted to slap her for this but, alas, they had to get out of here for now.

 **[B** **oost** **!** **Boost! Boost!** **]**

"Use the thing you bought or you wouldn't last long underneath the field." Issei spoke with no emotion present.

Aslatiel shook his claymore, acting as a platform to launch Mina forward. He dashed in heavy strides while swinging Est, whom the brown eyed man had christened as Estus to make it sound more ancient and easier to respond with.

He swung faster than most as he was trained as a swordsman since early childhood, charging forward like a berserker after having propelled Mina in the air like a bullet. His steps were heavy, his first pounce lifted him in the air as he concentrated in channeling his mana through the claymore into delivering one mean slash of crimson demonic energy in ribbons that injured most coming at him. Sadly, it wasn't enough as the bodies of the dead felt no pain and their natural ability to leech energy kept them moving, having them so hard to kill without putting a lot of effort into dealing blows. Energy based attacks were like most, having mild to average effects and they were resistant to anti-magic artifacts due to their leeching properties.

In response, the dead charged blasts of darkness to engulf him into taint.

A big spear ripped through the air in giving chase less than an instance in delivering an unstoppable to dodge force of inertia. Rossweisse's spear knitted runes of water over it's gunmetal colored blade, forcing herself to manifest a serpent from it. The construct was brought to life upon shanking a Vetala, bursting out of the runes with jaws full of teeth opened.

The serpent wrapped around the walking cadavers, crushing them in it's hug.

Issei was using his Transfer to endow his firearms with more power as he casted a personal favorite of his onto them.

 **[Arrow of Damnation]**

The set of Eagles received red bevels on the grip, elongated muzzles with red running around the sides, a bigger slider with heated runes of Caunnan. He had his limbs move them around as he fought using his fists and shot simultaneously with vigor. His other hands acted as jaws to secure a big line of defense to have his back covered. The lower part of the faceplate slid away to open up for a deadly Flame Breath to heat up the air to act as a buffer in making it a weapon for the Phenex siblings to switch to their Aerokinesis in using hot air as a blade.

He blasted the vicinity around him with burning arcs, using his extra hands to snatch two enemies and slam them so hard as to splatter them into a pile of blood and mush. The flames were spreading up and it was going to act as a smokescreen.

It was becoming easier with each adversary going down one after another. Asia's poisonous ichor was actually starting to work on the red eyed djinn while the walking cadavers were unhinged and unrestrained to continue the assault.

Mina flew over them, crafting six circles around her in what could be said to be an invocation of the six elements, casting a flurry of bolts to fly down like rain.

They did some damage,yet, alas, it was enough to aggravate them at best.

More and more jumped at her, having managed to grab the hems of her dress and flung her downwards to be stabbed by the long talons of their brethren. Mina had to make use of a stepping circle to slow down her fall, rotate enough to roll away and try to balance herself on the ground as she reached it safely. Only to get rushed and pushed back by more to a corner.

Their strategy was to divide them. And it was seemingly working quite fine.

She was saved just in time by the arrival of Issei who blasted his way through the masses underneath the flickering lights. The Dragon unloaded his gun into the skull of one, using his normal hands to pierce it's torso and with a mighty force he pushed sideways. The sound tearing muscles and bone cracking echoed around when his hands ripped apart the corpse into two, using the severed halves to smack aside the rest for a brief moment.

He covered her with his back as a shield, ran his clawed fingers across her neck in searching for the key that would help her resist the leeching effects of the field. It seemed like a molestation but there was no time to waste - he finally found it, ignored the bust that the medallion stood upon and gripped it strongly to pull once more and released his grip. He pushed her back to avoid a splitting blow, having countered it with the extra limbs in stabbing his gun into it's mouth, ran his other hand over the thorax mercilessly to tear out the heart that didn't beat. He punctured the stretched out maw while his other phantasmal hand twisted into a drill,flattened out as a sheet of paper in slicing in half the torso and head.

 **[06-The Dutchess]**

The suit sprung upon her form, folding and erasing her damaged clothes with a tight bodysuit that garbed her form entirely from head to toe. The metalic parts resurfaced upon it in thick metal shins that looked like human muscles over the spine, chest, neck and limbs. Her version had a triangular shin over the standard chest plating, covering the circuit pattern in a circle with the edge resting upon it halfway. The shoulder pauldrons had been made to imitate spikes that ran down her spine in an arc formed by her shoulders in reaching the layer of modified abdominal parts to form a serrated column. The boots and leg plates were similar to high laced boots, welded together into a single piece of steel and bore three straightened horns that were forged into sharp pikes on the knees with the boots themselves resembling high heel stilletos with a wing design.

It had a skirt of sorts; made from crucible steel and heat treated it was to have it stacked like a pleated skirt bearing the same coloration. On the hips, like with all suits, there were slots and holsters while her gauntlets were slimmer and similar to Ravel's with the addition of two circular patterns on the back of her hands and mostly dull claws with a silver etched streak. It came with the aforementioned cowl but the circuitry was more curved into swirls. Her visor clamped onto her eyes, the faceplate clasped together with it. Her's had two repurposed fingertips welded on the edges to create fangs in reference to her origins. Unlike the rest, the horns were smaller and split into four pieces to make mask piece and had a third one(split and curved) rest between her eyes and also having thin lines reaching down her mouthpiece in being actually engraved.

And upon suiting her up, the circuits over her body lit up in a dark pink, her visor being changed to that color and two handles jutting out of her shoulder pads to be grasped.

She stood up, grabbed the twin handles in crossing her hands as she pulled down to hold a pair of identical knives with a saw edge. "Wow... This is cool! Now i have you around always!", she exclaimed as she jumped back in the fray, stepped upon the shoulders of an Efreet and flipped forward with her knives stabbing it in the back in the moment her legs touched the ground. She used the momentum to dig her blades deeper in it's black, only to lift it and send it flying across the air, knocking down a few more to reach Issei.

A blast of flames came at her direction so her hand automatically generated a hexagonal shaped barrier that deflected it back at the shooter, all without her having thought to even put up a shield. This thing was reading her, adapting and adjusting to fit her perfectly in using her mana pathways to connect with her body on a deeper level.

Even as far as reacting on instinct to throw her left arm knife into the neck of a corpse that was trying to gut Rossweisse. The Valkyrie responded by throwing her shield of runes to spread around the floor in weaving a wall from the rubble to be used as a stepping pad for Mina.

The vampire ran against it, stepping on it and did a backflip that propelled her further when a pillar pushed her body forward against the horde and straight for the Dragon.

The short blonde girl swerved in the air, propelled by the pad forward as she channeled enough mana into the saw edged knives to produce a long blade like aura around them in cutting through the air. Midair she swung her hand up as if she was about to land a strike but instead she changed her hold on the blades and folded her knees up to prepare a drop kick she executed behind the Dragon, landing safely near his back.

Safe. Such a time to relax.

Issei noticed her presence, placing one of his phantasmal hands of Emptiness over her shoulder, the right hand that held one of the Eagles used her a stabilizing platform to fire multiple rounds that became flaring arrows around the metal case and struck multiple bodies down. "You have some really bad tendencies." he placed his other hand that morphed into a shield and pulled her closer to his back while he was shooting down more and more incoming corpses and flaming djinn.

Mina felt something dig into her wrists, clamping on her skin tightly as if sharp teeth had sunk into her flesh. The pain was strong and ran fast across her hands, her blood flowing through the wounds under the gauntlets rather fast.

"... **BloodEdge Manifestation** ", muttered the Devil in a low tone when he tapped her neck twice.

Two smaller pieces under her wrists slid back to reveal the bloody thin lines that rested upon her skin; the metal parts on the sides moved down and clicked under her forearm to form a protective casing that nested itself onto the remaining metalwork before it moved forward a few inches. Blood begun to leak out in a matter of seconds but it started to extend into two elongated blades with a rippling pattern over the piece, solidifying into hard red cutting utilities with thin edges till they became actual weapons.

She now had four meele armaments in her hands.

Issei created two pentacles of his custom circle, layered them over each other and pressed his back on Mina, wrapping the four extra appendages over her shoulders. " _Telos des Bios. Logos Amplifier_." he shouted out those words as his circles swarmed with mana circling through them and further amplifying the technique of the vampire girl.

" _Und das geist in das Gott is tot!"_ she screamed out the command, creating two circles around her and moved them fast to overlay with his. The four combined circles formed an overlay hexagram with the combination of various words holding power and switching to a third layer of pentagrams around the second layer with demonic inscriptions. More and more words were being engraved on the fourth layer in a stacking of Deutsch and Classic Greek by the mention of those code words, spreading out like an arc beneath their feet and glowing with tainted mana around them.

Through the hot air that was around them, the two casted a spell from the 6th upper tier in a style that was derived from Composition Magic casting, but only requiring two casters to start up and complete the workings of the craft.

The unnatural spell glistened and through the air formed ripples - the dust gathered around them in a whirlwind, crafting wide arching blades of blood and dirt, solidifying into a strong durable form that shook the ground by it's gravitational pressure. Numbers swam across the surface, bolstering their fortification and sharpening the tips.

The blades swept through the air, flying boldly around like missiles into ripping through the air resistance and creating secondary waves of pressure that cut through the enemies around them. The nature of this wind extinguished the flames of the Efreet, bringing them to a halt as a strong center of gravity was applied to them to have them fall on the ground and be impaled by the bloody blades.

Organs and limbs were splattered on the ground and even more pressure pushed back those who were safe from the deadly blades of dust and blood. Finally things were looking a bit better than before.

Slashes through the air further repelled the foes, knocking them off their feet and slamming them into the ground and walls like paper dolls being blown away by the wind. Some had their dead organs crushed while the poison over those of flesh and blood were ripped apart into shreds.

And like the beastial monstrosities they were, they rose back on their feet or the lack of, crawling, flying and pouncing back for a second bout. These things were outrageous. They refused to stay down.

"I think we agitated them a bit too much." through the mouthpiece's altered voice, Mina shook her hands as the result of their spell ended. "Got anything else on this bad boy?" she raised her arm in pointing at her suit, speaking grimly with no jovial laughter or smirk behind the faceplate. She extinguished her aura amplification on the knives, returned them to their holsters on her shoulders while taking a stance with the BloodEdge swords tightening between her fingers and rippling near her wrists.

The Dragon muttered something low as a command. "Tap the brace on the left."

She lightly poked the brace on her left hand - razor sharp spikes protruded from her shoulder down to the wrist with a small hexagonal barrier forming over it. The barrier expanded to act as a shield, taking place over her like a second layer as it changed form from it's initial shape to become an almond like protrusion with piercing and defensive capabilities.

"Get up! Now, Carmilla!" he snarled through a deathly growl, barely human and more on the wretched side of sound. It was disgusting, a form of sickly frustration and annoyance entwined with a dreary tone of an animal. But he grabbed her himself and lifted her by the shoulders to rotate her and put her on his back with two of the multi-eyed black limbs changing into stepping pads and stapler braces that held her feet on his lower back.

The girl swiftly commanded her BloodEdge swords to run across the shiny surface of her metalic suit and rest upon her spine harness like two blotches perched up for no reason. Issei absorbed his Eagles with the remaining pair of hands, crouched down in a second to assume a far more beastial, predatory stance while the concept of a gun was sublimated into his Brand.

Two lumps of red metal with a secondary black coloration were produced on his shoulders, elongating and growing through a mental command to straighten out, form back in a second to become a red-black metalic pair of machine guns with stretching mouths with jaws and black ichor to connect them around the muzzles. Each one fanned out to have a wing like pike to act as a balancer upon running.

They were like a rider and a stead.

He pounced forward on his hind limbs like a cheetah with the vampire holding onto the triggers as his speed would throw her away if she had even budged a little during the blurred path he left as his leap was tremendous. Both visors lit up in synchronization, making the darkness around them shy away for a moment.

His intial charge led to him jumping over a corpse as a stepping pad, shoving it's body into the ground for a crushing blow that destroyed atleast half of it's thorax in the process. He dashed in the heavy flock of corpses forward, stomping on a few and shanked his hands into the head of one as the pale blonde girl pressed both triggers and had the blotches of blood spread out like rain, combining bullets that devoured the Vetala into nothingness upon piercing them. And the blood droplets crystalized into sharp shards that landed on random. Issei crossed a finger with another, roared out a lot of horrid screams that acted as a ignition key for the shards to shatter further into smaller pieces swept by a hot air slash into whatever they reached.

With a snap of a finger after she released her hand off the right trigger, Mina snapped her fingers in defiance as she bellowed, "Shatter! Blood Rites of Carnation!", bringing forth a bloody mist to erupt from the living adversaries, sprinkling the air around them into bloody rain while the other type was broken to the point of bloating up as the fresh blood ran through the unused bloodstream straight into the heart, rupturing it from the inside and traveling to the brain to have their skulls explode like confetti.

One that had avoided the deadly particles ran up to the duo further enraged, it's opened up maw was dangerously hanging into trying to bite the small girl from the back. It spew a wave of darkness with a leeching effect at her, simultaneously sprinting to catch her and rip her head off.

Before the incoming wave would hit her, Mina snapped back with the barrier bouncing back the wave to deflect it upwards. With a fast twist, the Scale Mail clad Devil switched his stance by spinning, his machine guns blazed back to life as more phantasmal bullets riddled the corpse till it was gone.

 **[~** **Steve Mazzaro – Capella** **~]**

"Time for the big guns!" she let go and slammed her palm onto the exact spot on his back that brought out the construct. Her wounds had already been patched up to close them, the suit pressing a plaster that blocked any blood loss as she had sacrificed some of that blood and it was not much as it was 500ml in total to produce the 5th tier spell.

And thus they roared in unison.

They swept past the smithereens, sprinting in a unpredictable pattern that left nothing more than simple savagery. Two came at their way; the red Devil held his arms out in a short soar in grappling the head of one with his left hand and he squeezed till it's eyes popped out. The head was a shriveled, decayed memory of what it once was. He released his grip before the second one attacked from his back only for the smaller armor clad girl to bend down and be held still by the braces - she clenched her fists once, charging up the tips with her own mana that had connected with the suit in delivering a bone crushing stab through it's chest, circling into the wound for a fast pull of the heart still beating.

She rose back to her previous position to hold onto the Red Dragon Emperor who swerved sideways and with a heavy blunt hand decapitated the wretch before smacking the headless corpse by the use of his left leg in a sidekick to crush it's hip bone.

When he spun, Mina used the momentum to cripple the legs of a cadaver in a few swipes with all of he r strength put behind each blow. But they were getting weaker...

Blood sprayed from the neck for a moment, leaking out like a hose and bathing the two into a scarlet red shade that sparked underneath the flashing lights. When those eyes behind the visor pierced through those who were incoming, it brought a sense of wicked malice burning up in them. The union of monsters bathed in blood was what they saw. Cold, merciless, unforgiving they were with each strike they dealt. Their synchronicity was quite high, complementing each other in the making of a deadly duo that brought carnage and bloodshed.

But it wouldn't last long as it was getting dragged out and they were weakening with each second. The field was something that would have had to be dealt with but every time one tried to damage it, they would get pushed in a corner to prevent them from achieving that.

From the back Ravel shot more and more down while Riser was acting as her vanguard in taking down any that stormed to her direction. His Living Flame Armor was quite effective against most things but it sizzled out, similar to a lightbulb flickering out, before he was reduced to his normal state since the flaming suit was back to it's normal state.

Asia slid on the floor, using her knees to lie upon as she rammed her miniature swords into the legs of two djinn, splitting them in splinters before she twisted her wrists to jamm them further. Her motion was blurred for some reason. She appeared to be on her knees and yet in less than a millisecond she was back up on her feet. The former nun was astute to notice what had happened earlier - she ran a finger over her right forearm that ended up with her fingers on the right hip from which she took out a Browning while she held her Black Key between two fingers in her other hand.

She brought her firearm up and pulled the trigger, shooting at the hand of an Efreet before it could impale it's claws into the side of the white haired Devil. The shot down hand recoiled back into a jerking fit, swung back as it bled but it was at that time when Aslatiel skewered his sword into it's neck, pushing it deep before he lashed back the large edge that severed it's head cleanly.

He took notice of her, nodded back in acknowledgement once and commanded his armament to change shape into a basket hilt sword with gold accents on the hand guard. "Shit be real. It's going to be a bitch." he quickly yanked on the medallion to suit up.

The suit formed instantly over his body, clicked and snapped into place by a blink. It was similar to the rest but not quite. The shoulders were fashioned into oval shape with a single orb placed upon the right shoulder while the left one had a simulacrum of a dragon head painted on it. It had two metal bands with circuit lines over the collarbone, a rectangular shin was mounted over the chest and had two circuit patterns shaped into a curvy v-shape connecting with a few tail plates that formed a guard over the circular pattern in the center.

It was an infantry based suit with the touch of an European swordsman in the mix.

The back harness was similar to a segmented spine, bearing two scabbards attached to it with a small casing brace over them, ending with six ports going down to his lower back. The leg armor was designed to be curved outwards in a semi-saw pattern with additional pieces stacked on the ankles and kneecaps to reinforce his legs. Instead of sharpened finger digits, it bore a more human based design with a band over the weighted gloves ending with two circuits that formed an X on each hand. The gauntlets were sleek and having three razor edges welded upon the side, more angular and folded than the rest.

The mouthpiece was crafted with four canines over the split in the girdle, seemingly more skull-like in the jaw and bearing four lines that were cut in the metal to imitate scar marks. The upper section was folded inwards to produce a curve upon which lay a pair of horns flattened and drawn out above the ridge of the nose where the optical coverings met. The faceplate had three small chiseled out marks for smal circuits to be stuffed in, with the upper part being marred by a single line that imitated a slash across the spot where a brow would be.

The optics lit up in a silver coloration as the suit connected onto his skin for the mana to flow in coloring the circuits silver. The hood slid upon his head and the neck tightened by two pistons that had some triangular sheets welded onto it's surface.

He noticed an insignia painted on the forearm of his right hand - a black broken wing around a cross with a chain wrapped over it with a serpent coiling around it in a reverse pattern in holding the crucifix with it's jaws while a white wing, stained in blood, stretched out from it's back. It was a tribal rendition of the image, bearing the italicized letters of **B.C05** in white over the cross.

He understood completely what it actually meant and why it was there when there was no need for it in the first place.

 **[05** **-** **Bloodhound]**

He didn't have time to check out how it felt, focusing on what was before him. He felt something in it; it was sucking out the mana from him to reinforce itself through a woven spell over the graphite based spray to conduct energy more easily through every section. He clenched his fist and unfurled it afterwards to get a hang of it, choosing to call forth his Power of Destruction into a thin, cross-like sidearm to dual wield two meele weapons.

The Power of Destruction swam across his hand but it did not touch the suit directly, forming an ionic bond to stabilize it at the hilt to be used with a suit. That part was mostly low in energy so it was somewhat solid, uniform in it's shape.

He dashed ahead, swinging his two blades into a flurry that was striking anything it touched. The Power of Destruction razed through the shoulder of an enraged beast, tearing and erasing through the ribcage until the strike was completed while the basket hilt sword dug into the chest of one, but it couldn't disrupt it's mana flow as the leeching ability was not magic-oriented at all. The revenant dove forward, driving itself further onto the blade and rammed it's hand at his neck.

The strike connected but it couldn't pierce through the dense armored layer at all, only rattling his head by the heavy impact. The red eyed corpse stretched it's maw open to bite his hand, successfully executing the task as it's teeth clenched around the gauntlet and tried to shatter it.

Not for a single moment did he hesitate, instinctively kicking it into the stomach and he ran his other blade into it's ugly head, twisting it sideways to free his hand and the anti-magic blade changed shape to a claymore again, spreading out like a fan in bifurcating the torso in two.

The two separate pieces flew up; he kicked them away and slammed his claymore in the ground to cause a light tremor in the foundation, using it to slightly weaken the barrier as it made with the notion of someone trying to disrupt it. It sizzled for a bit, shimmering a few good seconds before it rebounded and automatically knit itself together with a few miniature dents.

"Well fuck... It's not as easy as it seems to be." he shrugged and prepared for another attack.

"May God bless you all! Amen!" the voice of the Summoner echoed as he was just watching his guardians thrash them around, standing behind his elite guard and a barrier that protected him from harm.

They felt the crushing headache run through their heads, making them stop and groan in hot pain. It was enough for a distraction to have the wrathful corpses and djinn rush them and start clobbering with no restraint no matter what. Xuelan was knocked off her feet when a few smashed their claws and knees into her body, making her creak and twist as she couldn't even boot up the barrier on her suit to deflect the blows.

A corpse flung it's arms in a vicious bitch-slap against Ravel's neck, building momentum and sending her back by it's gruesome strength to mop the filthy, covered in shambles floor like she was a dirty rug. She slammed hard against it, her lungs caved in for a moment before she was back to normal and still didn't have time to react fast enough to retaliate.

Asia barely managed to stay on her feet, almost tripping back. The others weren't any different.

With the shaved down number of evoked Guardians, there was even more of a difference before as the ones remaining had become much more stronger and faster than earlier. It was a sign of having used the barrier with it's leeching field to supplant more mana into them, drawing strength from the surroundings and flames that still burned at some spots, to grow mightier with each second.

They began to devolve into a far cry from their current forms. The Efreet grew bigger in size, bearing bony rigid armor on their feet that had been reknited into physical form with a row of flaming tongues in a darker coloration. Their arms became muscle bound flames in ending with a crooked spine like protrusion over their shoulders, being covered more and more with black skeletal growths that resembled an armored body while wings of fire split up and spread over their backs, layered with a jagged razor lined spine ending with a flaming tail.

Red marks were burned in their chests, their faces became beastial and bearing elongated horns on their foreheads with a jaw that stretched further to reveal more pearly white fangs and the nose flattened. The face twisted and twitched to shape in the form of a flaming visage with fire running down their shoulders and collarbone in a mark.

They were behemoth-like in the way they stood, unleashing blasts more powerful than before.

The wide barrage flew past it's constraints, clashing against the 8th tier barriers produced from the suits till they were nullified at the cost of expending more mana and pushing them back. They were divided, the juggernaut Efreet proved to be deadlier opponents than they were earlier.

Rossweisse was about to fall as the leeching effect was stronger on her since she didn't have an armor that could resist it to a degree. Her spear had already returned into her hand but she didn't have much strength left as the conditions of the battle were worsening. She barely managed to deflect the multiple blows of her enemies coming right at her, trying to make her fall like paper on the floor.

She raised her spear to deflect a burning talon from piercing her side, twisting the gunmetal colored blade upwards in trying to sever it's arm from the joint but another one behind it gripped the tip of her weapon and pushed it back, making her creak and move a few steps backwards from the push. And just then when she didn't have enough time to react, an ugly maw bit into her pauldron hard enough to dent it and make it break. Another behemoth-like Efreet swept his claw and tail at her, smashing through her left side and thigh like a whip.

The Valkyrie spat blood and groaned through pain, slouching back in trying to return the blow with her spear. The damage dealt to her would have hindered her capabilities, she was already tired despite the somewhat short period of time and she knew she wouldn't last much without her magic at her disposal. She probably had enough to cast a few more spells before her power would wane completely.

Her scream was enough to alert the tall Traveler with him flinging his Power of Destruction sword straight ahead like a throwing knife at the back of the Efreet about to pierce her torso and end her life.

The atomic bond breaker sword swerved in the air, gaining momentum and with a simple command while he still had control over it, he made it expand to stab the djinn of the dunes but a Vetala jumped into it's trajectory, taking the critical blow with it's body as a shield. The corpse was erased into oblivion, having served it's purpose as a meat shield to divert the attack.

In return many jumped at him to try and stop him - he fastidiously brought up his claymore in defense, blocking a few blows straight ahead and tried to charge another Destruction blast but instead the suit read through him like a book, utilizing one of it's integrated spells to create a shockwave in spreading out to thrash back a few and put up some distance between them. The suit started to tighten around his limbs, reinforcing them further to absorb shock and concussion and acted on it's own by having him jump, curl his fist and land it into the shoulder of an Efreet with using it as a launch pad to make a flip. The installed boot blades popped out from the soles as he spun low in a modified butterfly kick and rammed his leg into the face of another one while he was midair in twisting his sword arm to lance through the head of a nearby corpse with a clean swing, severing it's head in one blow.

This wasn't even a move in his repertoire, he noticed. The suit was making him use combos he wasn't familiar with as a Savate user, and it further exerted it's integration by forcefully making the mouthpiece slide down in revealing his open mouth with a blast of Destruction already being charged up and awaiting to be expelled. This thing was frightening on how it could feel as an extension of his own body and give him actual use of magic as he was unable to cast most kinds of magic and the basic stuff was hard to use.

But with this automated circuit system, the suit was the actual caster while he was a battery to power it up for it's needs.

He landed safely before he slid his right leg ahead, bent his upper body and shot the blast of Destruction from his mouth like a thin arc.

Before it could hit anything, an ugly corpse with holes in it reacted fast as to sweep past him, swinging it's clawed hand against his cheek in a heavy blow. The barrier sprung up to deflect it, barely managing to activate in the last moment as to lessen the blow but it also made him recoil to the right, messing up his aim.

He tumbled for a few steps before he could regain his balance, using his sword as a shield to keep them away. The earlier Destruction arc had hit the wall, having missed it's target but it did agitate them further.

Rossweisse had been saved by the timely comeback of Xuelan who dragged her away and flung her towards the bar. And they surrounded the Chinese Rook in a flash.

"We need to act now. If we can reach that guy controlling them it would end." Asia murmured under her breath as she was barely able to get a moment of rest before she had to use her weapons to fight. She was tired, she was being bled dry by the field and her capabilities were greatly reduced due to a lack of stamina and a severe mana drainage. Things weren't looking good despite the questionable success but she knew they were going to win, no matter what it took them to achieve it.

She used her Browning to shoot down an incoming revenant, using a small scale Generate:Burst to make her shot more powerful in fully cracking it's head, making it go boom into a meat shower of rotting gray matter. To make sure - she gripped her Black Key blade in a reverse grip, running it's through it's hardened torso while using the enchantment of this one to rip it apart. There wasn't much of a resistance when the enlarged blade passed through the dense flesh - it was a messy jagged swipe that had too much strength placed behind it, making her spin involuntary and giving them an opening to exploit.

One Efreet grabbed her by the ankle. It's mighty flaming claws couldn't pass through the suit's metal, upon touch it only made the graphite based layer harden further. Instantly it lifted her up in the air, readying to smash her skull into the ground like patte.

Instead of panic to make her lose her cool, the blonde Devil girl had her ankle pop out serrated claw pikes like a spindle, a coil twisted inside and the edges shot out like a spring mechanism - their fastidious deployment had a momentum that made them snap and rotate over the clawed hand, swiftly severing the tendons and digits in it's appendage. They dropped like candy on the floor. Asia used that moment while midair to use her armored boots with dragon toes to shove her leg into it's flaming head, bypassing the horns and ramming her heel into it's mouth for another spring mechanism to deploy and split it's head like on a cheese grinder.

The body fell, burning into ashes and smoke under the flickering lights.

Asia made a somersault, landing on her feet and instantaneously slammed the butt of her gun into the skull of a reventant. The loud sound of bone cracking echoed through the premises. It was enough to crack it's face and make it tumble back.

Time froze, suspending the room into a single moment with no change.

 _Asia found herself standing in the Throne Room where she heard her voice echo in her ears._

 _On the throne sat a little blonde girl in a dark cloak that hid her body and she held an apple in her right palm, pointed towards the former nun. Aisa imitated a smile that seemed human, only appearing to be such when she noticed there was no emotion behind it on her expressionless face. She crossed her legs once before standing up and started walking towards her._

 _Blue butterflies flew around her in a dance as the semi-visible gears ticked and spun beneath the checkerboard floor and the blue lines on the wall glowed as darkness surrounded her with the room disappearing from sight._

 _"It looks like you could use... a hand." said the small girl when it's cloak shifted back to her usual black dress with no sleeves. Her voice had a cold chill effect to it, sweet and childish but bearing a tinge of death surrounding it as her green eyes closed once before she opened them to reveal her black sclera surrounding them in a sinister, innocent smile._

 _The butterflies landed on Asia's hand, gently caressing her when they fluttered near her cheeks. They shimmied around, spinning and flailing in a free-spirited dance and she nodded in gratitude._

 _Without her armor in the darkness, Asia took a breath as she relaxed and smiled back in a warm subtle smirk of satisfaction and utmost importance flashed in her eyes when she rushed and hugged her in a tight embrace. "Sorry for asking you for help... I saw what happened to you... But this time we'll make it right, i promise..."_

 _"It's time to fight back. Let's finish this, Asia..."_

The former nun turned around, bringing her short sword in a flurry that scraped the skin of a new djinn, leaving multiple marks upon it's upper body before she used her knee to slam against it's nether region as she brought her gun into it's mouth when the flaming behemoth tried to bite back at her. "Time flies by like a pigeon. Who would've known that, oh, not me!~" and she unloaded it straight into it's brain like it was no big deal.

She left it to fall, taking a sprinting pose as she dove forward to support Xuelan in a wild fit of madness.

"Here comes the wild Argento. And the crowd goes wild!", she roared in a battle cry as she leapt forward with throwing her Black Key before her and using her gun to shoot down a flickering lamp to take advantage of the anti-reflective coating of her V3 Viper suit. "NOT THIS TIME, BITCHES! WE'RE GOING HOME!"

XXX

 **[~** **Sons of Pythagorus – Dark World** **~]**

Ravel made the air around them into pikes that thrashed through the incoming masses, trying to get some distance in between. The hot air waves sliced through the fire users but didn't leave deep wounds as they shrugged them off and continued to hit her more and more to a standstill.

Riser was being overwhelmed by a multitude of them, swinging and striking back whenever he could as he was stuck in a tight clutch with a small chance of escaping so easily. He fought admirably, decapitating and splitting bodies like wood despite the weakening power he had at his disposal. His stamina was his advantage atleast; even with the leeching, he could move with some finesse for now until he would have to switch back to using physical force to repel them.

He managed to make the hot air around him expand into a multi-directional wave of searing heat, making some of the corpses that remained a nice roasted, crispy cadaver. The wave pushed back those around him, giving him enough space to stomp on the ground and send a shockwave that pushed back anything on the ground.

"Brother! United we stand, divided we fall.", Ravel created more levitating orbs around her as she switched to a stance, relying on speed and precision to strike fast and hard. It was copied from both the Dragon and the Room, forming a mix of Krav Maga and Shaolin Luohan in a blend of both styles. Her wings blazed once more, even if severely drained, her fists swirled with air in ripples to cast a miniature whirlwind from the sharpened finger digits in a frontal wave assault, crushing the closest ones that were near her.

Riser roared in both outrage and defiance when the stronger djinn challenged him to test their might. The older Phenex used his Aerokinesis to accelerate the moment of his strikes, bringing forth both fists in a tumultuous charge of air that extinguished for a brief moment the enemies before his eyes.

Brother and sister pressed back to back together, holding their fists with rippling air together in defending their weak spots. They brought their hands together in connecting the ports on their palms to establish a mana pathway link while using their opposite hands to aim forth another flurry of a whirlwind from two sides to counter another few blasts that were coming their way.

" **Ash to Ash, Blood for Blood, the immortal Phoenix reborn shall rise from the pits of Hell!** ", they chanted in unison while their whirlwind gained flaming properties and caused an internal combustion to take place when they struck two opposite sides, followed by immolation and the air being infused with rubble and dust to act as shrapnel in pelting, melting and burning around what they could see. " **Through the songs of the Phoenix be reduced to ash forevermore, foul creature!** ", the distortion caused by the faceplates made their voices much more menacing than before, bordering on a deeply saturated malice directed at those who dared to attack them.

Still, more attacked them and even damaged, they kept coming at them like mindless beasts.

Now they were completely drained, being reduced to fight with only their limbs and whatever weapons there were at hand. Tired, bled dry and weary they were when they begun to retaliate.

Asia pulled out a new blade from a compartment on her suit, switching the gun for a dual wielding style as her nearly mana coursed through the small edges of the steel to expand and grow in size four times to become a pair of short swords, suitable for thrusting and slashing. They bore the sigils of Penemue, making them shimmer with a soft mint green light that did not damage her due to the resistance of the suit protecting her.

 _"Time to use the gift i was born with, partner."_

Behind the faceplate, her sclera turned black as her eyes twitched once when she charged before Xuelan in a heavy step. She bore a complacent, dull smile that expressed nothing but boredom and a sense of wicked satisfaction in the making, her teeth were grating against each other when she leapt up in swinging both her arms for a slash and a thrust simultaneously.

And time slowed down in that very same moment.

She brought down her weapons upon it; one hit connected with the shoulder of dead flesh while the other one rendered through the right side ribs in a crushing blow that cracked many bones and further dug into the thorax. The undead being couldn't react at all - she was much faster than it could be and it didn't see it coming, only moving in what could be said to be slow motion, lagging behind before being able to defend itself.

The two blows met together at some point, clashing metal against metal reverberated through the premises when time returned back to it's normal state. Asia twisted her upper body to turn around and run through her blade in the leg of another one. She had slowed down time around her for 5 seconds, granting her unmatched reaction speed as she could now perceive multiple paths on how things could turn out to be. Her extra sensory perception gave her an edge over them, once again stopping time for 3 seconds to pull out her other Black Key in a vertical slash and bring it down upon the head of the revenant with no mercy at all.

The handles bearing Penemue's name were granted the properties of her iconic light spears; unlike the younger generations of Fallen Angels, her light didn't cauterize upon touch but made wounds that were hard to close and laced them with a poison that killed many Devils during the Second Faction War more than 1500 years ago, during the Battle of Camlan. Those heated lumps of metal channeled her ability, making the wounds inflicted by Asia burn and poison.

While normally, she couldn't match them even with the extra training she received(it was mostly an abysmal amount of beating), with her gift she could compensate and triumph over them.

She slowed down time again for another five seconds, slashing the throat of an Efreet cleanly as blood began to pour down on it's chest, and she drove another slash upon it's stomach that made it step back and get hit by Xuelan's Qigong laced fist that ruptured it's chest, producing bloody mist over them.

The former nun moved again. To anyone who saw her image, she appeared to blurr out and reappear in another spot in less than two seconds, exhibiting what could be said to be unmatched speed as to have her form flickering but it was nothing more than her moving at a normal speed and time around her lagging and flowing naturally frame by frame, moment by moment while she moved through it in all kinds of directions.

Her form flickered once again, finding herself before another corpse. It's stretched out talons tried to claw at her but slowed down time, jumped upon it's upper limbs and executed a somersault while slashing off it's arms clean and moving ahead as another one jumped at her with a blast of leeching darkness being shot midair. She knelt on her knees, pointing her throwing weapons up as she rose back on her feet and pricked it upon them, throwing it backwards and left it to crash against the previous one.

She avoided the shot by freezing time, moving calmly as if she was walking past it, and let time restart again.

The nun brought her fists together, pouncing upwards in a fit with moving her right hand straight for the head of a new one that was moving towards her with many dozens following it behind. The hot metal passed through it's skull in breaking past it's constraints so she kicked the corpse forward with the blade still lodged deep and switched to a semi-automatic gun from the waist holster as her cowl was raised up the gust that blew past her, revealing the draconian faceplate once more clearly with the dark blue optics glowing the same color and flickering.

" **How many fools can i kill today** **?** ~", she started to sing in a trance, making her lodged sword burst into shrapnel and moving out of the way, shooting down many with her gun till her clip was spent. Next, she accelerated her time to react faster and flicker for a few moments as reality came back to it's natural order, flung her other Black Key in a backhand thrust and kicked the thing's leg back to make it tumble and she lifted it a bit before throwing it forward.

It crashed on the ground hard and barely stood up.

" **Too many to count, don't get in my way** ~", Riser had reached her as he made his way through the horde while being on the brink of collapsing yet he fought ferociously as a wounded lion... Phenex in this case. He used the BloodEdge Manifestation spell on his wrists to have two pikes burst from underneath his arms and cover the wrist blades that sprang through a sping mechanism for an added bonus at striking and stabbing with a small secret behind each one.

Each time he smacked those pikes of blood he left a drop or two sip into the wounds and with a snap of a finger he immolated their bodies through his napalm spell. It did work mostly until he couldn't muster much strength, it was over for now.

" **I shoot a mofo in the throat with my bow!** ~", Ravel swatted away with a serious bitch-slap anything that came in her way, knocking them back while she joined her friends to give them a final push as they were going to go home or die together. She was in a trance, coordinating with the other two through a woven spell of synchronicity between their suits to bring out the best of them working as a team.

Xuelan was the last to join them. She gripped a handle that popped out of her harness, clutching it tightly as two other scabbards split from it to make room for the biggest one to be pulled out. In her hand she held a big axe with a silverish edge and a hole in the back of the blade, ending into two curved fullers with a razor sharp spike to pierce. The harness closed back in place, hiding the two scabbards and slid down in it's spot.

She broke through the knees of her enemies, growling in a maddened tone bearing the markings of weariness and pain but solid and stoically holding out till the end.

" **Tomahawk chop is my death blow!** ~", she sang as her axe sunk in the side of a djinn, moving it to the left where the Red Dragon Emperor, who managed to get to them, gripped it and snapped it's flaming skull at the price of melting some spots on his gauntlets and the searing pain he experienced but roared out like thunder.

Mina, who was behind him, used his back as makeshift stairs to pounce up and bring down a bolt of fire to blind those that stood before the devilish Dragon, supporting him in the long run.

The white haired swordsman accomplished his goal in using his Power of Destruction, making a few stilletos to stab in the eyes of one, making the rampant polypeptide chain disruptor erase it's head cleanly till only a headless corpse remained. He used it as a makeshift shield in shanking it on the claws of another one and using that moment to change his anti-magic claymore to a khukri knife at the base of it's neck, splattering and opening the throat as to lance another Destruction stilleto in it and finished with a kick that launched them back.

"May God bless you all! Amen! Amen! Brothers and Sisters!" the Summoner finally emerged back from his cover, unleashing a heavy light that illuminated the whole casino complex for a few long moments. The magical light irked the Devils, despite the protection the V3 Viper offered them, the headache struck them again and when he ushered another one of his gratuity infused shrill screams, the worn down fighters were brought to their knees.

"Amen! God bless you!" he was exploiting the weakness of a Devil against them to make them ache in pain and lower their guard down enough to have his minions start beating and bashing them as it was hard to put up a fight with the damn light and the prayer hurting them.

He threw a grenade at their direction, putting up a shield of darkness to protect himself. He didn't mind getting some of his minions blow up as long as the job would be done. They were expendable to him. He could always get new ones on a whim.

The bleeding Rossweisse threw up a shield with the last of her strength to contain the blast, saving their lives.

She no longer had any strength left in her body as she slouched back against the bar and fainted. The blood loss wasn't severe but she could barely stand now.

The pale Summoner crafted jaws from the darkness around him, further fed by the energy the field had stolen from his prey, and sent it forward with the sound of a whistle, akin to a living being.

The jaws floated lazily over the shambles, picking up dirt and tiles in it's mass of darkness to knit more jaws and hands with sharp eagle claws into it's semi-solid shape becoming more corporeal and growing in size upon drawing from every ounce of darkness around them. Unsurprisingly, the foul construct gained tentacles with a spade tip marring it's extra limbs to resemble a messed up creature of matter with jaws, hands and other things incorporated.

It flickered beneath some of the still working lights before they broke down.

It was going to engulf them. It was already stretching it's horrid maw at them with ugly crooked teeth glistening from it's own making and the tiny, shiny specks left in them to strengthen it once more.

 _"It's awful .. I'm scared. I don't want to die. Help me, somebody. Anybody...No! We're going to win, no matter the cost!"_

Ravel was taking a severe beating while she tried to fight back. The jaws were already near her.

 _"I'm not going to die like a dog. I wanted to do so many things! I will not let her die because of my incompetence! My dignity as a man lies on this one act. Not just as a man but as a brother!"_

Riser didn't care about the lack of strength anymore. His willpower grew further as the vicious punch that tore through the chest of his enemy gripped the closest being and tore out it's throat straight from the first swipe it landed.

 _"I need to do something about this! I'm not going to lose another one... Not until I've taken what's mine!"_

Xuelan shirked away to move closer to Issei, intending to shield him as he was getting the worst of their punishment. She hugged his back and left her head rest upon his back, acting as a second protective layer for his back to keep him steady while he was about to be blown away. She grit her teeth in pain, struggling to hold on.

Upon the touch of her helm on his back, the Emptiness responded to her wish.

Her axe had dissappeared from her hand.

 **[Dragon Overbooster:** **Orchid Mizuchi of Snow** **!]**

From his back formed a hilt she clasped and pulled out; upon doing so, multiple threads of black spread across them like a blanket, bearing a red shimmering coloration to them as they responded to her will to fight back. The hilt rotated clockwise - the threads started to grow into individual serpentine beasts with no eyes on them. Horns of green flashed from their heads, their maws opening up for tongues with eyes and smiles to be revealed. Curved horns with green flames erupted from their cheecks upon her desire, a giant blood eye opened up on each of the construct's foreheads as they dove in a fit to pick up and crush their adversaries.

The serpentine heads begun to tear off the heads of their abusers, clamping, biting and severing their limbs with no mercy. It became carnage. Craning their long necks, the heads crushed and twisted before them with a voracious appetite as they regurgitated their meal in leaving nothing but bones.

The darkness construct clashed against the serpentine one in snapping jaws at each other and blazing fire back and forth. They battled for supremacy in fiery competition while Issei steeled himself to take the hits to defend the rest. One tentacle managed to rip through his stomach, retching away the abdominal plating of his Scale Mail in a hurry. It completely swarmed his organs and laced them with specks of metal, dirt and bigger particles to kill him.

It was nothing more than staving off for time.

"...Hilda... i need you...", it was barely audible when blood poured out of his mouth and dissipated in his mouthpiece. It was weak, pain driven but sincere. It was not a command. It was a calling. He was calling her to stand her ground and stop hiding - he was calling the girl who carried the epithet of Soundless Metronome and Jericho...

 _"I can't take this anymore... It hurts so much but no more! I'm not going to let anyone make me cry anymore."_

Hilda, who had been hiding through all of these five-six minutes couldn't take it any longer. All of the pain he felt was being transferred to her tenfold, every single negative emotion he felt she experienced herself. She was taking his pain through their special link and it was driving her crazy from the amount she could not suppress. Even if she was scared to death... even if she was shivering from fear... She remembered those words that made her reconsider everything. The short girl felt no fear all of a sudden.

 _"This is my world! It's mine and you're not welcome here."_

From the back of the bar plate flashed a small light that wasn't left unnoticed.

One revenant that jumped past the heads managed to jump on the only thing that survived in the casino and leaned forward to bite what was hiding there.

Only... to rot away and shrivel.

A bass guitar was thrown with inhuman strength with a set crash course - it was aimed at the pale Summoner who lost his smile upon noticing the projectile incoming at his way.

Instead of trying to block it, the pale man yawned in boredom in anticipation of his darkness barrier to shred the bass guitar like a piece of cake or his elite guard to immolate it like it was no big deal. His smile wasn't a smile anymore - it turned into a mocking sneer with delight over such a dumb move, a ridicule of the finest degree.

And yet... The guitar made a big thwack with his face!

From the bar emerged the short Hilda Shaun. Her beautiful face had the ugliest, twisted from pain smile she could ever make. Everything in her spoke of malevolent desires to rip him apart, bringing out the scary side of the human girl. On her cheeks strolled bitter tears as she couldn't take it anymore. Everything in that face of her's told him so much about what was coming for him. "Schwuchtel! Sohn einer Hündin!" she softly whispered through a voice that was not quite human. It stepped into the realm of something much more higher than the mortal spectrum.

As a response that didn't fall behind - the remaining minions came at her with blasts of fire and darkness readied.

 **[~** **Robert Slump – Darkest Hour** **~]**

She began to sing. Her voice slipped past the mortal constraints of timbre and tonality, singing a healing aura that strengthened her comrades in a time of need. No longer was she a scared girl hiding in the background - her contorted from the pain face made a sickly ghost of smile, swarming in a deep feeling of maddened glory as she jumped down to the rubble and bore a twisted, disgusting grin on the sliding scale between sanity and insanity.

Her Healing Aria bathed the ears of the Red Dragon Emperor, reverberated through his body in channeling a power only she could grant. It was a gentle caress, the touch of a girl that brought strength in him from somewhere else deep within. He felt rejuvenated, he sensed his weariness crumble away as the resolve for a final push crawled through his body, his face behind the faceplate snickered as the white worms underneath the skin started to move in a crazed dance of macabre. He was returned back to his previous state before the leeching took place.

But he wasn't the only one who felt that.

The serpentine construct tore through the other one - It's jaws sunk into the black mass and devoured it as if it were nourishment. It dissappeared, and thus did the snakes coming out of his back. He felt calm like water flowing in the river, his senses were unleashed back to full power while he didn't feel tired at all.

"Oh yeahhhh~ Cue the music!" Asia theatrically raised her hands in creating swirling spirals that extended into whips within her reach. Her suit circuits flared with mana once more to give that characteristic glow once again. Her cackle filled the air with an exquisite sense of wicked satisfaction when she yelled out, "That guy had the right idea. He wore the brown pants!" she concluded in a cutesy shake of her hips.

Both Phenex siblings's wings blazed back to life as they were no more burdened by the barrier.

"Hell yeahhh! I wanna shoot, baby!" Ravel brought her hands together, manifesting her Dragunov sniper riffle and had multiple orbs of fire surround her upon command. Her Living Flame Armor was back and running at full throttle so it was time to show them some more burning Phenex love! Literally.

Xuelan whiplashed her arms to craft two barriers, feeling the surge run through her whole body like a river past it's borders. She had the two shields placed before her when Issei moved back and shed the Scale Mail completely.

He used his Regenerate:Clothing on himself, fixing the damaged bodysuit he wore underneath. He felt unnatural calmness, bearing a monotonous and frozen in place visage like a cold steel automaton with it's unmoving, unflinching look of boredom but it was mostly blank.

He grabbed Mina's hand, holding onto it tightly before any of the blasts could reach them. He muttered with a robotic tone the beginning of a chant, bringing forth his custom circle to overlay with the one she brought out. The twin pentacles lined over each other, rotating to match opposing sigils before twelve smaller ones drafted onto their sides like a clockwork mechanism, bearing multiple runic letters and a row of Latin and Hebrew in the mixing of the incantation.

She knew what he was going to do.

" **From the hollowed bone of a saint to the wicked bearing of a beast** ", she begun to chant in high speed, finishing the first part of the spell." **To the martyr and the wretched, I beseech thy! Blood must have Blood.** "

" **From the Equinox to the fear of oblivion, i call fort thy righteous fury to befall the enemies of mine. From the ashes of the past to the sunlight of the future, I call thy name!** " The Red Dragon brought his arm forward like holding a gun, making a finger bang in imitation of pulling the trigger. " **Rites of the King of Blood!** "

From within the twelve pentacles were brought out twelve spears with a spade blade of black dust and blood. Tainted, perverse light sizzled through their edges as they were aimed towards the incoming blast but the purpose of the spell was entirely different.

Four of the spears stabbed the walls, acting as a resonator pike while the other eight flew down against the blast in forming a wall of darkness between each shaft like a web. The loud sound of a crash echoed past the walls, sending a rebounding shockwave that knocked the opposite party off their feet and threw them in the air. The four resonator pikes flared up in forming threads that slithered like a snake in repairing the earlier placed overlay network to weaken the barrier somehow before having to crush the individual aspects of it's construction.

This spell acted as both an offensive and defensive tool, as well as acting as a field that would clash against the other one.

Upon that moment, Xuelan jumped out with Asia following suit with her whips in her palms. Midair, Asia smashed her first whip into the side of an Efreet, making it slam down upon the barriers the Chinese beauty had crafted - she pushed it off like a battering ram against one of it's own in flying against the thread. The thread wrapped around them and suffocated the flaming sand dwellers as it dropped off in forming a cocoon.

The Nun-turned-Devil swatted away a corpse with her whip off it's feet before connecting the other whip handle with the first to act as a rope as she flung it across the walls in a flashy mess of scrapping it on the charred walls. She ditched her tool, opting for a combo of her Black Key and her semi-automatic gun again with a new clip, full of bullets.

They came upon the two girls in a flash.

Xuelan bashed the shield against one, throwing her other shield barrier as a projectile - the thrown barrier spun and heated up through the friction it caused against it's flight pattern, severing the head of one and stabbing the wall. It sizzled out in a dying light that spread across the overlay.

The former nun was behind her; she gripped her blade properly in a horizontal slash against the stomach of a fiery djinn, making a deep incision in it while she brought her gun in unloading a single bullet in it's dense skin. The other girl pulled out a grenade from her waist compartment, removed the safety pin and shoved the grenade into the gash before kicking it away and bringing up her shield to defend them from any shrapnel.

The thing blew up into sending flesh and blood with shrapnel flying all around the spot, shaking the floor beneath them in a tremor. The raised barriers protected them from the aftermath.

Everyone dispersed to lead their own battle.

Hilda Shaun started walking undaunted by the things that were coming for her. She wasn't the same at all; the pain she felt had her go numb and driven to the edge as she let them come near her... It was something of a preference of hers to have them band up in one place for convenience.

The first one that reached her was a horned djinn, trying to burn her eyes off with the flaming tip of it's tail swung at high speed at her for a killing blow. Unlike the rest, the lovable girl was a regular, squishy human with no outrageous durability or endurance. Nor was she as fast as the rest but... She had tricks up her sleeves.

She managed to grab the tail beyond the burning tip, squeezing with the best of her strength through the adrenaline rush and something happened - the Efreet fell on it's knees, jerking and squirming from an insane amount of pain as to tear out it's lungs from screaming. And she sang, " _ **This was never my world. You took the Angel away**_ ", she sneered in a delusional grin as her eyes flashed in a myriad of colors for an instance. There was the sign of relief on her face, as if she had brought down the burden off her shoulders. She squinted in a maniacal gaze of enjoyment, squeezing out the last words in a growl, " _ **I killed myself to make everybody pain**_ ~"

She had transfered all of the negative emotions and the magnified pain of twelve people in one single touch to kill the beastial monstrosity in just a light squeeze. It was done through her ability to filter negative backslash, impurities and siphon out any taint from her fellow clubmates. As the final Sephirot on the border between the light and the darkness dwelling, she had used an ability from the Inverse of Malkuth to kill it with such ease. As he was the First and she was the Last, they were constantly at the threshold between going Inverse and the normal, pure form of the Tree of Life. But that also brought a special connection between them on a deeper level.

But she didn't falter for a second.

From within the walls two gigantic hands of dirth and bricks erupted. They were big and coiled with specks, glistening under the darkness around before they snatched an Efreet with all ten fingers clutching it's arms in a tight embrace. By the single snap of finger they pulled, ripping off it's flaming arms off it's torso with ease. The act was done so fast as not to make a single sound as the torn limbs lumped lifeless and the hands clenched into fists. In an instant, they were brought against each other, crushing the helpless thing between the rubble of dirt, stained with blood.

Hilda walked forward, swatting and crushing enemies with not a single shred of mercy. Her earth hands dug into the back of a cadaver that tried to snuff her out, and before her eyes the wretch was split in two pieces left to rot beneath her feet.

She was like a juggernaut. She opened her mouth to unleash a high pitched scream, courtesy of her Sound Affinity, stunning and making them writhe in pain on the floor. Her use of Sound was laced with divine vibrations in every note she produced by her scream, damaging the eardrums and making them bleed. She was called Jericho for the sole fact of her scream being able to rattle and shake buildings like an earthquake. And the one she made shook the ground with a magnitude of 5.8 on the Richter scale.

After a few seconds passed, enough for the former nun to get a grip, Asia stopped time instead - using enough of her stamina as she knew the aria that strengthened them was temporary, she kicked off the ground and vanished into nothing before the multi-spectrum eyes of the Dragon could notice what she really was. She teleported behind the Summoner and his elite guard, severing the tendons on the legs of his elite and kicked him hard with a kick, enough to send him forward to the rest.

She teleported back to her previous spot, emerging from the ground and time resumed like it had never stopped.

It may have been Asia in body but she had swapped places with the little girl to better use her gift. And it was done in a way that nobody would have noticed as to keep going.

Issei rushed for the bleeding pale man on the ground under the suppression fire Ravel offered, snatching the man and lifting him to stare in his eyes for a second.

"And tell your master i send mine." he countered through a cold-hearted tone before he tossed him behind his back.

The sick fuck landed on the knee of Mina, stabbed by the blades on her suit right in the stomach as she kicked him off her to fight back the remaining thralls. She did it with extreme prejudice and her kick did break a rib or two.

From behind the vampire girl came Riser, who severed a hand through the use of his Aerokinesis to slow down the pain they were going to inflict. Ravel shot at his leg, crippling it but made sure not to have him die from the shock. Xuelan smashed her boot blade in his balls for a crushing blow as a farewell.

And lastly, the Dragon pounced back in a wild fit, took out his bladed tail with a spike, and before he could fall - he sliced his jugular vein in a single swipe. He upheld his use of his iconic finisher with the parting words he always delivered. "May God forgive your actions and judge you for your deeds. Rest in peace."

Before the bleeding to death man could fall, Aslatiel took out his Devil wings and used them as a pair of scissors to clamp his head off, decapitating the man and sending him to his final resting place.

 **[~** **Mark Petrie – Eshara** **~]**

"That's what you call... A hell of a twist", Hilda said in a calm voice that distilled the tension.

With the death of their Summoner, the remaining forces were trying to retreat but they weren't given that chance as the short girl took a step forward, bent her posture a little and gathered air into her lungs for another sound wave to crash through their defenses. Issei knew what she was going to try, he knew very well that pose, the way she took in air to sing in a higher pitch than usual through her soprano voice. It was going to be that one... and it only meant run.

He switched to his Scale Mail in a brief moment to offer some sort of protection and gain more mass to carry people out.

"Everyone. Take cover! She's about to blow!", he had only six seconds to grab everyone else and get them to safety. It was a race against time. He crafted extra hands from his Brand to fish through the broken lines in snatching the Phenex siblings in one go. He ran as he held them up, lifting Xuelan off the floor in a princess carry and had Asia cling on his back. Next he caught Rossweisse, who was gently handed to him by a hand of dirt and he flew up in a set trajectory to grab the other two in his grip, holding them tightly without letting go.

He ignored the rest. They didn't matter, it was a mere moment before he would need to dive in for cover. Using a piece of rubber he always carried on himself for cases like these, he had Asia stick it on his back plating on command and he knelt on the ground.

The rubber patch was absorbed into his Brand, sublimated and using it's concept he produced fifteen layers of dense rubber in a petal formation to enclose them in a gigantic bouncy ball in a black and red coloration that stuck to the ground. It was due to the fact of porous materials having the ability to absorb and insulate sound from within as it was about to get rowdy. The layers covered them in a flash, closing any possible hole in between before the rubber melted around the edges and became one solid ball.

 **[B** **oost!** **Boost! Boost! Boost!]**

He strengthened the density and the durability of the self-made prison of rubber to make sure not a single sound would permeate through it's hardened layers as it would spell certain death for anyone who heard what was incoming.

 **[Cry of the Banshee]**

And in that moment Hilda let out a inhuman, savage, despicable and so ugly scream that transversed into the realm of the dead. It was so sick, so disgusting and painful to hear that violent scream of weeping, echoing in a hundred different voices that didn't belong to a human being. The voices screamed in all the tonality there was, human, beastial and paranormal echoes of the dead whispering a gentle song of macabre into the ears of the remaining minions. It was a curse that would kill in time or right away those who were unfortunate to hear it in their lives. A sing-song of a promise, a symphony of death filled the barrier and it's contents with dread and terror.

The scream burst further any of the eardrums that were not damaged. The Cry of the Banshee had the radius of a hundred meters and anything within those hundred meters was bound to die upon hearing the violent weeping song of the unselee fairy. But unlike the song of the woman in drags from legend, Hilda's was the real thing that put Banshee in it. Her scream actually synchronized to the vibrations of the organs of each Efreet and Vetala worked on, causing a deadly resonance between the sound and the matching frequency of their insides. Organs burst from the strain, hearts stopped and from the shockwave itself the bones were shattered completely.

The hearts coursing with Asia's poisonous ichor were put to a halt. They burst like a wildfire akin to a blooming flower they were ripped to shreds as dust seeped through the orifices and all flames died out, bathing the complex in complete darkness. The undead corpses were broken into mush as they couldn't contain the ruptured and torn organs inside and any un-life was left in a final deathly silence.

They were put to sleep, silenced forever by the song of the Banshee as it's weeps died out in a peaceful shudder...

Inside the closed space of the rubber ball Issei and company held their breath in waiting for the storm to pass. It was a bad idea for anyone who had claustrophobia to be put in it but luckily neither of them had such a phobia. Riser wanted to scream due to being in near proximity of the Dragon who held him down in a safe grip. His trauma hadn't been healed completely and would need more time to be conquered. It was intimately close for everyone inside the bubble, it was definitely a tight spot to move, no doubt. They were huddled together in a embrace of sorts, a last ditch effort to survive the wave since they were in the middle of it.

 _"Is it done yet? Wait... I feel the generous hand of someone touching my butt!"_

"Guys... i can feel someone... rubbing my butt here..." meekly and really cute in the tone she spoke with, Xuelan uncomfortably mentioned that fact without any reservation. She felt the cold touch of clawed fingertips run across her nice rear in gripping and rubbing it like clay. Even the uncomfortable, flustered voice of her's was a turn on for the devilish Dragon. As much as to give him a boner at a time like this... Talk about awkward.

Nobody responded.

Riser shuffled upon sensing a hand run across his neck in drawing light circles. "Please, just stop that. We're in a death and life situation here and you had the gall to rub your hands against my neck?" he spoke in a clear, weary tone as the enchantment lost strength. It was uncomfortable, it made him want to laugh from embarrassment.

"Actually, that's just me.", somewhat chipper, Asia responded with a smile behind her mouthpiece as only the circuits of multiple suits shed some light in the grimly dark ball of rubber. "Nah, I'm messing with ya, boy~"

"Seriously, stop it you guys. We're in the middle of a—

He couldn't finish his anguished soliloquy of being molested. He felt a tiny hand wrap around his ass and give it a nice squeeze and a slap, he wanted to die at this moment as it brought out some memories on how he got slapped on the bum by the lovely Akeno Himejima. Only that he didn't like it so much.

"Carmilla! I know it's you!" he snarled in a disgruntled, weary tone of resignation that had no fight in it. He gave up completely. Fine, let her have her fill for perverted antics at a time like this."Oh...fine... Carry on.", he couldn't believe he actually said that but it wasn't his fault anymore.

"He...he he...he. I got you now, Ise-chan~"

Only the giddy, cute laughter of a girl confirmed it.

The bubble peeled off like an orange, unraveling it's layers in the form of slices for the rubber to fall and reveal the huddled group in darkness. They emerged as soon as it was physically possible to take a deep breath and relax for a moment. It was finally over.

Using his night vision mode on his eyes, Issei looked everywhere around the complex in search for his employer in a frenzy. He looked everywhere until he found her and managed to get a good grip on her, securing her in his embrace of cold metal clinging to her soft tissue. He hugged her, disarming his Scale Mail as to give her comfort despite his inability to comfort people properly. He did nothing more than hug her in a robotic way, yet, it still had some actual warmth to it when she returned it back by wrapping her hands around his back.

In the end, she didn't need protection so much as he expected.

Riser lit up a flame to cut through the darkness, shedding some light on the situation at hand. They now had a source of light to see normally without having to rely on any heat vision or night vision installed on the optics of the V3 Viper series suits.

Rossweisse was in the hands of Asia, who was healing her at the moment.

"Wait. I got something for you." barely having strength to contain her emotions, Hilda rushed back to the bar(the only thing that survived) and unearthed a suitcase. She returned with it and gave it to her friend, actually having secured his suitcase with his payment. And this brought a satisfactory smile on the brown eyed man. It might have been rotten and disgusting with the way his eyes shone in a sickly glint but it was worth everything!

The compound barrier had collapsed finally. The multiple dents that weakened it did their job in having it break finally. It was a grueling battle of six minutes or so but they were going home now.

"Alright. Let's go home now. I surely need a bath after all of this. Got more than 80k in my pockets so we should have a break or something." exclaimed Ravel.

"No... It's not over yet..." the brunette mentioned it in a cold voice of steel and ice, his rotten eyes peered past the entrance on the other side in recognition of something. He felt his scars burn in a familiar sensation; they told him it was another supernatural being going their way to meet them. He sighed in despair of having to fight again after all of this happening but it was atleast normal for him. It was his job, he could get some decent cash out of this one. Everything could become profit.

 **[~** **Position Music – Stand And Become Legendary** **~]**

From the entrance emerged a medium height silhouette with no discernable curves as to whether it was a woman or a man. Every step it made left marks of a black flame with a violet outline surrounding it, carrying itself peacefully in the way it walked. It didn't seem to be in a hurry at all. "Iiighh...Iiiss...Iisssgeee...", only growls nearing a childish humming were heard from it.

And then it happened.

The silhouette removed it's cloak to reveal a form fitting armored shell. Upon closer inspection it became clear what it was; the suit was closely following the curves of the body, having the outline of unisex being upon first glance. It's mighty legs were covered in serrated individual plates that resembled the armor of a dragon. They numbered twelve segments in total, semi-movable hard draconian steel in the shape of talons around the thighs marred down till the kneecaps where two violet orbs resided, surrounded by a three pronged cage knee-guard with a feathered tip behind the joints. The legs further continued to a heavy duty footwear of sabatons in having four individual fingers with pronounced double-edged nails with a magenta streak. The back of the leg was hugged by a wisp of fanned out stalactite protrusions and ending with a opposable claw of the same kind.

Each segment ended in a violet trim in intersection, some were bigger than the other in locking in a curvy design of something exotic.

The waist had a pronounced skirt attachment of three bars held onto a larger plate that spanned to it's back and the sides had the same ones in forming an actual battle kilt like that of a Viking. On it's belt section it had another orb showing, only smaller in comparison. The abdominal and chest were in a tight mesh of resembling an intricate underbelly of a dragon with black marks imitating scales while the chest piece was composed of seven interlocking parts: three razor-tipped triangular sheets stacked over each other at the diaphragm and four bigger ones resting above it.

What was interesting was how the chest armor followed the curves of a female, actually having that shape with smaller triangular layers running down between the breast guard in forming a spine, similar to the tail of the Scale Mail. It ended with four fullers cut in the breastplate with magenta glowing in unison with the big orb, lodged in the center.

The shoulders were fashioned in mimicking human anatomy with the exclusion of cross-shaped pauldrons in a jagged Waterlily configuration that had morphed spikes of violet and a curve of yellow trim surrounding their exit points from the plates. The hands were formed in the fashion of slim, human-like palms with golden bangles over the wrists and ending in a mould of two half triangular pieces of metal in which four jutting extensions like a needle rested.

They were not bulky at all, they seemed lacking in heavy armor.

The neck was probably what was the most curious piece of work. It resembled colar with a elongated bar in the shape of crown of jutting horns biting into the shoulder and breastplate in holding them together. The mouthpiece had two metal bands near the cheeks in a V-shape with thin tips, the chin was a pile of black scales over a colar with multiple flat bands while the mouthpiece was angular and outfitted with a small imitation of dragon fangs at each side while the intersection where it would open was covered by a sliding panel of two bands that protected it. It was similar to Albion's mouthpiece in a way but more elaborate.

The visor with optical coverings was divided into two separate sections, framed by the tip of the helm separating them. It had three sharp slit eyes on each side, totaling the number of six in a compound. Two on one level and the third one beneath them in ending with a light curve. The helmet was composed of five diagonally spread horns with an inverse pointing curve of black and violet while the whole thing resembled a short muzzled dragon given a more human based shape. The eyes glistened in bloody red upon noticing the company.

It had six wings composed of coiled around tentacles of thorny metal with pikes on each one, formed like the wings of a very familiar dragon. They were more long pinions of steel stacked together and clumped in one spot to hold their shape than western based ones like any European dragon would have. Somehow it alluded to a butterfly in the way it moved and it's form was elegantly sleek and invoking the image of a cross between a mighty dragon and a butterfly now.

Then those wings blazed in black-violet fire as another roar escaped the thing's throat.

"Grgghhs... Iissheegsd..."

"Genshirou...", he muttered, having known the familiar aura of Vritra since he had used his Ichor to gain his power for a short moment through his Onyx Diabolica form against Riser Phenex. Yet, it didn't feel quite right as the blonde guy had only one of the Gears and he was dead.

He saw his corpse with Sona, as well as the rest. He was dead, they gave him a funeral after the massacre on the 1st of August. They honored his memory even if Issei actually disliked the popular bloke a lot for many reasons.

Only when the Vritra Mail clad being revealed Devil wings did it make some sense. Still it was strange for it to be like that. Vritra was a male dragon, unless it was actually a female one? Nobody cared, really,

 _"Genshirou's corpse could have been dug up, bonded with the rest of the Vritra Gears and brought back to life. Or Vritra could be using his corpse as a vessel to dragonify him and bring him back in this deranged state_ _._ _"_

This thing was a Devil for sure. Even more when it reacted to the name Genshirou, expressing familiarity with it but nothing could be certain. Only one thing was for sure - it was here to kill them.

The Vritra armored Devil ran up against them in spreading it's black-violet flames in a circle, separating the group from Issei. It was the goal it had to cut them off from him and attack on instinct against it's target. He noticed a few white lines on the armor and the Mark of Dominion glowing upon it for a second. **They** were at play here.

Xuelan couldn't move. She was mumbling in fear incoherent words that made no sense. Her legs didn't budge at all, she was static abd shivering from fear that rocked her at her core, deep and primal survival instincts tried to kick in but she shivered in anxiety and fright as if she had seen a nightmare. Those flames... Those black flames evoked the image of her burning home with the scorched corpse of her father crawling across the floor and begging her to help him.  
Those flames that left her an orphan with nothing in the world to hold dear, they took everything from her and brought out the vengeful side that called for the aid of a Devil with her blood and the ashes of her home to kill the ones who set it up.

Knowing her fear, Ravel started to pull her back but she didn't budge at all. Issei saw through her, twisted his neck and screamed out his order.

"Go! Now, Phenex! We don't have time to lose! Get your ass outta here and let me finish this." he commanded them with no emotion to lace his voice in consideration. He was acting like a machine, he was a machine that followed an accord of his own making and he was going to fulfill it. He screamed at them to get going, to keep running no matter what and not to get in the way. It was his last call to them, "Don't look back and don't stop... I'll be back in a moment." and for the first time he actually smiled with actual emotion marking his face and a look of concern that broke past his cold, icy exterior. It felt like he was abandoning them after everything that they went through but he didn't care.

He knew it was going to happen. It was the natural course of life. So he was going to make it sure he would get Hilda out of here and the rest was luck.

 _"Good. I got rid of any distractions left. Fuck, i might feel a bit sentimental... Or maybe not."_

And he shoved them back with a thunderous clap of his hand, pushing them away with a serious smile before the black flames engulfed him.

XXX

13th September, Rome, Italy, 13:45 pm, Friday

It was quite the peaceful day in the city of Rome. The skies were clear for the moment, the weather wasn't so bad at all and overall it was a pretty fine day to go out and drink coffee with friends. There was nothing special in this day - it was another regular one like any other day there was in the week. If anything felt odd, it would have been said to be the lack of people around the center and the small amount that was on the streets.

There were no news about an epidemic so it did felt quite strange for this atmosphere of empty streets and no city life bustling. Even tourists weren't seen at all despite this being a common destination for a trip among young and old.

On the outdoor tables of a café two figures sat down in drinking moccachino and black, bitter coffee with lots of sugar. It was a man and a shorter woman that stood there and held hands while peacefully chattering about miscellaneous things that had happened to them during the past week. They appeared to be lovers, judging by the signs and aura they had around them and the jovial conversations they had in some debate over a random topic.

The man was a tall guy with black hair that reached to his cheeks and having a few loose strands stick out on his fringe in a wild look, akin to that of rogue thief. He had black eyes like his hair and bore the signs of an Eastern heritage, most likely Chinese by the accent he had while speaking in English. He was a stout, lean muscled man with broad shoulders and big arms, having a large body frame that was still strong but wasn't bulky, bearing a lean curve of youth to his figure. His face had a pronounced lower jaw and cheekbones, symmetrical features with a sense of manliness and respect emanating from them in droves. His face was good, he had a youthful look and didn't seem to be older than 21 if someone had to say it.

He wore some jeans and a dress coat over a burgundy red dress shirt of a rougher material and carried a small suitcase with him. He had that contrasting aura of a thief clashing against the respectable vibes he wanted to show to the young lady.

"Hey, Jin Wei... Do you like the coffee?" chimmed in the cute,alluring voice of the female.

She was a girl around the height of 1,65m with light blonde hair in a low ponytail, secured a thin bow of pink with black dots. She had the features of a Western European woman, looking a little bit above average and having a fringe over her forehead parted to the left side in a neat haircut. She had braids going behind her ears while her bangs reached past her collarbone in two long tresses. Her eyes shone with a deep blue coloration with a light blue scattering across the pupils, soft features and a small nose. Her eyebrows were rather thin and her eyelashes were long, bearing a complacent temperance of friendliness and a mature glint shone in her eyes. Her figure was lithe, wispy and slim with curves in the right places but leaning more towards the build of a female who exercised regularly. She was kinda cute and charming to contrast the charismatic aura her male companion exuded. And her French accent was that of a Parisian woman from the capital of France when she spoke in English.

"It is fine, Leticia. Thank you for asking." Jin Wei answered with calmness as he interlocked fingers with her. She was his love, he did it with a warm feeling of affection when he gripped her thin fingers and looked at her lovingly. "We're doing this today, i hope you're well prepared, my sweet lily."

Leticia Babineaux smiled back in a affectionate display of trust. "And we still haven't found your cousin, dear. Are you sure she's even alive after that incident four years ago?"

He hardened his gaze upon hearing that. There was some misguided glimmer of sadness that marked his brow as he sighed in exparation, mixed with some hopeful wishy-washy nod when he drank from his moccachino. He was looking for her, hoping she was alive. He thought about his mother and his three younger siblings back in Beijing and how he would get them the money they needed. "One thing I'm sure of and it's that Lan is alive. I know what happened back those four years ago and I'll find her. I swear it on my mother's name." he responded resolutely with no hesitation, having a charismatic smile of hope that made his lover smirk in return.

His phone rang all of a sudden. He picked it up and sharpened his gaze upon hearing the call.

 **[Niddhoggr and Crom Cruach have been dispatched, Jin Wei Yao. Commence with the operation as planned. I wish you godspeed, Hero]**

He ended the call and stood up, leaving the payment for the coffee. Jin Wei Yao dusted off his coat and let go of Leticia's hand to prepare himself. His tone changed to a professional one, as if directing a subordinate of his when he looked at the blonde girl. There was the charismatic presence of a leader within him when he addressed her in a strict tone of a soldier.

"Commence the operation. We have received the signal, Jeanne D'Arc. I think I'll find my cousin Xuelan soon enough, i get that feeling we'll meet very soon with her."

In the heart of the enemy stood the leader of the Hero Faction and his lover and subordinate. Cao Cao and Jeanne held hands as both begun to walk forward in a hurried step as the suitcase opened up and revealed a golden spear that teleported in his hand. Cao Cao held the Spear of Destiny as he prepared himself, letting her make the call she was ordered to make.

Jeanne dialed a number and gave the instructions, ending the call afterwards.

"Let's begin, shall we? It's time for some action, gentlemen." Jeanne spoke up in a gravely tone as her eyes peered back in the distance.

 **[13th September, Rome Outskirts, Italy, 13:45 pm, Friday]**

On the outskirts of the city, Georg and Leonardo stood standing by for the signal. The small 12 year old boy stretched his hands as he took the sign as the time to begin. He closed his eyes to focus and calm down his nerves, emptying his head out of any residual thoughts till it was only tranquility and a blank state of mind.

"You can do it, Leo. Di Caprio may not have gotten his Oscar but you can get my Emmy." through a nice timbre Georg spoke up to the nervous child in cracking a joke. He placed his palm on his shoulder to calm him down. He exercised his seniority in order to put the child at ease and reassure him it was going to be alright.

 **[~** **Future Heroes – World Destroyer** **~]**

Leonardo muttered in a squeaky tone the words for his Sacred Gear to activate.

"Balance... Break!"

 **[Annihilation Maker: Bandersnatch** ** & ****Jabberwocky** **!** **]**

His shadow on the ground began to stretch out, drawing in more of the shades around him to grow in size. It left him for a moment to split in two, then into four and so on till it split into thirteen individual blotches of shadow mass.

From the twelve blotches of darkness began to rise up in taking shape, growing in size fast. They reached the height of 100 meters before the two Heroes, having massive armored bodies of black with multiple spine protrusions on their backs. Their arms were the size of a building in ending with metal raven claws and sporting pikes on their massive shoulders. They had growing protrusions from their backs like a stalagmite formation with red veins coursing through the sharp protrusions in pouring tainted blood.

Tails sprouted from them, ending with another row of scaly surfaces and a mace tail. Their blackened faces had white soulless eyes with no discernable pupils while they had crowns of crooked horns upon their heads and multiple stigmata marks in white beneath their eyes. They resembled humanoid juggernauts with heavy plates at some plafes and two goat horns curving back from their crowns.

Twelve Bandersnatch were deployed.

From the last shadow blotch was given birth to the Jabberwocky beast of Lewis Carroll's tales. The main Anti-Monster construct of imagination began to take shape at an alarming speed.

It grew to the size of 200 meters in height, stretching it's titanic arms for a moment before it became fully active. Unlike the Bandersnatch spawns of the Annihilation Maker, Jabberwocky was a completely humanoid beast turned monstrous. Having crooked horn growths sprouting from it's shoulders in a dense layer of bones, it clenched it's fists with more growths ending in blades and the ribcage was adorned by several plates with snapping jaws grinding fangs of black razor sharp tips. The back was guarded by a myriad of curved swords of horns like a shell, calcified and strengthened further by a layer of miasma.

It's legs were the size of a skyscraper, ending with barbed thorns and having two tails grow from it's lower back with muscular glaives shaping. It's face was that of human but it had no nose and instead looked more skeletal with horns growing out of its neck like a spiked colar, and having skeletal jaws with violet marks popping out to trail down upon it's muscular neck. The jaws were like those a piranha, white and shiny under the peering sunlight rays that managed to pass through.

It had three eyes with red pupils and pentacles over the cornea, and had an imperial crown growing from the ridge between it's main eyes and the third one was poking out from it's surrounding ridged horns curving upwards. It had four spiraling goat horns across the surface of it's head, it's cheeks were marked with cracking lines of yellow pulsing mana and the surface around the eyes was marred with cracks and swirls to act as tribal marks in a mask.

Georg held Leonardo in his hands, keeping him steady and pointed at the barrier. Leonardo squinted and mentally commanded the thirteen monsters to begin their march. They started moving, shaking the ground beneath their feet as their march was initiated. The Jabberwocky led the Bandersnatch towards it and they rapidly started to clobber at the invisible barrier that protected the capital of Italy from grand scale attacks and other threats.

Their fists continued to hit the various layers repeatedly, one after another followed until the protection was torn asunder after multiple upon multiple attacks of the relentless spawns of the Longinus. Their fists crashed against it, sinking in and decimating the defenses into motes of light and cleared the way for the main party to begin the assault.

And they entered the borders of Rome with a singular goal to destroy the Vatican and raze the city from the face of the Earth. Moving slowly, the monolithic titans of imagination walked into Rome and despite their lacking speed, they began their advance like it was the end of the world.

The World Destroyer was about to be unleashed upon the Earth in a smaller apocalyptic, cataclysmic event. The March of the titans had been started. The war cry was heard! It was the beginning for the battle for the survival of the country, nay, the supernatural and normal life upon these lands.

From the streets near the Vatican, Irina Shidou looked at the distance, seeing the monsters that were coming for them. It was hopeless, this was despair Incarnate brought upon them.

"Can we even fight this..." she lost hope as her voice was leaking with fear. The emergence of the titans brought her to a mumbling mess as she saw them at the distance. The barrier was torn, it was going to be a battle with everything on the line. The stakes were too high if they were to lose against this inhuman adversary.

"Yes, we can! If we are to give up, millions would die!" she heard a familiar voice behind her back.

Irina turned around and saw her partner Xenovia, side by side with Saint Lucca of Sicily standing with dignity. They were like a beacon of hope for the wielder of Blood Excalibur, bringing some light in the despair horizon unfolding before her eyes.

Upon closer inspection she noticed the brand new uniform her partner wore. It was the issued Last Battalion suit that Lucca wore, they had gotten the new ones since Irina and Xenovia were assigned to the elite squad by Cardinal Hannes the Lion, with the squad known to have killed many High-Class Devils and managing to subdue an Ultimate-Class one before time.

Xenovia had armored shoulder pads bearing the cross insignia with L.B-14 engraved on one in white letters. Leather buckled belts were tightened on her arms. High knee length boots with a steel toe, wrapped with shoe laces at the front. Her hips were protected by enchanted crucible steel plates with multiple belts across her waist, holding an assortment of Black Key handles on a strap. Four light blades rested upon her sides with two secured on her biceps. Her chest was secured by a plate of coltan-titanium alloy with multiple split sections that clipped over her back and she had two belts buckled up across her chest.

The Executor's hands were covered by weighted gloves with painted pentacles of the Light Affinity with the four cardinal directions on it. Under the lightweight armor her body was hugged by a black bodysuit. And to complete the look she had a cowl over her face with azure trimming in crosses while the rest ended in a short cape of sorts. On her neck dangled a silver rosary cross with mahogany beads. Upon her belts were two grimoire holders perching up with azure marks.

Upon removing her cowl, Xenovia let her hair flow.

Irina didn't expect this even if she had visited her a few times while the cobalt haired Executor was being healed. She saw long hair, seriously long hair breeze in the air! Xenovia now sported an ultra long braid that reached her waist, secured at the end with a golden headpiece and ending with a freely loose tip because of a small band holding it that way. Her bangs now were long and trailed down her cheeks at ending near her neck halfway, brushed and sharp while her fringe was cut in a v-shape and long and freely fell between her eyes with a silver hair clip in the shape of a blue butterfly. Her side bangs were left longer to out some contrast between the other ones, covering her ears completely and ending with a single small braid on her left side near her fringe.

The healing procedures had the side effect of further healing back her body and as a result her hair grew long but they still couldn't remove the physical marks of her merger with a Holy Relic as a Natural-born Holy Sword user, still having the cobalt hair and amber eyes because of her previous use of Durandal and the cobalt used in it to signify her bonding with it. This only happened to Natural-born Holy Sword users like her due to the grace she had in her, sadly depleted.

She couldn't wield a Holy Relic anymore due to the depletion of her grace. But she was smart and studious to the max and compensated with her knowledge and patience. Once known as Saint Quarta, the Maiden of Durandal, she received the title of the Azure Priestess due to her newfound might and casting ability, which she further developed to compensate for her inability to use her previous Holy Relic and other ones.

She was a battle mage now, having found her second calling.

Lucca was wearing a similar suit to her, only with minimal differences to distinguish between them as he was the commander of the unit.

He ignited his light blade with his right hand, attached it to his prosthetic left forearm in utilizing his Miracle of Almagalm to produce a wing of light blades to stretch out and glow with splendor. The wing arm blazed with a pure white light in forming the appendage in flat rapier blades as he took off his hood and took a step forward to Irina's flank.

Xenovia took her left side, flaring her magic with her two grimoires levitating around her and a bible in a leather casing floating before her as multiple overlay hexagrams formed around her and beneath her feet, making her utilize a form of flight, independent from the use of wings or stepping circles to imitate it. She literally hovered above the ground at an altitude of two meters and took a stance to fight.

With a wave of her fingers, the suit of the Last Battalion manifested upon Irina's form, completed with gun holsters for her use and multiple light blades. There was even a small blood pack which she crushed and left it to flow around her sword arm to the red bracelet bangle that absorbed it. Blood Excalibur was formed upon cutting her hand and drawing an ounce of blood and mixed the matching blood type to create the Excalibur Rapidly shape within her palm.

The siren was rung. Upon the nearest rooftop sprang the thirteenth remaining numbers of the Last Battalion, all armed to the teeth with various tools and craft. They had been called upon this anticipated threat to fight back and assist their fellow man.

"Brothers and Sisters!", Lucca's voice boomed with a domineering presence. "For too many years, humanity was on the backfoot, reacting to threats but not preventing them. The rest of the world was always bigger and stronger than us.", he ushered another yell out of his lips as each one bowed down in respect for their brethren. "We were reduced to mere mice, hiding in the darkness and praying that the giants would not see us. No more!", he rose his winged hand of light rapiers in the above his head to prepare them for the signal. His final words were full of courage and dignity, hoping to incite them to victory. An uneasy but not an impossible task, even with a slim chance they would fight to the death to defend humanity. Even if they were to be martyrs, they accepted their roles for the greater good.

Bearing the dignity and pride of humanity, these fifteen souls would stand against the face of inevitable doom and tackle with death once more.

But they were not alone.

Angels of all kinds begun to appear from the skies and the ground, walking out of the buildings and onto the streets. More and more men and women came to aid the brave souls in a final stand against the Khaos Brigade.

"Humanity is no longer on the defense. We are the giants now!"

And they screamed a battle cry at the top of their lungs in unison. The time has come to stand up to those who wished to destroy the and enslave the world.

"We're in some serious need of some luck. And a fuckton of it."

XXX


	24. Act 22

Act.22 Mountain Dew & Coconut Rum: Leviathan Undo

Time.

Such a fickle thing it was that we thought we had enough time to accomplish our long sought agendas. But did we actually had time at all, i wonder?

For as many people there were on the planet...time was something neither one of us had even if we thought we could manage with that.

But what about faith?

What about the notion of lying to yourself?

Lies are a way to create something to tackle the harshness of our merciless world. Lies were necessary for us to function without having to go insane in an already insane world since the beginning. It was all in my head, i thought i had known what was happening all around me but it was so simple.

Just so plainly spelled out for me.

Enough to make me reel back and scream as my world had changed so much into something i could have never imagined before. What is there left for me to believe in, i wonder. Or was there something at the start even?

And yet, we all ask ourselves how would our time go by and what would we believe in if everything was meaningless. But there is meaning in everything, what seemed to be without a purpose had actually kept a secret from the world. Once useless, deemed by human beings, but after time it becomes essential for us. I don't know what to believe in now, it feels so painful to part ways with people whom i needed so much by my side.

Why did it have to be me? We always ask that but it could have been anyone else and thus i could say with certainty.

Fate was a serious bitch.

I wanted to reclaim the time i had lost, i wanted to continue the dream i had but, alas, dreams are only dreams. Just another purpose, a simple lie masked as a goal to keep yourself running against a stream you cannot fight against with. But if there is one thing i believed in...

It was myself and my ideals because if i didn't believe in myself then who would?

I want to know. I want to understand how, why and when did it happen. I want to remember! Because if i didn't remember then it would be only piling ignorance over ignorance again. I need to find it, i must remember because without those memories i couldn't piece everything together.

And time was racing against us, always faster than we could be.

But instead of just talking i would rather act and uphold my own belief till the end. I might seem lonely but it is because i feel incomplete, i feel like a part of me was ripped apart from my very being.

But don't worry about it. I'm coming for you and I'm not going to wait much longer. I want to know and all i can say is... Never lose hope.

Keep walking because I'm right beside you. Well, i do admit it's probably a weird feeling since i tend to feel quite right but the facade hides more than we could ever assume. If there is darkness, there is light. So it's time to fight back.

No more groveling.

And once more it is time to stand up for myself and make a difference. The true harmony in life is good relations with your closest people, no worries and fear to keep you awake at night. So it's mine.

I will take what is mine and i will not let go.

If wonders didn't happen on their own, then why don't we make some of our own design instead?

XXX

13th September, Office of Foreign Affairs, Underworld, 12:55 am

It was another boring day like most of the time in the comfortable office of foreign affairs where Serafall Leviathan was currently residing. It was a habitual practice of her's to actually sleep on her desk most of the times due to overworking herself late at night and it was becoming even more troublesome with all of the paranoia holding the Underworld for some time since the veto.

The short Leviathan was currently going through a set of documents at her desk. Actually, she was pretending to work, wearily leafing through the next set with a bored look that bordered on disinterest. The office was quite normal and pretty much standard - neon illumination on the ceiling and white and lemon yellow walls were the norm for her as she liked the bright, sunny colors to optimize her workshop. There was a big sofa sprawled across the room with a small coffee table with a coffee machine next to it. And a few pictures here and there of employees she liked were hanging on the walls.

The desk she worked on was layered with office utensils, an LG laptop was over it with a mouse pad on the right side and a few framed pictures of Sona were perched up on the desk. It actually resembled more of a private quarters than an office strictly - never mind the pink chainsaw Mistilteinn lying on the floor next to the trash bin.

The window was covered by pink curtains with swans embroidered on them and the spinning chair she sat on was quite nice and fancy.

But she was distant.

It felt more like a drag to her than to go back and visit Sona for her third daily meeting with the staff at the Sitri Manor in the east side of Kuoh, next to the forest.

She sighed with disinterest when she threw the document on her left to a nearby chair. The Leviathan growled in a frustrated tone that was something quite annoying to listen to. Things weren't going well for her, she was growing paranoid as the rest because the fact of knowing what had transpired in the Glasya-Labolas home had her scared. Despite so much wards and protection, she was scared that her family was going to be next since they were one of the primary targets.

"Ughh... This is really annoying to deal with! I can't take this shit anymore... i want a break..." she squeezed out the words through a self-imposed grinder of restraint when she slumped over the keyboard of her laptop. Dissatisfaction was her current mask, she slipped back to her real persona when there was no one around to see her.

"...So-tan... i-i know you two will patch things up so don't let go...", through a hardened tone she spoke as she closed her eyes for a moment to relax.

But work had to be done, sadly.

And that included dealing with the knock on the door that disrupted her slothful leisure of sleeping over the laptop on her desk.

Serafall placed her hands on the desk to lift herself up tiredly in a slow pace, grunted a few times like a stingy girl and lazily muttered, "Come on in... It's open...", before slumping back to her previous activity. She understood why Falbium Asmodeus was so goddamn lazy; lazy people found the easiest solutions to problems that required efficiency in being solved.

And because it was so nice to laze around productively by doing what you liked the most.

The door of the cozy office was carefully opened in a single slow swipe for the intruder, guest or general nuisance to her, to enter the premises of her second abode.

A familiar voice shook off her worries when she reached out to grab Mistilteinn for a moment but she stopped herself from taking any action whatsoever. Surely, she was on edge due to the multiple inspections and check-ups everybody endured for safety reasons but her mind focused solely on the figure that revealed itself to her.

"Always a hard worker, aren't we, Leviathan?" his baritone voice echoed through the room with a gentle air surrounding it. It was quite soothing and at the same time had a serious tinge of control over the way he expressed his words with great articulation. It did sound sarcastic, to be honest, when he glanced at the frantic Serafall trying to make herself look like she was working instead of brooding over laptop and listening to some music.

Serafall immediately perched up, putting on her business mask to slide over her disinterested look at the sight of this man having shown up at such a random interval of time. In her spontaneous reaction she brushed aside some of the documents, which fell on the Persian carpet near her desk.

"I wasn't complaining at all! I was doing my work, i swear on my mother...", through a shriek, bordering on dumbfounded and frazzled, Serafall raised her head and shot her gaze at the source of this sound.

Only to slump back and sigh in relaxation.

Sirzechs Lucifer, one of the Lords of Darkness was here...

"It's not that why I'm here for, Leviathan. I have a completely different reason for this visit.", Sirzechs calmly said what he had to say in a lax tone. He wasn't unnerved in the least, always trying to keep his calm because if he showed worry what would the people think then?

Their mighty leader being pushed on edge would have not made things easier, for sure.

He closed the door carefully, watching for anything suspicious before the handle was released and the door was shut.

It became peaceful when the guards were at the door but thankfully, the room was sound proof so no secrets could escape from it.

"Might i ask what is the reason for your visit, Lord Lucifer? I hope you are not suspecting me of being a part of this culling." Serafall didn't even stand up from her spinning chair, the only thing she did was to nod and give him an incredulous look of a calmness she tried to feign.

But she was nervous.

"Not at all, i didn't come for something like this." he took a few steps further before her desk and leaned forward to stare in her eyes. "Actually, i just...wanted to see you, Sera... That's all there is to it. Oh, and a small favor, of course." it was evident how his tone mellowed down in her presence to something far more genuine and down to earth. It felt real, coming from the one who bore the title of Prince of Lies.

Serafall twitched once before she left her work and stood up away from her chair, moved around the desk and directly jumped at the tall man in a warm embrace. Her hands clutched around his back in a strong hug with her resting her face against his stomach. It quite funny since she was quite short and he was a titan in stature, compared to her. It was warm, it was an embrace of care and something far more valuable to the both of them.

It was love. Genuine, passionate love between them.

"It's been a while since you held me like this, Zechs. I've missed you these days." she muttered under her breath with something along the lines of sadness. She was worried, yet overjoyed to see him since they didn't have enough time to spend alone given their everyday visits to Kuoh and the paranoia pushing the Underworld on edge. And even more since the circumstances prevented them from accomplishing this rare act of affection.

Sirzechs looked at her with guilt. His gaze darkened, harrowed by the impossibility of doing more for her because of _that_ woman. It was always tearing him apart from the inside, being unable to freely express his emotions for the one love he held for all the 1321 years of his existence since his birth during the end of the seventh century, in the wake of the first iteration of the Devil Civil War. How much he hated the circumstances brought upon him for the sake of his people to the point where he wished to leave everything behind and be happy for once. He wasn't happy to live with this lie...

"Sera, I've missed you too. But we need to talk about something important now." the red haired Devil spoke up in a serious tone. He clutched his fingers around her waist as he didn't want to let go of her for even a single moment.

"Call Ryland Phenex. Today we're having a peace conference and the people should know this. I want you to broadcast the conference to every Devil in the Underworld and every observer." he spat out the words with firmness in a methodical way of having enunciated every word for her to listen carefully.

The Sitri girl's face hardened with a serious realization. Her eyes flashed with an epiphany as an ingenious smile curled across her face in knowing what he meant. She had her own guess on what was happening, she picked up his intentions as one who had been through thick and thin with the Crimson Lucifer for all of these centuries. In bad and good they stood side by side even if she didn't have friends actually. Because he was something more than a mere friend to her.

"Always a cunning snake you are, my dear. We must prepare the troops for the defense of the Underworld." she smiled in a jovial manner as she raised a brow in questioning for when did he wanted everyone to be ready. It was no secret she knew how his convoluted schemes and plans worked and how manipulative he was as only the most cunning and tricky Devil could bear the mantle of Lucifer. "The barrier at Kuoh is holding strong and our guards should be ready to respond to any attack."

The red haired man only nodded at her suggestion until his expression grew sad and pessimistic. It was a great deal of worries he had carried and it was taking it's toll on him to pretend it was alright. He was a deceiver but the one person he could not trick was the Leviathan.

"Sera... I don't know from where do you derive that positivity. Look around you", he lifted his arms to her shoulders in placing palms over her neck with a gloomy glint in those clear blue eyes. "Our people are dying out. We lack three of the seven Lords of Darkness. I nearly lost my sister and you took a heavy hit. How can i be alright and positive?"

His hands sunk into her shoulders in a feeble squeeze that had not a shred of strength backing it up. The black haired Leviathan eyed him in a disgruntled, impartial look that she tried to keep up as to hide her own frustrations with the order of things.

"You don't have to tell me twice. For all of the might we have...we cannot do anything definite to stop it yet. I am scared, Zechs. I haven't felt scared since a long time ago." she mumbled through gritted teeth. It was becoming something emotional to watch but she had to keep her cool no matter what.

"I don't know what to do to keep the people in line. And when i think about it... I-i couldn't even help you when you needed me the most. So what could i do now?", she whispered as if trying to make sure he couldn't hear it but she knew he did.

"It's not your fault, dear Serafall." he responded back through an austere tone, lacking warmth and instead bearing the gravity of a leader. "It was the only viable option to unite the divided factions into a single group. To show the acceptance of the old and the new coexisting in our society. It wasn't my decision at all.", he took a few steps back and released her from his grip only to turn around and hide his face. He had the habit of doing that when he felt uncomfortable as a cue to stop. Yet, he sounded defeated despite having done this for the sake of peace.

"So you want to give up now? After everything we went through you want to give up?", the change in her tone was starkly contrasting to her usually jittery, sweet manner of speech to become like the ice she controlled. It was dismally low and distant but growing with dejection and anger to fill it up.

 _"It's hard. I never wanted to give up in the first place. Everyone thinks of me as some monolith, an unmovable titan with no fear. They didn't know how wrong they were_." he closed his eyes to focus on the memories that emerged within his mind. _"Decorated War Hero? Such utter crap. I am a coward, i don't play by the rules and i run away from the problems instead of trying to fix them. I always forced myself to fix things because it would have made me look more presentable... alas, i am a liar again. It was all for my ego in playing hero."_

Sirzechs didn't turn around to face her. A scowl formed on his forehead for a few moments, however, he forced himself to remain aloof in his attitude but also searching for a solution to this problem. He was pondering on how to end things without doing a lot of damage to the already shaken girl and there wasn't a good one for the time being.

"I can't even be with the woman i love. What good am i in finding a solution and having this strength if i can't fix a mere political problem? Then what about the rest?", Sirzechs looked down at his feet in sighing once to his dismay. "I didn't want to be a Satan in the first place. All i wanted was for us to run away somewhere where we could be alone and live together in peace on some isolated island, far away from this dark place."

"It's hard for me too, Sirzechs. But we need to keep going because it's you and me. We've always been that way."

 _"Why can't you understand it, Sirzechs? I don't have friends, I'm a sore loser with a magical stick and pretending to be some happy chick when all i do is run away from reality. But this... I can't give it up! I won't throw away the one thing that makes me feel like myself because of some scrawny scumbag bitch and some old deluded fools. Oh, wait, i forgot. I'm delusional too"_

Serafall was hurt. The facts were undeniable and she despised the circumstances that prevented them from being together. Her fingers curled into fists back and forth until she grabbed her ribbons and threw them away, leaving her hair to flow down freely in what could be said to be the real face of the Leviathan, Serafall Sitri.

She didn't care anymore and lunged at the tall man from behind, crossing the distance he put between them and hugged him from the back by locking her fingers at the front and rested her head on his lean figure.

"Do you know how i feel every time i see you unhappy? Having to pretend to love a woman who does not even have a shred of care about you?", it sounded so wrong coming from her pretty face. A defeated look slid on her face like paint on a canvas, dyeing her features in a warped shadow of bitterness that mixed with despair and anger. It was genuine, it wasn't anything like the fake persona she presented in general. "It's not fair... You had to throw away your own happiness for the sake of everyone and having to marry that witch who thinks her maid duties are more important than her child and husband. I hate it. It's not fair..."

To unite the Old Kings and those who supported the Old Demon Lord descendants with the New ones, Sirzechs had to marry Grayfia Lucifuge to bridge the old and the new factions as a sign of acceptance and respecting traditions through this political marriage. Grayfia he did not love and only did it for the best of his people because they made a hero out of him, because he was the perfect poster boy for the job. Someone good enough to be elected by the bureaucracy to lead the Devils to a new era. He was a soldier, he wasn't a politician originally and he considered himself to be nothing more than a man from the masses.

He loved his son but he had no love for a woman like Lucifuge.

Sirzechs couldn't bear with it any longer. He did not resist her embrace and instead, he held her arms into his own before he spoke up in a blazing warm baritone, "It's not fair, indeed. I don't like it at all. I can't stand that woman who treats me as some nuisance and doesn't care about her son so much. And they say i am a terrible and an evil, scheming bitch." the last part he mentioned with hint of self-deprecation. "I am a person like everyone else. For once i want to make a decision that would satisfy me and pull me out of the mud. I'm a filthy liar, i won't deny it, and i want to feel content with my life..."

"We fight together and we die together, Zechs. You and me... We've always been joined at the hip since we were little all those centuries ago and it still hasn't changed." she clutched onto his fingers tightly, afraid to let go or he would vanish from her sight. "If you feel scared I'll be at your side, holding your hand and being there for you. Because we are two, we aren't alone. Because I'm not going to give up and i will wait for you."

The Crimson Satan couldn't say anything. He stood there speechless at this simple display of trust in him. It stirred his feelings akin to a blender in the way he did not have to hide in front of her. His brows scrunched down in a strained look he held up for a few moments but could not maintain for long since he wanted to be honest with himself.

"...You wouldn't mind if it were me? How can you still have so much faith in me when most of the decisions i had made", his words jammed in his throat, he was vulnerable before her as his voice stammered with a fatalistic streak lining his words, "...i feel like I've done nothing but mistakes after mistakes on a pile. I hate my lack of decisiveness when it matters." he concluded with a weary sigh while his eyes glistened under the UV lights in a bluish-green shimmer. It was charming in a way in how he held her arms to his heart as if to let her feel his heartbeat.

Serafall glossed over his fingers and pressed her cheek further onto his mantle, burrowing her face into it while looking at the wall in what could be said to be a distance between heaven and hell, being lost in the moment.

 _"Isn't this how it should be? Was it never meant to be from the start? I hated it. This envy, this bitterness and hate that resides in me. How far did i drown in my delusions as to become some immature, idiotic magical girl speaking of love and crap when i myself can't even get a grip of it?"_

Her lips thinned as she thought over his words. "...I want it to be you. Because you're my partner, because you're my other half." she began to speak in a slow, carefully thought out speech to convey everything she had and to make sure he would understand all of it. There was not a hint of deceit in her gaze, her soft lips spoke what she longed for with nothing else but an ardor in her being. "And isn't it obvious that we make the best team, you dumbass? Jeez, always so weird..."

She switched to some silly voice in a feigned annoyance with his antics, however she lost any strength to keep it up and and instead she gave her most truthful, simplistic answer in a while that had a hidden depth behind her silliness.

"...But that's why... Because i...love you, you damn idiot!"

He kept quiet. He only dropped her hands and without furthermore, the tall man took a step forward, leaving her hands to drop in a display of coldness.

Serafall understood what he indirectly told her. It was plain obvious, it was enough to make her reel back from this sole act of rejection that she couldn't even say a word. Her vision got blurred for a moment.

 _"I see... I knew it wasn't possible...I want-_

Only to feel a gentle touch upon her cheek in a sensual, loving expression of trust and desire. Sirzechs had turned around and leaned to her as he was quite tall and it was uncomfortable so he literally lifted her off her feet and held her in his arms strongly as the only woman he could have loved all these years they lived through.

 _"Sera...Is this alright with you?", the future Crimson Satan was sitting by the fireplace in a cave where the two of them were hiding. It was the eight century in the new era and the first iteration of the Devil Civil War was in it's later stages. Sirzechs moved closer to Serafall and left his hand away but she grabbed it instead._

"And i can't do this without you... Serafall. Thank you for having loved me as the person i am, in bad and good, in strife and joy." Sirzechs did not lie about what he was speaking of. It was from the bottom of his heart, his fragile self seeking the support and encouragement of the woman who had touched upon it. "A little more and we'll be together again. Let's do our best and keep going."

 _"It's alright. We're in this together... And i need you by my side...", the black haired girl started removing her crisscross plain top by pulling on the strings after she had removed most of her armor and cast it aside. It was embarrassing but it was right, it was probably the right moment for they may not have had another chance. "We've been together in the battlefield... so i want us to be together...", she whispered in a sincere tone a single wish of selfish desires, "...love me, Zechs. Right here, right now. Because i do... So will you take me as well?*_

Serafall made a displeased eye roll out of some stupid habit she couldn't control. It did seem like a frustrated pout on her, she was kinda sensitive at times. "You don't have to tell me that, you know? Atleast do something! You always sneak away like this, you snake." she did not mean it, to be honest. It was her way to bite at him with a cutely placed pout and some contradictory behavior at times.

 _"It's alright, Zechs. Don't hold back...", she lifted her naked upper body with her arms stretched out over the bare neck of his in a shy embrace. It was a sensual look of craving for companionship, a fiery wish for intimacy to warm herself in the cold night. Together they lied down near the fireplace over some soft fabric with him sitting near her, his upper body slowly being stripped off from the apparel he wore._

 _They were hiding in an abandoned cave after having been separated from the rest of their comrades during the crossfire between the rebels and the old factions. They had managed to run into the darkness in the mountains of the Underworld for a retreat and here were they now._

"And what's with the chainsaw?!", he retorted back with a bemused look at her.

 _"Then...let's make a promise... I will make you my lady Gremory if we survive this. So...", he touched her tender cheeks and lowered himself upon her body with a passionate kiss on the neck. Nothing else mattered, they had this one moment before they had to be on the run once more and regroup with another party soon if they were to survive._

 _Sirzechs held her hands as they indulged into each other's company, sublime and heartwarming. She yelled out a scream of pleasure as he began to do his job with each move of his. Completely naked, vulnerable and showing their everything to each other, Serafall bit into his neck playfully with a tease to make herself feel more comfortable as both were extremely awkward but with enough compassion and drive to express their love for one another they gave their all._

And he didn't waste any time in stealing a kiss from her, not minding her act since they played this game many times to fail at it. It was tender, it was enough to make her heart race and skip a beat upon the haughty actions he undertook but Serafall did not hate it.

 _"...Kiss me...Sirzechs..._ _I'll be your lady Gremory._ _", she uttered with a mellow gaze to her love. She might have been scared, she might have sucked at this but he didn't mind. She gave control to him and closed her eyes awaiting for his lips with a fervent desire._

She gripped his neck in a clutch, closing her eyes to indulge in this single moment of silence where the world meant nothing to these two spirits of broken and fixed in a short grasp of their most cherished desire.

Love. Nothing more and nothing less than love.

And as fast as it came, so did it end in a flash. Both separated with a guilty look that couldn't darken their mood yet it was time to work, not to snuggle into one another's company.

"We have work to do, lord Lucifer.", she switched back to her business mask and changed her tone to escape from the awkwardness she felt. "Everything will be taken care of. And that is a gift from a fellow associate." she concluded with a satisfied nod.

Sirzechs looked at her with disbelief. No way was this a gift.

He knew she had bitched to someone to get it, annoyed the hell out of them and bargained for it like some desperate housewife. "Yeah, right. Just how much did you blackmail the poor soul to get it for you? You're a snake as much as i am, Lady Leviathan. And still...", he glanced at the resting Mistilteinn near the desk with an unscrupulous look, "couldn't you have it in crimson or black, i don't know? Pink is kinda bullshit for it, don't you think?"

Serafall mussed over it, pondering for a few moments to cook up some adequate response to the silly question she was given.

"Come on,man! Pink is the rage nowadays and it makes me look better! You want crimson to constantly remind me of you."

They did banter like a married couple regularly. She was more like his wife than that frosty bitch he had to call his wife.

"Anyways, we can take down the Brigade in one swipe and possibly retrieve our Key. Still, that _thing_ we felt a few weeks ago...do you have any idea what it was?", he spoke with a sense of dread and reverence.

"I doubt it. But if it's true...", Serafall took a step back to hold her posture straight, "...then we are dealing with something or someone beyond our control. It could destroy us and everything we've been working for."

"We cannot allow this to happen. We must locate this creature and put it down before it would threaten our race." he spoke firmly with a sense of duty to keep him centered. He gave a final nod and prepared to go away, standing at the door and readying himself for the upcoming peace conference. "Today we are making history. And you should ditch the twintails, they make you look like an idiot. Seriously." with jovial laughter he addressed the issue with no hard feelings.

"Fine. I'll do it…but chop the hair. It's too girly, you're like some Rias from the back." she gave in finally and accepted it. He was right, she was a grown woman of over a thousand years behind her back. She was only a year and a half younger than him so she had to act her age.

"I wish you luck, Lord Lucifer." she smiled back at him with a warm smirk and waved back at him as he exited her office.

"...no, i will hope for your victory, my love." she returned to her previous post with a grim expression. The Leviathan took her chair and rested her elbows on the desk with a distance in her eyes to the unsure future. _"Can we even hope to survive what's coming?"_

A compulsion came over her. She took a picture from her desk and held it in her palms while looking at it intently. She closed her eyes for a moment before she took a deep breath and mumbled something through a frightening tone.

"Something big is coming..."

And just as she said that the picture within her hands cracked into a series of lines and her whole office shook in the world recognizing something. One of the pictures on her desk bore a sick smile that wasn't there before.

That picture of Sona was smiling back at her, covered with a black bridal veil and thorns were around her cheeks. But that wasn't her visage; what stood in it's place was a shapeless mass of terror with a subtle smile of a promise.

And just like that it dissappeared, leaving only the portrait of her sister in it's normal, tranquil and cold look of determination...

She sighed. Now she was imagining things.

XXX

13th September, Kuoh City, 13:56 pm

Yuuto was walking towards the schoolyard in a somewhat slow step, lost in his thoughts for a moment. He was pensive and reserved in the way he looked at everything around him, rather, he averted his gaze from his surroundings in an arduous effort to ignore the world.

He held his left hand into his pocket as to hide the damaged artificial skin glove that made it look human due to the tears around the knuckles from a few minutes earlier. He was walking down the road through the neighborhood in one uneasy spring in his step, as if trying to keep himself calm and aloof but deep down he was anything but tranquil.

 _"I hate this awkwardness... I can't shake off this feeling of disgust and helplessness off me. This girl...she saw through me and i couldn't do anything in return."_ , he made a heavy sigh as he continued to drift further into his thoughts. _"I'm a filthy hypocrite, i judged someone without knowing anything in return. It makes me sick..."_

He could not shake off that disgusting feeling that crept within his thoughts. He actually felt pity for the girl he had met again and regretted his decision of having transferred her request to the Red Dragon instead. Maybe he could have done something about it? Maybe he could have tried? All that was stirring his emotions and he hated having to pretend how he felt. He loathed even more the fact that people thought he was a homosexual for never having taken a girl for himself.

The worst thing was that he probably felt that the rest of the peerage had considered it multiple times in the back of their minds.

He was nearby a Lawson store near the corner when he couldn't take it any longer and directly entered into the shop to get something to calm himself down. It was a fast visit in which he didn't have to wait in a long line to get what he needed. He went through the cashier and took his things rather hastily and went outside to put his change into his wallet.

"Where are you now? Tosca...", he murmured as he looked at the clear skies with a distant gaze in searching for an answer. It wasn't anything special; his frozen in a morbid look face was barely trying to keep it up straight, his brows were brought down to form a peeved expression of worry about the future. "Was it you who sent me those messages on that day? Hmm, i wonder... I know you're alive. That's what it said but..."

His voice was raspy and with a thin laden streak of harshness to supplement his already brooding tone. He didn't keep the sweet charming mask nor did he bother with the disgustingly polite tone he had to adopt, instead speaking with his gritty tone that bore no signs of that faked pleasantry. It was a low, deeper voice that he spoke with to himself.

His right hand sunk into his pocket on the jacket and brought out a pack of Davidoff Blue Slims, only to rip it open and top for one roll to come out. He wasn't a chain smoker as before time Rias had caught him and clearly chided him on his choice. Now he didn't care much about it. He needed it so he bit the cigarette, a small lighter he used to ignite the tip and took a deep inhale before returning the carton into his pocket.

Adam, as he preferred to be called nowadays, exhaled smoke when he raised his eyes to the skies and blinked twice tiredly. "...i miss you. But I think i found something to keep going for. It was hard, it took me time to battle with that emptiness after i accomplished my goal and yet... It's not enough.", he took another inhale as he continued with his soliloquy, "This time I'm not going to run away. I have friends, i have my dignity and i have love... And i think i found a friend."

When he said that last part he actually smiled even if it were a bit painful. He thought about the girl who gave him a sense of direction and an ear to listen. And he wanted to be friends with her. " I made a friend, Tosca. I'm sure if you were here you'd have surely taken a liking to her. I'll find you. Mark my words."

As he was standing like that, a strange sensation irked his nerves in a strong tug. It was a compulsion that made him feel a calling towards the direction on the right. He knew what it was - the Homing Beacon function of the Evil Piece was beckoning him to rush towards the direction of his King with no choice whatsoever. And then he sensed something else.

The barrier around the city was tingling with signatures; it was no ordinary barrier that only kept things away from here but it also registered Devils crossing the premises to seek asylum in the so called Devil Slum. And it had another feature: it was able to scan the populace for Sacred Gears and could alert Devils in need of a servant by sensing the time of death within two minutes to determine whether or not they would be a good candidate for the conversion. It was also a gigantic Devil seal that made the use of contract pamphlets to reach out to Devils easily. Pamphlets were rendered obsolete but most still kept their use as a small scale bargain chip.

And it was ringing in one frequency all three High-Class Devils that lived here knew perfectly well.

A massive force was incoming.

His phone rang at the precise moment he realized this fact. He picked it up, saw the number and hastily brought it to his ear while holding the tobacco roll within his lips.

 _ **["Time is of the essence, Adam. It has begun so you need to save your girls right away. You still have time to flee if you want**_ _ **"**_ _ **]**_

This time he sneered a little but then relaxed and went into a different mental setting. One of a dear comrade with a sense of camaraderie to speak fast as he listened carefully. He took out the cigarette with his left hand and spoke up.

 _ **["I'm not going to run away. Cover my back, partner. It's time for some action."]**_

 _ **["It's a deal, the Master is working on it. And it's ready, the modifications are complete. It's time to repay you for the well done job. Good luck and godspeed, Adam Bernhardt. Don't make them wait**_ _ **."**_ _ **]**_

The call ended abruptly.

Kiba didn't waste any time in putting back his phone into his pocket. His lips curled into a strange smile that was barely a smile but more of a single determined mask. "I'm coming for you, Akeno. Just wait for me... Rias. I'll be there." he steeled his heart and put his mind on the battle.

 **[Fairy Chess Piece: Empress Diabolica Promotion.]**

And within seconds he was running with incredible speed unnoticed while his black suit began to manifest from the shadows beneath his legs into one featureless body glove with mist surrounding his form to prevent any recognition. He was rushing towards their direction.

The only thing left was his cigarette on the ground. It was burning out like the time they had at their disposal.

And the ash was lifted up by the wind.

XXX

13th September, 7th Daze bar, 13:55 pm

"Pass me that cartridge over there, mate.", the owner of the bar was sitting on the ground in one of the rooms of the 7th Daze while holding a Benneli M4 Super 90 in hand. Arthur Halle Mason was loading multiple guns sprawled on the floor; from pistols to automatic riffles, the firearms numbered over a hundred and were lined in rows on the tiles.

His hand pointed towards a cartridge on the left side.

"Here you go, sir Mason.", the one who responded was the human born Stray Devil that they had captured and succeeded in return him to his normal form. It was not permanent nor did they manage to remove the Evil Piece in it. Not yet, atleast but it would happen within time. "Thank you for returning us to normal. We cannot thank you people enough for this..." he handed the barman the cartridge he required.

There were five other Stray Devils loading firearms on the tiles. A male Kasha, a big Oni, another former human Stray with long black hair. The other two were a Fairy-turned-Devil and a human woman with hazelnut hair in a side ponytail. All six of them were hiding, being persecuted or former playthings for their owners - atleast three of them had killed their former tormentors while one had escaped and the other two were found uncomfortable and boring to their respective masters.

On one of the walls Arthur Pendragon and Kuroka Mei Chao, also known by her birth name Fā hēi. Both were leaning casually while doing nothing to assist the hardworking Strays. The two members of Team Vali didn't seem disturbed at first glance but they were monitored by the security cameras in the place. They had tried to escape multiple times after their kidnapping only to fail miserably in their futile attempts.

"This is feels like an overkill. What good would this do if you're going up against Devils and other things?", Kuroka murmured under her breath in a civil tone. She was quite patient and wise, surprisingly. "Atleast that silly chimpanzee Bikou is not around. I wouldn't have managed to survive if we had to be locked in a room together. Atleast one good thing after our great shame of being reduced to a damsel in distress.", her eyes brightened up since her adversary was not here to pester her.

Unlike before, the bakeneko was wearing rather modern clothes; a pair of blue jeans with a leather belt, pink slippers on her feet and a blue tartan pattern dress shirt that was over a black tank top, left unbuttoned and she had actually hidden her sensitive ears and didn't have her tails poking out.

The older Arthur tilted his head as he looked at her in a relaxed look, bearing no malicious intent towards the two of them. He whimsically smiled in a pleasant surprise but did not let his guard down around the bakeneko for even a second. "The young ones want to see something cool for once. I received this request from one of my dear friends for this. Without the hero of justice bullshit.", a light twitch in his left brow was seen. He didn't continue with his speech as to give her a chance to relax. Listening to her stories wasn't that bad as having to listen about any of the odd stories Pendragon had about his childhood.

"Thank god I'm not a stupid Saberface. Do you know how odd it was getting asked where Mordred was?", Pendragon broke away from his silence to speak up with a disturbed tone, having been asked many, many questions by the mischievous doctor the past days in solitude. He was pretty much creeped out and wary of the Italian surgeon for good reasons. "And about the proposal... You intend to keep your word, i hope." he concluded with a weary push up of his glasses before leaning back on the wall. His British accent was the one people spoke with in Yorkshire, since he was born there in the first place.

"You will have your lady soon enough, dear boy. Be patient.", the barman didn't bother to glance as he continued loading more and more firearms with the Stray Devil assisting him in the process. "And for the little cat. You'll get your opportunities, Mei Chao. We keep our promises and i believe we can offer you far more than the Khaos Brigade would. It just shows how much you are expendable to them if they haven't even bothered to find you. Not that they would be able to, that is."

Pendragon's face soured at the mention of that. It was like he had eaten a whole lemon and afterwards vomited his breakfast - he didn't smile at all, however, he did acknowledge that his hastily made decision to join the organization was a big mistake but he followed Vali Lucifer out of sympathy and a personal grudge. He wanted to help the silverish-blonde girl take her vengeance and restore balance in her life.

Kuroka was a different case; the black haired bakeneko looked down at the ground in recalling memories of her past. Her life had started as that of an ordinary house cat in a Chinese family that had raised her mother. Upon reaching a certain age and having strolled upon an ancient oltar, her tail forked up in two and she became a youkai. She did continue to live with the elderly couple who had raised her since a kitten and she had raised Shirone. Unlike her, the smaller cat was born a few years later as a normal cat a year before her mother died. And she looked after her when her caretakers passed away.

And she took the surname of her caretaker as a sign of respect to the people who had raised her.

"Who are you people exactly? What are you?", Kuroka finally asked after some thinking. "Why would you even keep us alive when we're a part of an organization that wants to change the world? I fail to see any reason for you to act so nicely towards us."

"Because you deserve a second chance. All it takes is one bad day, one bad day to turn your life upside down and make something wretched out of you." the barman nodded while speaking in a grim tone, ladden with enough personal experience to share about how a single event could change everything you were. "You had your reasons but why not focus your efforts onto something productive? Something far more valuable and better than being mere monsters as people would want us to be. I think you just had a bad day and it spiraled down into a horrible life. I don't think sending out our young ones on the front lines... Forgive me for the sentiment." he corrected himself right away. They were mature people with a head on their shoulders so they should carry their responsibilities.

"It pains me how youngsters like you are sent out to war so i wanted to change that. You just need some good love and care."

"Kuroka needs a good dicking if you ask me. Maybe a fish or two would satisfy her, i wonder." the blonde bespectacled man immediately took the chance to annoy the bakeneko Devil with his own brand of dry humor(it was more like some serious insult,though) because he could never let such an opportunity go past him.

"And what's with the rush, old man?"

Kuroka slapped Pendragon across the mouth for having belittled her for his own amusement.

"What else for? We're preparing for an attack." the female Stray replied like it was the most obvious answer. She took the initiative before the older gentleman could give a satisfactory answer. "And i honestly didn't think I'd see you again, Kuronyan." she concluded with a playful tease.

In reality they used to be in the same peerage and after the Bishop killed their King she ran away as well while the others were given to new owners in need of a servant.

"Likewise, Sylvia. It has been a wh-

Arthur Pendragon cut her off. He instead shifted the focus to an entirely different topic. "Maybe you were right about us. We're just a rag tag bunch of idiots following an even bigger idiot. But you don't have any intention of killing us, do you? You've had so many chances and yet you did not. Then what would you need us to do, sir Mason?", Arthur chose a different tactic born out of genuine curiosity. He wanted to test the water and see his intentions since he couldn't get anything substantial from anyone. "You seem to know how to lecture children. Were you perhaps a teacher or something?"

Arthur Halle Mason stood up slowly while loading another firearm. He gestured for a smoke with a singular glance in complete tranquility; the Kasha walked up to him with a metal casing of Black Camel and pried it open to snatch one and returned the box to his pocket. He whipped out a lighter and placed the tobacco roll into the older man's mouth and lit it up for him.

Arthur took a deep inhale of smoke as he finished with his earlier task. He took it out and winced back in some barely noticeable grief that he hid from the rest. He spoke in a flat, dispassionate tone with his low baritone voice as his eyes narrowed the entrance of the room. "I once used to be a teacher in the past. It was so long ago that i wonder if it were true.", he shrugged, "time is such a fickle thing, is it not? It's something we have less and less with each day so don't waste your time asking silly questions, dear boy. Never take anything for granted because you would certainly lose it..."

"Hmm, so it didn't work. I see...", Pendragon only blinked twice tiredly. "So what will you have us do then?", he tried again in the same direction with a different objective. If he played his cards right they might have a chance to escape by tricking this good natured old fool, in his thoughts, to get away from here. But something told him they might not see the end of the day if he tried to kill anyone here. He just knew it so he had to play along.

"It's up to you to decide. We wouldn't force anyone into this and sorry for kidnapping you." he turned around with casual flair with a loaded gun at him. It was a totally normal thing to point guns at terrorists but the way he imitated Yotsugi's _posed look'_ from Monogatari was nothing else but trying to lighten up the mood. "It wasn't in the plan but it turned out quite wonderful in my opinion. You're free to walk out but don't expect anything more. Next time we might clash once more but i would rather give you a choice. You are free to do what you want with your lives but don't try to ruin the lives of others with your decisions. You have options, you have a choice so think well about it. You need that so don't make any mistake because even one can be fatal."

"…I didn't get the best out of life so maybe it's worth a shot, right?", Kuroka Mei Chao tilted her head forward in a lax gesture. Something in her gaze made her feel like he could understand that part of her. Choices. She didn't have that before. Having always been the one to react, she now had a choice if she was willing to take it. Taking back her beloved sister was all that it meant to her - everything else felt awfully redundant. "I doubt you'd think positively of us after our escapades but... If you are really offering me options then I'll once more renew my answer."

A hopeful glint in her amber eyes told everything there was about her. She had never wanted to be a murderer, she wanted something more from life than mere peace and existing. She wanted to live as an intelligent being with dignity and integrity.

"I'll fight. I'm willing to place my trust in you because you have shown signs you would believe in me. And you people did kick us really hard off the edge.", the last bit she mentioned with a sense of dread lingering within her words.

During the attack on the 4th of September she was ambushed and got impaled by a few light spears from Shemhazai's son, Samuel, before she could use her spatial manipulation to create a vacuum around her. She had one of the Sub-Affinities of the Void, Space but it was her carelessness that brought her down when it came to far more experienced users in that area than she was.

"I will say yes if you can guarantee that my sister won't be in harms way. Even if it's kinda contradictory since she joined because of me." Arthur Pendragon looked at the tiles layered with guns, considering the chances he had of picking one and shooting the man in the head but he opted against such a choice as it would lead to nothing productive. He actually wondered why did he join the Brigade in the first place, there were so many choices and he had to pick this one. It wasn't so much as to aid Vali in her struggle in the first place, it was possibly something else in the start and he wasn't sure what it was. "And you haven't told us anything substantial about what's actually happening."

"We are all pawns in the chessboard. The Khaos Brigade, the other factions. They're all players in the game. You are pawns. Everyone is.", the Oni Stray broke away from his silence to answer instead. He had this low bass voice of an old man with throat cancer, speaking of experience and maturity in the way he presented himself. "But who said you can't be a piece that doesn't follow the rules? Because in the end when it happens, when they come for us... It wouldn't matter whether you are an enemy or an ally. We'd be dead.", his cold words were like a knife, cutting with a sharp sense of fatalism into the hearts of others.

"Just how deep are we in the shit?"

"Do you honestly think breaking the 666 seals on the Beast isn't deep shit? That delusional being has forgotten once more, it seems. But you failed to notice one thing." the barman took another inhale from his roll and waved the gun casually. "Rather, what you think it is... _It's_ nothing but the spawns of the Beast. The real thing is still sealed while your comrades have only broken a small number of seals on one of the smaller scale versions."

The sheer gravity of those words actually had Pendragon reeling back. It was not a mere beast he spoke of. There he made it awfully clear that the thing the Khaos Brigade wanted to unleash was nothing more than a mere imitation, a spawn of the creature that could annihilate reality. The worst thing was - it wasn't only one of it. And if the real thing was freed from the prison...

There were no words to describe it.

"We're all going to die.", Kuroka stated the obvious in a horrified tone. There was nothing to describe further than a deep sense of hopelessness in her features that contorted in fear. "It's going to be beyond hard, it's the end for all of us... How are we to combat this threat?"

"We can. If we stop it before they are free. Otherwise... We'll have to use _**that**_...", his tone sharpened but, then again, lost the edge in it. Rather than terrified, it sounded so soothing, and in a sense painful, in the way his grimace grew larger and then stiff. "Luckily, we still have time and don't worry if you would try anything funny. You wouldn't remember a thing, i can guarantee. Some art out of you wouldn't be a bad thing, no?" with the most soothing and relaxed gawk did he mention of the possibility to make something out of them as a last resort. "It could be hard but i enjoy a good challenge." he concluded in his deep Irish accent.

Arthur Pendragon did felt like he wanted to vomit at the mere mention of that twisted sense of art. He gulped down and forced the thought into the back of his head to concentrate. "And speaking of hard things, Kuroka. Do you refuse to jump on anything that isn't hard?"

And just like that everyone laughed.

Kuroka slouched. "Damn it, Pendragon! Why do you always have to yell that out loud?! It's not true! I wouldn't sleep with just anyone for the sake of it. I would prefer a decent man."

"You know, boy", the Irish barman took another inhale and let it out, "if you're so keen on the act why don't you two just get a room and curb your frustrations together? Seeing how much you bicker back and forth one would surely think of you as a couple."

Kuroka puffed her cheeks as she crossed her legs when she leaned back on the wall. "I actually did think about it since he's not a bad bloke. But this guy got with that Wesscott chick and didn't even think of our near encounter when we got drunk. Didn't you actually ditch the bitch, Arthur?", she purred in a vicious tone at the blonde man in sheer delight. It was her time to repay him generously for the kindness he showered her with.

"We had some problems, okay? Being in a long distance relationship can end it prematurely." the British man defended himself.

A brow was raised by the mischievous cat in a jolly manner. She did enjoy their banter. "Just like how you ended prematurely into that maid of yours. We all know about it~"

And one Pendragon shrank into the ground like some shrinking violet. "I will neither confirm nor deny accusations. It's not in your business to discuss my sex life." he soured at her jabs and smacked her back for earlier.

"No, you're right. There's nothing much to talk about it...", she shook her head in agreement. "I don't hold a sword between my legs in pretending it's a tadpole or something. Sure, we're both odd birds but that makes it so good to talk with you."

The Kasha eyed them with distrust and made a sign to stop. It was getting too cozy in here to work. They were practically done with loading the whole arsenal and were sitting down to take a moment of rest.

The barman finished his tobacco and with a few gestures he opened up a few compartments into the wall for something to pop out. "I had these prepared in case you actually considered our offer. Because what sort of combatant rolls in a kimono on the battlefield? I atleast wear some protective gear underneath."

From the two compartments sprang up two sets of similar equipment. In the left one it was a skintight padded suit with a pair of weighted gloves with metal bands over them, inscribed with Latin formula inside and a small set of five stones in blue, red, white, brown and steel for her use of the traditional Chinese Elements of Nature. It had two ports for her wings when the need arose for flight. It had two ports on the palms as well. A small canister with colored paper was strapped to the left hip for Speed Casting in her Omnyodo Arts style. It was a fairly simple suit with no decorations on it. Next to it was a small collapsible stick with the same formula inscribed.

The compartment on the right contained another suit in black with a golden trim around the neck, two lines each on the wrists with plated fingerless gloves with a cross emblazoned on them. It was sturdier in it's plating because he was a human being so he needed more protection. It had two sheats strapped on it's back for a sword and a sidearm, woven with microfiber to withstand greater pressure like the first one. All two came with an appropriate pair of shoes to go with the suits they were given.

Both suits had a cowl and a metal mouthpiece mask with two rows of metal fangs welded onto them in a gunmetal silver-black color pallette that would cover the mouth and the nose to protect them from inhaling any toxic substances there might be.

All of the firearms dissappeared within a second.

"Come on, they are your's to use. I believe they would be of help to you.", the Fairy Stray urged them to take them. She was quite insistent on the use of such tech and pointed with a very demanding face to stop wasting time and get on with the program. "Just do it. I didn't spend all night for nothing." she snarkily snapped at the two. She really wanted to see something of her's put to use.

Arthur Halle Mason slid his hand into his pocket and took out his golden pocket watch to check the time. He meticulously gazed at it before he returned it to where it belonged. "Time is up. We need to go now so let me help you a bit, lad." it felt mischievous in a way.

And surely it was some joke when with a simple finger snap…

Kuroka and Pendragon were left only in their underwear.

The bakeneko Devil instinctively tried to cover herself while the blonde guy felt like he was at home. He even placed his hands on his waist like it was the most normal thing to do, he was completely unfazed so he turned around and took the cue to change his gear.

"We'll leave you two lovebirds to get on with your dicking spree.", the Kasha smirked as he joined the other five Stray Devils and the owner of the mysterious complex between space and time.

They went out to give them space and found themselves at the bar counter to wait.

A good three-four minutes passed and from the door came out Arthur Pendragon and Kuroka Mei Chao - the cat stretched her arms and shadow boxed in the air to get a good feel of her new armament, tapping her feet on the tiles to get used to it. It felt lightweight and gripping her whole body as her muscles tensed up and twirled her hair like some shy maiden on a first date. The half-mask was hanging on her neck and the cowl was left as it was.

Pendragon stepped forward confidently, having affixed his glasses with a band at the back to avoid the spectacles from falling off during the task. They pressed tightly on his face as he lifted the mask piece to affix onto his lower jaw and nose with a press as it stuck and snapped onto his face finally. He did a few random moves with no particular order for a quick stretch and pulled up the collar slightly to guard his neck since there were metal pieces to deflect fatal blows to the throat.

"Hmm, looks better than i thought. Any last words before we dive into Hell, ladies and gentlemen?", Arthur finished the drink he had made for himself on the bar plate and pointed at a tray with glasses of whiskey with ice. There were two left as everyone else was nearing the bottom of their glass, if the two members of Team Vali were willing to take the initiative, that is.

Kuroka politely declined the offer in fear it might be poisoned but in the end she reconsidered and downed the glass with no problem. She offered the other one to her fellow teammate but he refused it so she drank that one as well.

Nobody should waste good alcohol. Especially when it was free.

"We're ready, old man. Lead the way and that was a damn surprise. I'll remember this for sure."

Arthur smiled as he grabbed his fedora hat and placed it one fluid movement over his dark brown hair to partially cover those graying temples of his. He picked up a trench coat from a nearby sofa, made from a Kevlar lined fabric over his back. Over his dress shirt-vest combo he left the coat to hang as to hide the firearm pouches strapped onto his sides, and he picked up his wolf head cane stick as he spoke softly. "I'm counting on it, Pendragon. You won't be disappointed in your decision today." he waved back in casual flair with his left glove covered hand.

The inscribed formula on the two suits blazed to life in an intricate, arcane pattern of red colors as the suits lit up in a flash. They became more armored in some sections and from the sheaths on Pendragon's back formed the handles of Excalibur Ruler and Caliburn while Kuroka swept her hood over her head and her mask piece mounted itself onto her jaws while her collapsible stick extended into a makeshift Channeling tool with a miniature pike on the edge.

A large rift opened before them as the older gentleman started walking towards it, his cane tapping on the floor in one ominous melody of death incoming. "It's just us three so the rest of you... You should skip this one. It's not worth risking your life for this." the Irish man softly spoke towards the Strays to dissuade them from coming along in a grandfatherly, respectful voice of understanding.

"Then i will go...", a female, childish voice was heard when another door was opened.

It was Le Fay Pendragon that murmured back at him. She couldn't leave her brother alone as they made a vow to never separate from each other so she walked up to him and pulled on his sleeve. "Please... Without me he wouldn't be able to get back in one piece. Give me a chance, i can fight too..."

"Once you step onto the battlefield you won't be a 13 year old child anymore. If it gets too heavy I'll pull you out. Don't expect it to be pretty. It's not a place for little girls like you..."

"Then we're going as well. I think we could use her Summoning ability to even the odds. Fenrir and Goggmagog... Fuckin OP...", the defacto leader of the Strays took a stance as the rest prepared themselves. The Kasha shot a witty smirk at Le Fay and lifted her up on his shoulders to prepare for the jump.

"You seriously don't know when to give up, do you? You're such a bunch of fools...", Arthur lifted up his cane and looked at his feet in a morose expression. Yet, it became a determined one that understood their mettle and desires, enough to utter a sentence of gratitude.

"Thank you... And where's Mordred?"

And thus they vanished into the rift.

XXX

13th September, Las Vegas, Nevada, Caesar's Palace, Casino, 02:49 am

The black flames with violet outlines bathed the Dragon from head to toe, encircling his draconian armor into the cursed flames of Vritra. The fiery tongues spread all around him in a moment while the ring of fire he was entrapped within shortened it's diameter bit by bit in a blazing inferno.  
The Vritra clad Devil leapt forward with a maddened shriek of a delirium induced rage as the being unbinded two of it's six tentacle swirled wing constructs into their base components; the flaming spiked tentacles swept across the air like a fiery whip in a multitude of separate piercing strikes directed at the armor clad Red Dragon Emperor in the flame prison.

 **[~** **Audiomachine - Transmutation** **~]**

The canceling properties of the circle and the jetstream of flames were going to connect with the sharp spade tips of the tentacles in one sure hit that would have gutted the Red Dragon in a flash. Vritra gained further speed when the creature anchored it's tips into the prison and during mid-flight executed a somersault. It stabbed it's second set of tentacles into the ceiling to act as a balancer for a brutal kick into the cage.

Instead, it was met with a quick grab on the armored leg - from the tainted, dense flames the faded in color mouthpiece and green optics glowed in a dim illumination as the jaws on the helmet snapped open with an animalistic, vile roar of a rabid animal on the offensive. Issei tackled the leg with his gauntlet clad hands and dug his claws into the metal. He specifically grabbed the feathered wisp at the back of the sole and cracked the three pronged cage knee guard in a mighty clasp with deadly strength.

The tentacles had missed so he used that moment to go on the offensive.

He was drained and tired, he needed time to recharge and was pushing himself to remain strong and thankfully due to having used Black Ichor: King Vritra he was completely resistant to the violet outlined fire and the draining touch of it's prehensible appendages. He knew he wasn't going to get out of this easily so he only had one thing in mind – hold off the Devil and buy enough time to get the rest away because they were in the way.

Riser moved back and grabbed the catatonic Xuelan, holding her in a way that allowed him to restrain his sister with one hand as to prevent her from trying to get near the devilish Dragon. He was scared, he felt all of his body ache in the sheer memory of having been struck with the draining scales of the Dragon King and the brutal beating he endured. He couldn't do anything more here; it was the time to run and run really fast to a safety.

"We gotta go! Now, sister!", the older Phenex yelled at the smaller one who was wrestling him in trying to break free of his tight clutch pulling her backwards to escape. He was giving his all in the act as Asia was preparing to move in the opposite direction as she held the unconscious Rossweisse. "We have to go! There's nothing we can do here! We're running out of time!"

But Ravel didn't want to do that. Her drive to help was preventing her from fleeing, attempting to do what she thought was the right thing. Even if she was weakened to a level where she couldn't actually use any of her magic, the blonde girl wanted so desperately to do something even if she knew there was nothing she could have done to help. "No! We can't leave him like that. He's going to burn out at this rate!"

The Vritra clad Devil wrapped it's tentacles around the bulk of the chipped and cracked armor in a bear hug as it once more screamed an incoherent gargle of a battle cry. "Iiiisifhhegee... Ishhhdeheee!", it gnarled in vicious shrieks of wrath when it slammed it's knee onto the chest piece and using it's five inverse horned crown to bash right into Issei's visor.

He was rattling from the gruesome rustling of the thing, knowing he was probably, no, surely going to slip and fall from it's strength. With enough strength to snarl at the rest, he further wrapped his limbs over the thigh and placed all strength into slamming the black armored being onto the shattered ground over an Efreet corpse.

"Hurry... GO, DAMN IT! I can't hold it much longer! Just fuckin' go!" he groaned under the strain as he hit the floor with a heavy thud into burrowing the other Devil in a crater that was about to burst and spill into the facility beneath them.

Every muscle in his body was going to snap, unwind and tear when he felt that impact shake his whole world. It was mere desperation at this point when he commanded the threads from the spell to bind the Devil in a series of fast paced, interlacings of red threads to hold it in one place for a little bit longer. The threads pinpointed the enemy in a moment, binding it in a spot that could anchor the thread ends into the floor to make a solid net.

Hilda knelt on the floor in the darkness, tracing her fingers into forming a door pattern onto the surface and because of the lack of a barrier she managed to open it and it actually became a door.

"Go,go,go,go! Don't waste the chances he's giving you.", the short blonde girl was scared to watch, however, she knew something very well - he wasn't one to die so easily to this freak. Because she believed in him, she was convinced in his determination and for nothing in the world was she going to waste a second of the precious time he had bought for them.

She swung the suitcase with the money in a hurry, striking the vampire girl onto the abdomen by channeling her Sound Affinity to increase her strength by vibrating molecules and by having the vibrations causing sound to bounce off surfaces. She crafted a gigantic earth hand from the ground, covered with blood and dead bodies in a rapid hold over the albino Devil to push him into the open door as she used the momentum to put the pale girl inside. "It's time. We must go. Don't you believe in him?", pleading with moist eyes from fear, Hilda pulled the other two while Asia nodded in hoping for everything to be alright.

They jumped inside like that, having the door close behind them.

They fell into the designated room for Hilda Shaun, straight into the 7th Daze bar between space and time. The fall was softened by a few mattresses on the rug covered floor in a room full of things she had used to stack into this warehouse of sorts.

She, herself, bumped onto a tiny bed and hopped onto her feet in glancing at each wall in a hasty, panicked glare of conflicting, primal emotions. There was no problem in knowing what she was thinking since it was quite visible on her pretty face that got contorted by confusion and worry.

"We need to get back, now! Ise is going to die because of your bullshit. Do you know what you have done?!", angrily exclaimed Wilhelmina. The pale blonde was mad at Hilda, enough to want to bite her and drink her blood to the point where she would be a husk. Vocal and emotional, Mina couldn't find any reason to accept this fact. Extending her hooked blade from her left wrist, the Vampire-turned-Devil lunged at her in a bid to threaten the human female to open the door.

Aslatiel hated running away and understood her reasoning quite well, sadly he didn't want to take her words into account but found it in him to restrain himself and his Bishop from trying to attack her. He pulled the triggered girl by the hood in stopping her from reaching her target, hitting her into his body to hug her in a bid to make her calm down. "Can't you see? We're messed up, we don't have strength and we're fucked. Tired, drained and alone. You know how he is... But you're right, we're not going to stand idle while he risks his life for us. And you hit really hard for a tiny chick.", not having any smile underneath the faceplate, the red eyed Traveler was morose and it was evident despite his attitude of faking positivity when he felt awful on the inside.

Hilda didn't respond at all. She chose to ignore their vocal onslaught, having dashed away from Mina to one of the walls. The German girl seemed completely unfazed on the outside. Neither moved nor apathetic the pretty blondie began to feel up the wall in drawing circles with both palms pressed onto it, searching for something fastidiously in her storage room.

"Get your things and get going. This is your chance to escape.", answering in a half-frightening, half-soothing mix of urging for a few quick snears did she tell them to get going or they might get caught up in deep shit. It was as if she were a different person altogether. Taciturn, unsympathetic to their plights. Harsh was an appropriate term to describe her at this point. That coldness, that numb visage locked in a monolithic expression of tranquility was maddening to the mind.

Asia left Rossweisse on the bed, trying to keep herself balanced to continue moving despite the awful need to sleep or she might drift away if she were to close her green eyes in a unconscious act of drowsiness. The gaze she returned towards the back of the girl could be felt behind the visor; indifferent in the seams, emotionless on the matter. Only that nobody knew it was not Asia at this point.

 _Something_ far more sinister was watching them.

"Do you have a plan? Are you capable of dealing with it?", Riser spoke through the mouthpiece in an altered voice. It was a concerned voice, it had respect and actual anger towards her for her decision. The Devil upstairs had earned his trust and for the first time he actually felt like he found a compatriot in him, though he wouldn't outright admit it due to his sense of pride. But it was there; he was a comrade who risked his life to get them out of there and defended his sister and former Rook. "It was marked with the mark, it had the Brand of Dominion etched onto it's plating."

Hilda finally found what she was searching for; she landed onto a bump in the wall, slid her fingers in it for a push to open a panel with fingerprint recognition. She let the scanner do it's job, having recognized her and it opened up to unveil a canister with red pills, a belt full of ammunition clips and an AK-47 stored on a handle.

The short German singer picked it up on her back with the belt on her chest as she cracked the canister and swallowed two pills of the weird medicine. There was a syringe she placed upon her left forearm with a crystal clear substance that she injected into her bloodstream and she closed the panel.

"Give me that Phoenix Tear you have. I'll need it.", she opened two doors leading to Kuoh and the Underworld. She was scared to death, she didn't want to go but her sense of duty overruled the fear she had in her. The pain and negative emotions drove her to subconsciously shed tears in grief, filtering all the taint and corruption as well as the pain to flow out. "I'm done with running away. No more will i sit idle and let everyone else protect me."

"You'll die! You're a human! You'll get yourself killed, girl!", Ravel didn't want to see that. She had enough to hurl from the strain as her body was tired; she would crack under the pressure further.

"I told you. Go and save your city, go and save your home. It has begun - they are coming.", Hilda opened up another door on the wall for herself to utilize, taking shaky steps before she grabbed the doorknob and turned it around. She didn't look back at them, she didn't dare to do it. Her message was cryptic but understandable enough to get it through - it was a set up.

It was the most obvious time for a large scale attack to happen. "You can't kill something that's already dead. And you're wrong about one thing.", no hesitation brought her down to avoid it, not a shred of malice did she held in her at this point. Her brows scrunched down in the most serious expression she could muster, she was putting up a front before them.

She waved her hand, raising her voice a tad bit to convey something she had felt all this time.

"He's not alone. He never was to begin with... Because he has me."

XXX

 _"They got out... Good luck, people. I... Thank you for the time we had..."_

Vritra burned through the bindings as if going through a grinder belt, chipping it's armor in several different spots and leaving cut marks into the metalic pauldrons and skirt. Most of it's first set of tentacles was damaged by burning slashes but the thing still clinged for a moment longer before it freed it's hands to carry on by punching Issei in the chest a few times, strong enough to crack the main breastplate with spider web lines.

Then it proceeded to unbind the set of appendages it had used on the ceiling to reel back onto the roof of the ruined casino complex, being visible only due to the violet tint of the black flames it's makeshift wings produced.

Flames burst around the exits, spreading around the perimeter to form a new cage of darkness. Vritra was in his waters; the darkness, the barely existing shadows were it's domain for the malicious dragon to dwell in. It had every advantage at this moment as to use Umbrakinesis, thanks to the small light source present in the spacious facility. The flames shed some light still, enabling the black dragon to fight back relentlessly with extreme efficiency.

Vritra extinguished his flames but did not hide the Devil wings on it's back, blending in with the background as a taunt of having given a flicker of hope, only to dispose of it.

This thing, feral at first sight, was actually calculating and cunning enough to use taunts and tactics for a frenzied animal. He knew this tactic, he had seen it before by Genshirou who used something similar by using the darkness in corners to surprise attack enemies.

But Issei was not in a good condition to prolong this further. He could survive most of the blows the Devil host could land, yet his fatigue would be the end of him. He was standing still in a moment of peace to anticipate the next attack and formulate an escape plan since he knew it wasn't going to be easy.

 **[~** **Aram Zero – Jager Elite** **~]**

He made no sound. He was prey in awaiting the predator, hiding but the night vision it had made it harder. It was watching him carefully, preparing for an ambush in the mere moments it started to slowly move above him on the ceiling.

 _"Now! Above me."_

He dodged a compound of tentacles from the roof, being thrown at him akin to spears covered in darkness. His first move was to dash at the left side in hurry, jumping in the air to avoid a second set being thrown at him in a dragon head composition made of the prehensible appendages on a whim.

But this thing had two more sets to be wary of.

 _"I can't keep this up longer. I need something good to use."_ , he felt the corpse of a Vetala near his feet when he landed. And he had an idea. A really weird one on top of it.

He picked up the severed arm he found near the body, pressed it against his back to use it as a Concept and made use of the talons and golden bangle on it. The arm was sublimated into the Brand, resulting in a pair of black arms with red bangles and long sharp talons to shred meat. Miniature eyes shaped over it with a talon on the forearms in a reddish-black coloration. However, the main reason for this construct was simply the natural leeching ability of the revenant as to sap the adversary's strength and use it for himself.

The Devil slowly crawled further away from it's previous spot to continue the game and moved to the west while having retrieved it's tentacle compounds. It's childish humming in combination with guttural low growls was quite the disgusting tune to the ear, hissing at some point like a cat with a deeper tonality in the process.

And in the next second it threw it's lowest tentacle wings from the previous spot it was on for a diversion. It actually separated a few to do it, using Umbrakinesis to extend their reach as a decoy; the bladed tips straightened into solid spears, engulfed in flames and illuminating the shaft of the piked makeshift spear to cast a minimal shadow from it. It could use those with a draining touch for a good old trusty cursed flame to back it up.

Those projectiles landed lazily around him, not being able to touch him and leave any marks onto him since his scars burned up as a sign to dodge once again.

It was testing the waters, carefully observing each move he made to exploit. It seemed to be having fun in mocking him.

Issei straightened his fists in awaiting for it. He knew where it was by the burning sensation giving him hints but he avoided charging since he didn't have much strength left in him. The best thing he could do was to use his audio-visual distortion ability to become a hazy, static black shadow with red to confuse it. Presence Concealment was added to the mix, expending further from his lowered mana contents since he needed time to build up more and if he had to rely on the Original Being's source he risked being struck by the curse of Ddraig and lose his power at the most unfortunate moment. That's why he kept the armor and didn't switch to his Red Dragon mode instead.

The extra arms from his Brand were ready. He wouldn't fall for the trick to grab the burning tentacle spears to recover, it was plain obvious on how bad of a move it would be. So he chose to use provocation.

"Genshirou, I never liked you. In fact, i think you're a shallow piece of shit that couldn't see he had two girls on the roster for himself." he exclaimed in a roar. He wasn't sure if it would work but atleast it would get it's attention to retaliate.

The other Devil growled in a low tonality, a scary snarl in a mixed voice between draconian and human-like, bearing a crazed, delirium marked grin behind the faceplate. It reacted to the verbal assault by throwing an arc of black flames in a fluid stroke from the ceiling. Knowing where he was but not exactly as the devilish Dragon changed tactics to tackle the problem.

From the south flew a single throwing knife with no handle this time; only the naked steel was necessary for the trick to take place. The blade curved into a set trajectory in barely grazing the black dragon's cross sholder guard, clanging hard before it expanded in a burst of metal particles charged with a Boost to create a small flash bang to blind Vritra.

It was in that moment when Issei gripped the host with one of the enlarged Vetala hand constructs in a vice grip, bearing a great pressure in the squeeze it executed onto the beast. He had scaled the wall, used the flash bang to stun it for a moment and used the leeching effect to wrap the limb and drain upon contact a bit of the stamina Vritra had . It was done to charge his own body and with the other hand he dug his fist right into the side of the creature, smashing into it fast as he threw it on the ground.

But Vritra wouldn't let him win this round.

The mighty Dragon King shot two of his tentacle sets in the form of dragon heads that thrashed the red armored Devil into the ceiling, lodging him further as it tried to rob him of his mana despite the resistance he had to it's abilities. Mid-fall in the process, Vritra fanned out his golden bangles on his arms into jigsaw wheels to spin and generate twin flaming saws that gained momentum in glowing with a violet tint and shadows mixing in it. The third set he used to make an anchor to stab at a corpse and broke the fall, flipping back upon landing and sending the twin torrents upwards in spinning disks of cursed flames and they grew jaws from the shadows, becoming serpentine heads upon the brown haired Devil.

The dragon heads had stabbed into his shoulders and side in pinning him as he wrestled back with his extra limbs over the metalic pinions; he grabbed a few individual tentacles and managed to rip them off barely but he drained them enough to free one hand and swing to the side to avoid the first serpentine from reaching him. Surely, he was in so much pain and barely standing but the adrenaline rush had him going.

He was driven by pain and his survival instincts to fight it off, lest it would go after the others. When he thought for a moment about the girl who shared his pain... he wanted to kill this thing as soon as possible so he could finish his job and get paid. However, it was for her also. It always was about her.

The second serpentine jaw flew past the first one, coiling through the air at the back of the armor as it reached him and grazed the plating from the right leg up to the shoulder blade in leaving a deep crack within the individual pieces. It further continued as it crashed through the ceiling; leaving an opening to the upper storey when he Red Dragon Emperor lost balance in his hurried act and thus he fell with the pieces of armor stripped off his back and a deep gash started to stitch back instantaneously while not a single drop of blood ever reached the ground. It dissipated, the worms moved around the flesh wound to cover up and it was no more.

He had enough contact with the Umbrakinesis ability to gain some resistance to it, having adapted through the repeated tentacle stabs in his limbs and his earlier experience. He did jerk in pain, he felt like he was going to crack in a hundred pieces when the pain struck his body. He was breathing heavily already so this heavy blow he took when he rolled around to protect himself. It had already seen him so the attack landed.

Issei dove away into the darkness, hoping to buy a little more time to retaliate. Now he wasn't able to be seen because he moved out of his field of vision and luckily he had landed onto a pile of corpses to soften his fall.

What could be said to be a blessing was the presence of Asia's Black Key blade lodged into the corpse of an Efreet. The exact same one bearing Armaros in Hebrew on the cold steel, stained with blood. It was practically there for him to utilize on the counterattack. He removed it from the corpse quickly as he brought his hand around his back in an arc motion to let it be used as an Idea for his Brand to absorb it. The black Brand of scales changed it's configuration once again in taking it, constantly changing patterns.

The remaining tentacle tips he ripped off his other arm with the Vetala one as another source to sublimate. His knowledge on the Asura Dragon further enabled him to use it as a Concept because the Brand needed extensive knowledge on what it was going to create from Emptiness/Nothingness, luckily, he was a voracious reader and knowledge seeker so he piled knowledge over knowledge again and again in every interpretation, associations, facts and aspects to reach a higher level of education and competence.

And they say today's youth didn't read as a whole!? Such fallacy.

 **[Dragon Overbooster: Vritrahan Diabolical Pike of** **Demolition** **]**

From the Vetala hands sprouted two naked blades of gunmetal steel, drenched in black with veins from the exit points, emiting a cold green light surrounding the shaft of each one. A layer of spiked cables swirled around the limbs as a set of muscles to further steady them in gaining more mass and defense. The tips merged into the red bangles in gaining serated chakram edges over it while some of them migrated to the talons to become violet sheaths of draconic iron to increase their overall durability.

The Black Keys extended into triple pronged stilleto-like weapons with a violet tint mixing within the green to enable a cluster of shadows to gain corporeal form under the palms in having jagged maws with a tongue made from a Vritra triangular hook.

The best thing was, of course, how they had mana in them to revitalize his body to a higher degree than the first drain. He was going to make it, he was going to fight as strength and might were returning into his body.

 _"Thank you, Argento. You just gave me a helping hand. So it's my turn now!"_

He immediately moved on the offense - shooting the stilleto-like short swords into the air, connected to tentacles for a whip configuration, Issei started running as the projectiles flew upwards into the east and west. They were fast in their trajectory, speeding into the air to hone on the hidden Vritra from two separate directions.

Feeling the presence of his severed appendages, Vritra stabbed two sets of cable pinions into the ceiling as a reeling mechanism; they pulled the Asura away from the fast projectiles that nearly hit him for a hair's length, barely escaping their clutch by mere millimeters. The reeling was accomplished, anchoring the prison dragon to the eastern wall for a second time.

It was what Red was waiting for. His mouthpiece snapped open in revealing a fanged maw with pearly white teeth emiting gusts of flame from the edges. And without any second thought, he opened them and charged a normal Dragon Shot in seconds while using the Overlaying style through two custom seals to magnify the potential of his spiraling shot.

And he shot it straight at Vritra. But also having the two cables from his hands redirect their target by using the violet-green light as a miniscule radiance to enable the shadows within them to come to life, Issei snapped and opened his maw in a rapid succession to blast another Dragon Shot immediately after the first one.

Vritra used all three of his tentacle wings to unbind the previous formations into a shield before it's body, making it spin and flare up in flames and shadows to act as a second layer of defense. With it's normal hands, the host casted a hexagonal barrier over the shield to make sure it would defend them in time.

The shadows clashed against the barrier in piercing through it's form with hooks of corruption permeating through the first layer and as if hands, they started to stretch the protective layer for the consecutive Dragon Shots to pass through it and go for the second layer.

The Vritra Devil host took the brunt of the first attack, colliding against the shield in a shockwave that shook the foundation of the wall. It was practically glued into the wall and passed through it into another facility, shedding more light into the dark premises.

It was far from over.

The second hit was extinguished by a Shade Flame Breath in a thin continuous arc of black and purple ripples within it.

It roared in outrage, climbing out of the hole it made in the wall for the cables on it's back to create makeshift fists in pulling it away.

The second and third mass of independently moving pikes spread out as two almond shaped shields and the other two coiled into a densely woven set of straightened spears with flaring tips.

The childish humming was replaced by gurgling accords of a serpent and an insane hiss of a mentally ill person screeching in painful grunts. It was disgusting, it was heart-wrenching and so loony in the way it tried to pronounce words barely.

" !Shgggeereesh! Faaaaakhhhr!"

It was done with the taunting routine. Now it was seriously going to kill him.

It jumped at him in an insane push from the wall, speeding up straight for where it assumed he was in reading the lower body heat signature as a hunter going for It's prey. It even gained more speed upon pouncing with the cable fists straight down while it's spears were raised and the two panels parted away to lock with the V pieces to reveal the row of metalic fangs onto the mouthpiece and it's slit six optics glistened in a quick succession as an indicator of it's enraged state.

The marks left from the previous spell were slowly patching up while the earlier shield had withstood the blast in guarding it. But not without suffering damage in the form of a chipped and cracked shoulder armor and a large split into one of the four-pieced breast plates. For sure, one of it's Devil wings had been riddled with tears here and there but was still usable.

Because Vritra was not a True Regenerator, actually being a normal regenerator without the insane recovery speed of the opposing dragon. Vritra despised Ddraig and Albion as they had defeated him twice upon challenging each, having to walk away in shame and defeat.

The same happened with Fafnir; all three times the red dragon had pierced his ultimate defense, Tiamat did fare better than the Golden Monarch but she could never accept her defeat till this day.

Because there was a reason why the two Original Beings in their mundane, weakest forms were called Dragon Emperors instead of mere Kings. They had beaten the shit out of everyone that challenged them.

It was payback for the humiliation.

The Devil host stretched it's two spears like chains, the Red one took a stance and spun to the right to avoid the first one stabbing him so he used the chakram bangle on the left construct arm to spin with black flames and the spear slid across it's surface. The second one stopped mid-air to split into it's base components; the tentacles turned into a spinning drill with tainted shadows as it struck the floor beneath him, turning into mush a few corpses and upsetting his already shaky balance. Next, it used the momentum to slam both fists into the chest, yet they were blocked by the metalic tentacle sheaths over the right Vetala arm, draining mana upon connecting with them.

Issei stepped onto the drill and stretched his second Vetala hand with the stilleto-like blade digging into the first shield Vritra raised to block while the spear was pressing onto the other arm. The two fists continued to punch into the arm. It used the other shield as battering ram to bash against the legs of it's opponent, connecting the blow and pushing Issei back as to make him tumble.

"Iiiiishhhshhheee!", it gnarled again because of the lack of progress.

 **[~** **Mark Petrie - Eshara** **~]**

The metalic jaws opened up and a small circle popped before the lips the same way Vali had to use her Light Breath upon opening the mouth guard for it. It meant the being inside was not merged with the imprisoned demonic dragon since the Sacred Gear was not Internalized. It was gunning down for a second Shade Flame Breath, charging up and expelling a bigger breath of curses and shadowy flames upon the stunned Devil from point blank and he continued to bash him right into the ribs and the face, throwing him off at the floor a few feet away.

It was easy to notice when both dragon and host were changing tactics and style in a bid to confuse Red... or the damn thing was really insane.

The pushed back Issei tried to block an incoming fist with his normal hands but Vritra continued to spew out more flames to hinder his retaliation.

Another fist threw him off further onto the floor a few meters away, tumbling and giving the dragon of darkness another chance to exploit. The Vetala hands spun in a frenzy, using the Black Key blade attachments to strike back at it, using the cables attached to it as to ensnare the legs of this adversary by wrapping the blade as a hook around one of it's calves. He had a second to use this so he didn't waste time at making the cable burn with the channeled power of the Cadre's name etched onto the metal to use his cyan blue trident over the calf.

The blade turned into the aforementioned spear configuration, stabbing Vritra in the leg with burning light in using a Devil's weakness. The spear sizzled in lacerating the limb with a series of cracks that chipped the dense armored plating. It was a hastily made decision that didn't do much other than agravate the already crazed beast. It drained a portion of it's strength to empower the Red Dragon Emperor instead, yet, Vritra gripped the metalic core of the spear and with a titanic pull removed it and used the cable to jump back and lift Issei in the air towards it.

The red armor had been further chipped and smelted at some points, preventing fine motor movement by the constraints formed through the flame. Vritra pulled further with all of his weapons prepared - he slammed the shields against the Dragon but he managed to grab them with his construct hands, channeling the Umbrakinesis wisps through the mouths on the palms into slashing the shields upon touch. Vritra raised both spear tentacles in a flurry of strikes that begun to rattle when he grabbed them with his normal hands.

Vritra roared once more when it swung both tentacle fists, slamming into his abdomen, delivering heavy strikes at the segments before they could crack under the pressure of it's fists. And it charged another Shade Flame Breath at point blank to lay waste.

 _"Damn it. I can't do it... Fuck, fuck, fuck."_

For some reason a few images flashed through his mind. They were of people he knew, people around him and people whose words had impacted on him.

He slammed his head in desperation before the blast could finish charging up, thrashing the faceplate of the host into cracks as he found the strength to use the second cable blade to form the second cyan blue trident and nicked Vritra into the side hard.

The sizzling light made the demonic dragon groan and rattle in screams, "Ihhhhshssee! Idddheisssu! Fhhhaaskkrrr!", almost resembling coherent speech.

It was an opening that he needed to use the second cable to hit it in the face and he used his knee to injure it's previously lacerated calf to break free.

Issei let go of the shields and spear cables, moving back as much as he could to unleash a miniature Dragon Shot upon it. The projectile was fast but not enough to deal any damage as the Devil host spun on it's heels and whiplashed two sets combined into one to block it. A wall of tentacles burst into flame, absorbing the expent shot and bathed it's visor in shadows to slowly reform and repair the faceplate with more growls escaping from it's maw.

It changed it's armament into two separate drills, gaining speed upon rotation with Umbrakinesis bathing the tips from the light emiting through a few holes. And once more it formed a wall of fire that spread around them like a battle arena, similar to the octagon ring of the UFC.

"Ss...sheee...iiishshhs... Hhhhsjshhseesh...lmmmms..e"

And like that, Vritra was upon him once more.

In the next instant, the host growled as drills were extended and shot straight at him. The dragon lunged forward despite it's wounded leg taking up time to slowly regenerate. Driven by a murderous rage, it flanked him from the left by using it's flames to make fists from the circle and repeatedly punched him while the drill was trying to pierce through the Vetala hands he had brought forward to defend himself. The Black Key blades on them glistened once more with the cyan blue tridents forming over them to lessen the damage and deal some in return, snapping some of the cables and leaving a burning mark on the drill. But the punches he had to endure brought him down on the shattered floor to helplessly try to stand up.

"F..fuck...", he belched.

Vritra formed the other two sets into fists to prepare for a strong grip. What more; it's reformed visor glowed with red light from the six slit eyes as the thing had the two slider panels open up, slide in opposing directions and they locked into the V pieces. Underneath, the black jaws with welded teeth glistened from the dark flames with a violet tint in a sinister, unmovable smile. But even then those jaws opened to reveal the lips of the host.

...they were locked in a cruel, ludicrous, thin seductive smile of pure bliss and insanity intertwined. The black coloration of theirs was striking, he really couldn't notice so much as anything about it.

Other than his blood freezing.

"... d-di..e... y-you...fuck."

Issei shot the spear empowered blade straight at Vritra for a jab. He didn't have much strength even with the draining touch he had upon it, barely supporting himself up till now.

And it was about to change.

Vritra deflected the projectile with ease, swatting it away with it's drill like it were a paper ball thrown at it's face. It didn't matter that it's drill like construct was damaged at all; the dragon unbinded a few of it's tentacles from the drill and severed the tentacle holding the blade and upon it's loss of glow - the host kicked it and smiled in sadistic joy over the weakened Issei before it closed the mouthpiece and the panels slid back in place.

In this battle of attrition Vritra was clearly the winner, having the advantage of the terrain and more than enough stamina to spare.

The onyx dragon stepped forward confidently in what could be said to be a civilized catwalk, still crazed but somehow restrained in a way. The scrapes and dents were mended by this point but even now the wound ached enough to make the creature hiss in pain.

The beast used two sets of it's spiked tentacles as fists to lift the struggling Devil by the extra limbs - it began to repeatedly bash him with the first drill as the Vetala arms were crushed in a vice-grip at the wrists, despite the chakram bangle rending some of the tentacles and draining from it. Issei was getting hit and swatted while being held, not given a chance to retaliate as each strike was unrelenting in the delivery. Vritra charged up another Umbrakinesis serpentine head from it's right arm for a shattering punch in preparation.

 _"...this is it... I'm sorry mother... It's my time to go no_ _w_ _... Alw...w..ways... I give up...nothing..."_

Vritra collided his spear against the chest plate, cracking it further. He held the distorted silhouette strongly despite his rattling, continuing to slam against him as it roared in outrage. It's ramblings were incoherent, bearing only a horrendous attempt at speech in screeches of hallowed laughter and screams.

 _"...You're not alone... You don't have nothing. You have a purpose. You have me so don't you dare die on me, you motherfucking idiot!"_

Bullets rained upon the armored shell of the onyx dragon, heavy repeated fire struck at it in heaps. A single moment of surprise took ahold of the host as it couldn't adapt so fast due to not having noticed it. Every being was susceptible to the psychological phenomenon of change blindness.

But the bullets were not normal.

Vritra let his guard down long enough for Issei to ram his hand into it's visor, breaking free with a ton of effort in getting away and he jumped over the flaming octagon ring. The hail of bullets made it shake and contort as it was pushed back, rather, blown away by a dense sound wall and it shuddered in more ear defeaning growls as it clutched it's head from the pain, trying to block the sound that shook it's world hard.

Issei felt something odd. Another paranormal signature irked his scars as he threw a quick glance at his back, straight towards the edge of the north side and noticed it. His vision was returning back to normal so through his still blurred vision he recognized the silhouette of a short girl standing at 1,64m holding an AK-47 and bearing two side firearms on a belt. But what he found most disturbing was the red glow of her eyes and signature he felt around her.

The short girl was there, standing at the other edge at a safer distance. A uniform, he noticed; it was the uniform that she was wearing. A black commander trench coat with four buttoned up pockets and an Iron Cross was resting around her left breast pocket, a circular belt at the abdomen fastened the article on her body while the shoulders bore red streaks down to the wrists with german crosses and a few patches of gray. Black heavy duty boots up to the knees were her leg gear and the military pants tucked into the edges of the boots. Underneath she had kevlar plates over a skintight padded bodysuit to act as another layer of defense.

"...don't you die... Not alone, Ise. Together..."

Her blonde hair was divided into four low quadra tails by the use of anchor-shaped accessories to invoke the iconic look. And on her head she wore a military personnel grey-black hat with another German Cross and two white lines across the hems, invoking the image of a typical WWII soldier uniform blended with elements of the Prinz Eugen one. Because she was the real life basis for the game model, down to the last detail aside from her bust that was a little bigger.

"...Eugen... Why?", his words echoed in dread and horror in a hollow whisper. He was barely holding it together and despite his efforts to get her out he had failed. Why did this idiot had to go back when his job was to guard her!? She wasn't a fighter, she was fragile and squishy like any other human being and she was going to die here. That's what he thought immediately as he tried to rush straight to her direction.

Hilda bore lengthened canines as she raised her firearm and took out the magazine clip, placing a new one into the cartridge and took aim at the already standing Vritra that was running straight after them.

"Because if you die again i won't be able to take it.", and bats swirled around her as leathery wings spread out. Her pained expression he could see through his multi-spectrum eyes, he saw fear in there. Pure primal fear had taken over her, she was shaking and everything in her screamed of desiring to be somewhere else. Yet, she was here, standing and ready to throw away her life. "Because we're in this together! We need Thorazyne...so give me that good, heroic story of ours!"

She had done something insane; she forced the vampiric Devil to infect her with the rendered inert Strigoi blood virus. Her use of the syringe reactivated the latent virus, granting her temporarily the vampiric attributes of Wilhelmina before she would filter it out and revert back to her human state. Giving her enough durability to survive a bit longer than she normally could.

Luckil, not all of her hemoglobin was consumed as the Strigoi virus eradicated hemoglobin and Vampires suffered from an iron deficiency so they had to drink blood and replenish it. Her skin was going pale as the color from her body was fading. She was halfway through the first stage.

It was enough. It would have to do.

Time for round two.

XXX

 **[~** **Epic Score - Enteral Shadows Fall** **~]**

 **"~You build 'em up, you layer stone on stone"** , Hilda pulled the safety of her gun and took aim at the incoming Vritra, steadying her legs to withstand the recoil as she left the bat familiars she gained to act as a 360 degree radar in the darkness to shoot when it mattered. The new clip was placed and ready to be used, she pressed the trigger and bullets charged by her Sound Affinity rained upon Vritra.

She was scared to death but she was the only one who could do anything at this point. She had no choice other than to hope she could damage the foul beast incoming or pray something would help them now. It was stupid, she knew well but... she could not leave him behind.

Vritra stretched two sets of tentacles into a makeshift wall to take the brunt of the sound blast each bullet produced through her Affinity, being pushed back bit by bit in it's tracks but it was a coordinated move of it's own. The recoil was disastrous; it's host's body was shaking and it's bones rattling as if put through a blender, yet, Vritra was tenacious and extremely dangerous. Cunning and guile was his way of fighting - he made good use of that.

The onyx dragon punctured the floor behind it with the last tentacle set in a fist formation to act as a break and while it's shield was holding up, the sly dragon charged two flaming Umbrakinesis disks through his golden bangles in generating a new set of serpentine heads to expel as it's main attack.

In that second it lowered the shield by unbinding the two sets at a few spots to make an opening and pushed it's body through the third set forward, throwing the spinning disks at her direction before they grew jaws from the shadows and became serpentines upon traveling in the air.

For it's second strike it unbinded one set and wrapped the tentacles into a long spinning spear as it left the last set as two individual shields with Umbrakinesis bathing them.

It was getting closer as the rounds were depleting...

The Asura Dragon threw it's arms forward, sending the serpentine heads in a set trajectory at her as it nearly reached Red and brought it's spinning drill-spear straight at his back in a flash.

 **"~You build 'em high to keep out your enemies"**

A hand of earth was hastily raised from the left side to crash before the spear and buy a few seconds more to deflect the blow, meeting with the spear upon contact but it crumbled down instantaneously.

It was a second. That's what was necessary.

From the shattered ground formed makeshift walls in the last moment to protect her from the serpentine strikes when they stretched their jaws to clamp down upon her. They collided in a heavy tremor, digging into the concrete and dust like a worm burrowing through the soil, making their way towards her.

Only by a chance of luck did she survive it.

The blood from a few corpses made her trip and slide down, back to the floor in a last second dodge, saving her from sure death.

But that panic overtook her. Her fear seeped through the bat familiars in each one going on a frenzy by crashing against Vritra and screeching madly at it. But with that, she subconsciously channeled sound through them in creating a sound prison of vibrating molecules around it. The sonic attack made it shook violently, disorienting it enough for her to move away with Issei straight for the nearby exit.

They ran with whatever strength they had in their legs in a crazed, adrenaline rush induced step in jumping over corpses and nearly tripping on blood and guts just to reach the exit.

A defeaning roar crept upon them when the Devil host roared in pain and defiance, unbinding every single tentacles from the constructs to use as a tortuga formation by pushing all of them in every direction - impaling every bat around it upon the sharp tips, Vritra ignited his cursed flames on contact and scorched them till there was nothing but ash. The onyx dragon swung the tentacles in a confused manner as it took another stance, casting deep shadows around it to fully cloak in the dark.

And they were so near the exit...

Only for it to be set on fire, blocking the way.

Vritra was going to use his prison cage again. This was it's playground, it's very own turf and abode to munch down what it liked the most. It adored eating young, juicy princesses as it's favorite desert. Especially chewy,blonde, short ones that try to run away. He was a civilized dragon as Fafnir but he didn't roast them - he preferred his meals a little raw.

The duo nearly crashed in the cursed flame if it weren't for the last second to put a halt, break free and instead swerve at a different angle to slam into a few corpses that saved them from it. Such an irony; the things tried to kill them when they were alive but turned out to be their last ditch effort to salvation when dead.

And in that crash, a small case containing a Phoenix Tear flew out of her pocket and landed far away from them. A piece of the ceiling crashed down upon it, breaking the container and making it useless now...

That was their chance. It got demolished, leaving them with not a lot of options.

Covered in dirt and Efreet blood, stained with the dust and rubble they were as the sick laughter of the black Dragon King echoed in ghoulish mockery, a macabre childish humming was next delivered in a sing-song as some kind of bizarre taunt. "Iiisss...hmmm..mmm...ahhmm~"

The freaky part was how soothing and scary it felt at the core, making your blood freeze and chills running down your spine in the association of something from the early childhood days.

It was a lullaby.

They were in a tight situation. Stamina and endurance were almost depleted, Issei could barely stand while Hilda was shaking in her boots, awaiting the next moment with fear of what might happen. Somehow being near her, it gave him a sense of relief but it wasn't enough to make things better. She was not a fighter, she had enough skill to defend herself at best but against Vritra they were outmatched. Atleast the flames did not produce any smoke and the holes in the complex were enough to breathe in some air.

The only thing left for them was to stay close to each other and wait, and wait and wait.

One held fists to his chin while the other clutched the AK-47 close to her body and focusing hard to hear any movement through the enhancements of the Strigoi blood virus. They could only anticipate from where it would strike next.

It was silence. It was so silent that even a step would have created a loud thud to induce panic. Their breathing was the only thing that told them they were close.

While Vritra was watching them from the other side, south of their location.

And it tried a new tactic.

Two shadow clones crept down silently, moving closer and closer to their location in a ravenous, aberrant behavior like the main one, only that these did not make any sound when they transversed the distance in a few moments.

That was anticipated. The short girl sensed them as a mass of darkness, colored in bloody red, green and yellow lurking around while the Dragon perceived them as lifeless empty mass of nothing. Both clones raised an arm in a left and right hook at both, intending to create a prison around them in one move.

Hilda used the vampiric attribute of turning into smoke to escape the blow, sneaking through the clones to reform and run her hand through one to exert control over it. It turned against the other one, colliding and crashing against it, making way for Issei to make a few steps forward.

He noticed the two firearms strapped on her waist, not sparing even a second in taking them for himself as to raise his chances further. Those were the Romulus and Remus dual firearm set she had taken from one of the Travelers to aid her in this suicidal mission.

Only that he didn't notice in time when Vritra came crashing down,having moved from it's previous spot to land from above them. The creature anchored it's feet upon them in a colossal kick that made him break In half nearly. It was targeting him always, aberrant in the pursuit and off the rocke. Issei tried to use his hands to block but Vritra pushed forward and delivered a haymaker punch right into his abdomen and shanked a few cables into him.

Hilda tried to blast it off, expending her whole clip into it's back but it only aggravated the beast more; the Devil stabbed it's three pronged kneecap into the side of the red armored Devil, breaking that part further and with a push or two threw him on the ground.

She felt the pain, all of the negative emotions were being filtered through her at this moment. Vritra did not care anymore - enough it had endured from this pest! It was time to get rid of her for good.

The onyx Devil host spun it's first set into a javelin and sword, rushing faster than she could react by hitting her gun away and lifting her by the neck for a throw at the ground despite her efforts to retaliate. It was faster, stronger and far durable than she could ever hope to be.

It was so painful when she hit the floor, being smashed into a corpse before the beast meticulously ran it's javelin across the leathery wings she had, slicing them at the joints to induce pain. She screamed with everything she had in her, bringing earth hands across it's back in pulling the cables she could grab, exerting inhuman effort to rip them out of the sockets as she unleashed a high pitched scream and using her vibrating molecules around her leg, she dug it up into the knee with a inhuman pressure to make the bone snap and the incredibly dense armor to cave in.

It cried out in searing pain, being struck by the fists further in feeling the _love_ of acoustics. Hilda brought both hands with vibrating molecules to produce high frequency sonic vibro-knives, penetrating through the plating and blood flowed in Vritra's mouthpiece. She finished by the scream she let out, throwing the Asura to finally free herself.

She was drained and tired, bleeding and feeling the need to rest as her stamina was nothing extraordinary. Her red eye color faded away, the virus was completely filtered out of her system in bringing back her physique to the human standards. The blonde girl was reverted to her previous state with her pale color fading but not completely as her hemoglobin level was low.

"Watch ou-

The brown eyed man cried out to her in a gut wrenching snarl, trying to reach her to no avail.

"I-iiihhh... wihhiii...inn...", gnarled Vritra victoriously upon impaling the short girl into the stomach. The cold pike of the tentacle dripped with blood upon exiting her, only for the wretch to kick her down and step onto her leg with it's clawed boot. It didn't use force, it was going to make it slow and a pastime show in hurting the Red Dragon as much as possible through her.

It did that by bringing up the tentacle before it's mouthpiece in opening the slider panels to show the metalic jaws that were pried open... in licking the dripping blood from it's appendage intoxicated.

It kicked her in the ribs, dealing four punctures through the boot welded fingers on the soles, enjoying the beautiful screams it tore out of her for the fun. But the host was getting bored so it lifted the short girl by the neck and with no apparent effort casted her aside as trash into his direction. The open jaws showed the black, deranged grin in blood while the six slits blinked in red, expressing twisted adoration for the deed it committed.

Issei caught her within his embrace, holding her tight as possible to his broken body as he loomed over her face. She was coughing blood from her mouth, he saw the blood upon his gauntlets when he held her back helplessly. He was used to leave corpses behind, it was something natural and he was barely affected by what happened to others because he lacked emphaty so why did it hurt him so much as to wish to cry...why did she had to do such a stupid thing as to help him?

Feebly and with barely clutching hands onto him, Hilda stared back at the green optics in a calm, accepting gaze with all the warmth she had inside being directed at him through that singular gesture. In response he pushed her closer, trying to ease her because it was scary, she was bleeding within his palms and he didn't have anything to heal her with. They were alone, nobody was coming to help them as nobody had the strength to fight back.

"...it's ok-kay...I-isee... Don't... not alone...", she muttered between a cough of blood and in a gasp for air. Her hand went around his neck, caressing the cold metal as her strength was leaving her... She couldn't close her eyes, she didn't want to do that... "...it seems... ii-I'll h-ha...to sleep now...wa-ake me up in a few minutes.."

He was silent. He couldn't comfort her properly when it mattered, whatever he would say she would discern as a lie because she could see the colors within him, her induced synesthesia caused her to see a few blotches of pink and faded blue among the predominantly black form, a few white spots and yet an ugly gray spot where there was a deep shade of red growing. She felt his emotions magnified, there was no words necessary to express what she knew about him.

Until he broke from the silence.

"..why? Why did you have to be so stupid? What am i going to do now?", it was there. The coldness had never left him yet in that moment there was a warmth from within the emptiness. A sadness that was beyond the scope of what he felt every day, a self-loathing lodged deep and fear growing. He wasn't emotional, he knew it wasn't good to do that now because something was preventing him. He couldn't shed tears. They were long ago dried up like a desert with no life to grow within it.

He felt empty. That emptiness had returned, never going away completely.

"...beca...cause...", she spat blood and her vision was blurred, "you are a p..rt...m-my wor..world... Because... I...i ne..ed yo...l..e...u", her tears started to reach the floor as they strolled upon her cheeks from her barely open eyes. That honesty, that ardor of a fading light... He didn't want that...With her miniscule vestiges of fading strength she traced the dent in the plating that exposed the bodysuit, and did something he had not anticipated.

Within the dent was a Phoenix Tear stabbed through an injector.

This was her gift of life to him.

There was only one left and it was this one. "...Win...kill the bitch...live…", she faintly murmured before she closed her eyes...

Vritra patiently waited to enjoy the situation, hoping for a good amount of anguished cries from his enemy, drawing strength from the shadows to repair the damage dealt upon it's suit from the earlier barrage. The host commanded the severed tentacles to slither back upon it's shoulders, sticking into the ports and establishing a connection to them by replanting the cables and returning them to life. They flexed and swung like a muscle, the prehensible appendages waved lazily in a few shakes before they finally settled down.

It prepared for an attack when he was at his weakest, having surmised through that insane head of it's own to laugh and cackle hysterically in glee and madness.

It threw a few tentacles to strike... Yet, they bounced off, burnt and corroded.

Only for a second hysterical laughter to echo right back at it.

It was far more disgusting and reveling in it's sublime insanity, nothing more than the screech of a demonic beast from the darkest pits of the universe.

 _ **"Let me help you fight. For this one you need me, Red Dragon Emperor. Let's fuck up this cunt~"**_

A humanoid silhouette stood where Issei had been before, completely dark and absorbing any light there was in the casino. It was featureless, it's body contorting into unnatural angles as the shadows shirked away from where it stood. It had no face or anything distinguishable within it; nothing more than a shadow it was in the crooked forms it did, It looked towards the hissing dragon dispassionately in being nothing other than a annoying pest before it.

In one frame of reality it held Romulus and Remus within both palms while in another... The Shadow now carried a weapon, strikingly similar to the firearm of a notorious Executor. The firearm was tainted densely in red veins and metal, formed by a black substance around the accents into a heavy automatic pistol. The other one had been a simple hilt that ignited into becoming the cyan blue trident of Armaros before it shrunk down in a straightened shape of a light sword.

 _ **"Come. Come. Come. Come. To. Play~"**_

 _ **"Come and play. We're starving for fun~"**_ , the _It_ craned it's neck sideways through twisting, yet, the torso contorted into something abominable as it had always been. The eldritch abomination was watching. The voices could be heard everywhere as thousands of words in both dead and living languages screamed at Vritra in the whole spectrum of emotions. The veil between the living and the dead was tearing apart from the inside, allowing them to manifest and submerged the Devil by his own will.

He wasn't here. **I** **t** was here now.

A wicked, naughty smile wide and deranged ripped the faceless visage into stretching out to make way for thin needless called teeth, stained in blood and a tongue with maggots wiggling to form.

 _ **"I see you."**_

 _ **"Now, let's have a party. Freed Sellzen is back~ I must slaughter this Devil scumbag for the sake of my heart. Such an ugly cunt must not be allowed to live. So let's get the heat packing**_ _ **"**_

The Shadow was behind Vritra before it could ever know. It laughed into it's head with all of those nightmarish noises, the chatter and the laughter, the weeping and sorrow. All of it.

 _ **"I see inside of you."**_

XXX

13th September, Vatican City, Rome, Italy, 13:47 pm,

 **[~** **Thomas Bergersen – Creation of Earth** **~]**

The monstrous spawns of the Annihilation Maker were advancing towards the second layer of the barrier, shaking the ground with each step they made with their titanic feet. The tremors, the noise was everywhere as the Bandersnatch led it's brethren straight for the secondary barriers that kept it at bay from the center. The World Destroyer began to speed up the pace as the thirteen monstrosities initiated a series of strikes at the invisible barrier while some of them swung their bladed tails against it.

Destruction followed each step of theirs. Apartment blocks, streets, shops... Everything was being brushed aside by their thunderous steps like mere rubbish. It wad raining rubble and the alarms of cars were echoing in the air. Fires had spread at some places and it was beginning to look like a real battlefield. There were screams of all kinds, vocalized through the spectrum of human tonality in all waves of pain to anguished cries for help. Blood, carnage and flames were upon the earth, rubble was flying down like a heavy rain set upon the city. It was horrifying; more and more screams filled the air only to be muffled one by one in seconds.

It had more time till it would reach the Vatican, being kept at bay by the flocks of descending Angels from the skies who had taken aim at the creatures with arcane magic and elemental spells of the highest caliber. They were not that many but they still had a substantial number of troops emerging from the rooftops from all directions.

Illustrious armor of gold and white glistened in the air, white feathered wings with various types of mana glowing around them spread out. Plates of celestial metal adorned their dashing forms, cyan blue gemstones streaked around the ivory white sheets of plating from every inch left uncovered. Spears of light, rods of steel, wisps of light and other armaments they held in their palms as they gathered together and formed various lines to combat the creatures of destruction. All kinds of weapons were conjured with a magnanimous luster to fight back and aid their masters.

Circles of angelic origins sprang into life by the hands of the Angels. Fire, water, earth, air and so on came forth through their pentacles to form into heavenly armaments of different Affinities as they flew higher and higher into the clear skies that were drenched with smoke and dust coming from beneath.

They were beautiful, magnificent and bright as day warriors, called upon the mortal plane to battle once more like in days of old. They stood tall and proud, dignified faces bearing the age of old stared back at their commander in the center with courage. They were lined together in a Macedonian Phalanx formation, standing side by side, back to back as the helmed heads hid beautiful locks of hair and the clatter of soldiers echoed in a defeaning sound wave.

One Angel stood in the center; he was clad in segmented upper body armor of gold with intricate tribal lines running down his pectorals. Two more of those ran across the sternum where an emerald colored orb stood lodged in, his hands were covered by multi-layered pieces that bore no flesh in the open and they were adorned with two crystals on each hand. He had a navy blue sash over the rectangular thigh pieces and a cloth wrapped around them. His legs from the kneecap below were clothed by braces with three pieces and metalic boots. Unlike most, he had full body armor and his face was a golden mask with two cross marks around the electric green eyes. Mint green swept back hair was visible from the edge of his mask.

Eight wings of splendor spread out with the strength of a hurricane, blowing the space around him. Orbs of light were knit around his wings, expanding and gaining photons to increase their size before they morphed into gigantic claymores of light in a bright lemon yellow glow, radiating like a sun.

Raguel. The Guardian of Summoner Linda "Lint" Sellzen was here to support his partner and coordinate with the ground troops.

More and more orbs begun to form around his arms, shaping into 15m claymores in a vague cross shape above his biceps as he took aim before the gigantic monsters had noticed him. His lipless visage locked down onto one of the Jabberwocky spawns, focusing on it's tracks when he raised his hand in the air and created a gigantic pike with a chain hanging from it's end, "Our home is under attack! Stand up and reclaim your pride! Let us show these monsters that Heaven has not yet given up.", he yelled through an angelic tenor voice with a metalic, strong edge in his tonality.

There was hope, there was a flame in his eyes and there was dignity.

"For Humanity and for Earth, my valiant brethren! ATTACK!"

In less than a split second the claymores, crucifixes and bolts of light rained upon the titanic spawns of the Annihilation Maker.

Light spears, blasts of fire and ice flew down. Arcane magic woven into projectiles was thrown upon them in colossal blasts, elemental spells burst into life akin to hungry beasts upon the abominable monsters. Metal armaments struck downwards from their position, traveling with a set trajectory and gaining momentum, enough to slightly distort the space between them. More light spears showered the anti-magic monsters as new ones were being prepared for the second assault, rows after rows they moved through the air in a gathering of light and elements into a combined attack from all sides before the second barrier.

Powers with the Affinity of Water sung together a heavenly hymn to call forth and command the moisture from the air to gather while the Angels with an Air Affinity began to chant, splitting the hydrogen from the watery mass while others crafted pressurized slashes of air. The water reformatted into thirty meter wide spears of ice, absorbing moisture to gain further mass before their time would come.

Dust particles gathered upon the hands of Orphiel, the Angel of Justice, supported by his fellow Angels in the process of unleashing a storm of dirt, glowing with light within the center before it flattened in a line of arrows of the Earth element in deadly rain.

Spears of ice followed the first wave; arrows of dust were launched to deal damage onto the creatures.

And then everything came to a halt.

The shockwave was tremendous; smoke and dust were lifted up as there was no movement. The skies became darker because of the smokescreen produced by their attacks, shadowing the sun in a veil of gray. The backslash had the earth shaking, some buildings were ready to collapse. All windows in a fifteen kilometer radius were reduced to dust and there were no signs of them ever having existed because of it. Many stores, living spaces and streets were flooded with smithereens and the sound of car alarms echoed in harrowing melodies over the battlefield. There was no estimate on how much collateral damage had been dealt so far.

The death count... Nobody knew how big it was.

Yet, there was something odd the days prior the siege.

There were reports of a large amount of missing people, the concentration of the populace had been drastically lowered as if they had been spirited away from the city of Rome. Something had evacuated the people, sans a small unlucky number, making the city feel like a ghost town.

The Angels looked at each other in heavy faces, anxiously inspecting any damage they could have dealt onto the thirteen titans of imagination. The sense of malignant fear was beginning to bloom within their minds because they knew it was hardly over. They kept their armaments raised to retaliate while buying enough time for the lower ranked Angels behind the second barrier to prepare for heavy combat. They were buying time for the Dominions to arrive and their magnanimous commander to descend onto the battlefield with his mighty Seraphim and Principalities. The Ophanim would be next.

Within a few seconds a defeaning roar split the skies in the wretched screams that made their hearts ache in fear. It was loud enough to be heard several kilometers past the city and it caused mass hysteria and panic among the lower ranks.

"Do not break the line! It is far from over...", Raguel ushered his troops in a shuddering, grim expression of his expectations. He sensed something incoming, the vile aura of oppression was getting substantially stronger in making the warriors begin to steel their heart and become nothing more than tense in awaiting the retaliation. It was far from over, he knew it well enough as to command the small force to fly upwards where the mighty clawed hands would not be able to reach them with certainty. "Ascend, we must slow them down for reinforcements to arrive! Prepare for combat. The enemy still liv-

Through the smokescreen two hands broke free in attempting to slaughter the angelic warriors of old. The speed was nothing extraordinary but the momentum it caused had broken the lines and sent them backwards against the barrier and into the skies. Roars struck once more in enraged maddening splendor.

More limbs peered through, reaching out for the retreating legion in trying to break them under it's world-crushing strength. Some bore chunks of apartment blocks while others reached upon them with their fingers.

And the aftermath was clear.

The Bandersnatch were riddled with minimal wounds at their softer spots while the horn armored parts were undamaged. The creatures of black coloration had withstood the heavy bombardment with nothing more than scratches and miniature ligatures. They stood tall and strong, unflinching as the Jabberwocky emerged from the smokes and struck the barrier while it's lesser minions would begin their eradication of the small legion belonging to the Angelic Host.

Concrete and rubble flew towards the fleeting celestials, faster than most could have flown away from the perimeter. Despite being slow, their great mass and size gave them enough skill to tackle Angels and fight back. One said Bandersnatch swung it's tail against the barrier, landing a serious hit onto it's invisible surface and nearly cracking it like they did with the first layer.

Screams and shrieks echoed as some Angels were caught in the crossfire; the creatures swatted away any soldier they could reach while the debris crushed left and right those unfortunate enough to have failed in projecting barriers to save their lives. Debris collided with celestial steel in throwing off troops further in the air, producing crunching sounds and more deathly throes from the suffering side.

But there was a surprise. A really sneaky one.

On some of the debris chunks were residing small, fifteen meter tall humanoids with stout, armored shells and tails with a mace at the tip. Black flesh and cartilage protrusions rested upon their crooked forms, twisted piranha jaws opened up on the humanoid-saurian faces with two inverted pointing horns jutting from their thick skulls. Each one bore a card suite upon their arms, some had a plumage of red petals and thorns, others bore black pinions like javelins on their backs.

The Annihilation Maker was adapting to the situation by spawning miniature troops larger than the angels to distract them while they would charge forward. They had created the Red and White Queen armies from Alice in Wonderland to suit their needs of strike teams.

These foul creatures were gunning to devour the Powers.

The Dreadnought squadron as Georg had christened these abominable spawns.

Jumping from the debris, the Dreadnoughts leapt towards the disoriented warriors in titanic levels of jumping strength. The plumage on the red marked ones spread into hooks as they latched onto some Powers - they tore through their wings and begun to pull them down to the ground. The fifteen meter Dreadnoughts were heavier and sturdier than most Angels, pulling on their ankles and wings.

They fought back ferociously with light spears and metalic tools, magic was blasted against them but they were not stepping down from the fight. One of them managed to latch onto Raguel, digging it's jaws into his armored foot and it clawed at his torso but the golden colored plating endured it. Raguel was falling because his wings couldn't support him from the push, making him glide fast forward for a crash course.

But he wasn't going to let that happen.

Multiple orbs formed around his ankle, forming a belt of razor sharp light into it's neck and pressed against it's jugular vein, tightening to the point of decapitating the pest. He freed his lower limb from it, sending a spear of light straight into it's chest to deal a deadly blow as a test shot.

The Dreadnought exploded as the light triggered a suicide bomber mechanism, extinguishing the life out of it but it brought out shadow hands for a last ditch effort to annihilate the eight winged commander. He had expected this tactic so he covered himself in blinding light to negate their touch, razing them from existence.

One such creature lept straight for Raguel but it was smashed away by an arrow of dirt, lodging deep within it's armored chest before the projectile spun like a drill with hooks and made mush within the thorax. The arrow split further into pikes, piercing the Dreadnought from within as it fell from the skies.

"Do not falter, brother. It rests upon us. The fate of the world is on our shoulders.", Orphiel spoke beside his brethren, floating in the air with his ten pair of wings in a orange colored aura. His deep brown eyes glowed with determination as he channeled mana through his hands in crafting ten pentacles of the four directions that overlapped into one another to strengthen their potential.

Raguel looked at him in understanding, his featureless face bore an intense glow in his green eyes as he commanded his personal weapon to spring forth into existence. From the light lemon yellow pentacles two divine broadswords emerged - each bearing a golden wing formation on the cross guard and celestial steel of gunmetal shone as the blades manifested; each one bearing a darker edge on the outside with a singular emerald on the pommel, two fullers cut halfway into the blade and ended in Latin scripture.

"You are correct. It's not over yet.", Raguel bore the ethereal ghostly voice of a tenor when he gripped the two broadswords within his palms. His wings flickered with the same hue as more and more orbs knitted to support him. He held Deus Magna, the very blade that cut through the darkness in the time of crisis. The very same pair that had scarred Shalba Beelzebub during the Second Faction War. "Deus lo vult."

Orphiel called forward his bow of splendor, materializing within his hands as he chanted for the recurve golden-blue bow to expand and nocked five spears of light upon it. His face turned metallic, gaining a mask with a single large slit with crosses underneath the eyes, his form bore the lightweight armor of an archer with elements of an infrantry unit when his wings straightened. Black short hair breezed in the air as his eyes changed to an orange hue, tapping into the divine within him.

Arrows of light and the earth element came into shape as he took aim with Justitia, ready to support his brother in the skirmish. "Deus lo vult."

Arrows of light and dirt passed through the ten overlay circles in enlarging their size to nothing less than six meter long pinions, taking action upon shooting due to their homing function navigating them to change their trajectory into heading for the various Dreadnought troops as to defend his fellow Angels.

Transversing the distance between the archer and the rest, the arrows spread out into smaller ones to blaze through the space before them and turned into leonine constructs of both celestial and earthly. They rained upon the Dreadnoughts in a repeated volley one after another, taking them down upon landing and thrashing their insides.

Raguel swept through the field with Deus Magna in both hands, cutting free any Angel he could reach while he commanded his light orbs to gain the shapes of chains to ensnare his enemies and crush them to death. What foes came upon him perished under the hot burning edges of his broadswords, leaving marks through them for light to pass within and spread out into eagles of electricity to stun nearby red and white Queen Knights.

The angelic legion regrouped in circling the spawns and hastily prepared for a second strike. Raguel and Orphiel stood back to back as both protected each other from the remaining amount of black spawns. They fought side by side from the day they had been born and vowed to die together on the same day with honor and dignity as men.

Things weren't getting better.

More dust and smoke covered the Jabberwocky and Bandersnatch who nearly tore through the second layer if not for the combined might of the Powers who casted hexagonal barriers before the main one to dampen the inertia of their strikes, buying time for the others to charge their attacks.

And then it begun.

The Bandersnatch stopped their movement to stay still for a moment as each one took a basic stance with raised hands to their faces, their pure white eyes blinked a few times before something changed from within them. It was horrifying, it was possibly disgusting enough to make someone hurl their dinner if they hadn't already died from a heart attack.

The twelve Bandersnatch opened their mouths for shadowy matter to flood the streets beneath them in the form of black rain, bathing the surface before their feet into darkness. Dark taint swept any inorganic matter, drowning anything that was nearby before...

Until they became twelve hulking seventy five meter Bandersnatch, bearing the same frame and defenses but only with the difference of having the resistance against two elements per each one. Each one charged forward against the barrier while the main ones continued with the siege upon the barriers.

The Jabberwocky opened the two jaws on it's chest for a breath of shadows to collide with the barrier, further chipping at it's foundations before it could regenerate. Despite the high level of it's foundation, it resisted to a certain degree the shadow mass and glowed with a blinding light to expel the taint from it's surface. But one smaller Bandersnatch used that moment and it's anti-magic resistance to Light to run through and get it's arms within. It began to pull and tug the invisible layer despite the awful scorching heat it suffered from doing so as the barrier activated a secondary function, corroding the flesh around the limbs to a degree.

Yet, it was struck by lightning. It still survived the high electric jolt with serious burns upon it, however, It was not enough to stop it. It lost both arms in the long run and was stuck in the barrier.

The second strike took place, hitting the Annihilation Maker with everything they had. It became brighter than day for a few moments before the light died out and the monsters emerged with minimal wounds that did not cripple them. They only snarled in response, shaking the ground once more and the secondary barriers that the angels formed were disrupted. The thing didn't bother to split further. With these numbers it was enough to destroy the target and it was surely strong enough to deal with this task by striking the barrier once more and it collapsed.

They had taken down the second layer. Two more of these remained.

Fists of dirt and javelins of light rained upon them, arrows carrying the might of a storm landed onto their bodies while claymores struck them in any unprotected area of theirs.

More and more attacks took place. The said claymores and arrows expanded into a interconnected shield that dug into a few, stopping their movement and seeping light into the minimal wounds. It was effective now, given the earlier assistance from the troops in dealing those onto the Jabberwocky.

Raguel brought down his Deus Magna across the air in two swipes, sending down a cross shaped light construct into one of them through the chest as it wasn't fast enough to retaliate due to the net forming around it.

Orphiel sung a hymn as his Justitia sent arrows after arrows to create a field in the place of the barrier. It was not much but it would give them a few more moments.

That Jabberwocky grunted in it's attempt to free itself from these constraints for a few good moments before it did. Next, it focused onto the two Angels as the cause of it's ire, bearing a sick smile to mock them further. It did that by the command of his creator also, tapping into the disturbed mind of Leonardo to pull out it's best expression as a mere imitation of something innocent that did not seem quite normal.

Then it smashed through with a swung of the tail it had on the ground, sending rubble and debris, cars and blocks to fly and flood the ground in a river of destruction.

 _"Can we win? How do we win?"_

 _"Fuck you, fuck you. Die!"_

 _"I don't want to die..."_

Now it felt hopeless.

"This is it, brother. Let us fight once more together like in the days of old. I fear that Heaven is heaving it's final breath", Orphiel had grown doubtful, there was the sign of despair engendering into his being as he looked at the destruction all around them. Angels were dying, the city was being consumed by flames and hope was being extinguished. His strength was not the same as it was once in the past. Even with the territorial boost he was not strong enough to bring out the might he had after His passing. He was one of the Angels of Presence and now that it was gone, so did a part of his might follow that. "May the survivors remember our names in a positive light."

They stood together, battling the monsters around them with no apparent results.

"It has been an honor to fight alongside you, Orphiel. I couldn't have asked for more.", Raguel spoke in a adamant tone, accepting the natural order of things. They had been reverted to a shadow of the former glory of Celestial, a flickering light in the darkness about to be extinguished forever. Help wasn't coming. But somewhere deep within, he refused to give up. "Not yet, we can do this. Together." there was a glimmer of hope, stoically persisting against the odds. "Our brothers and sisters are waiting for us. Let is not make them wait any longer."

They shouted at the top of their lungs as they made use of their armaments to land as many hits as possible onto the wicked wretches. In that battle cry they expressed righteous fury and rage swept them, making their blood boil. They were going to fight till the last man, to the bitter end in hoping to stall long enough for any hope to knock on the door.

Courage. Fear. Desperation. Hope.

That was what they felt at this grim moment in history. They fought back ferociously with many different types of weaponry to no avail, killed as many of the remaining Dreadnoughts there were and still continued to hopelessly land projectiles upon the spawns.

Yet, it was there. That connection. That echo in the premises. Ringing like an alarm clock in their heads, calling for them.

Orphiel looked up to the skies where saw it. A sign. A call to arms only Angels could hear. It was not for naught - they had stalled long enough for the tiny glimmer to grow into something bigger, something far stronger than the power of an individual being. There was light in the darkness.

The skies were set ablaze through the dirtied clouds.

The war drums were echoing. The trumpets were signaling the arrival. They were here. They had heeded to the calling for reinforcements.

They were here at long last. There was light, there was still hope left.

The aura of the Angelic Host was felt.

From myriads of circles descended Principalities. The clatter of steel and the flutter of wings ripped the skies apart. Silver and gold pauldrons glistened in magnificent radiance, the clanging of mystical steel and the roar of thunder echoed through all of the city. The air was getting denser, violent hurricanes were beginning to form around them. The shimmer of wings made the air heavy and radiating with power. Hymns of war and valor were sung as their arrival was near.

Ophanim, Erelim. Dominions and Principalities burst into existence.

Raziel, Rahab, Jegudiel, Barachiel, Selaphiel, Sauriel, Zechariah descended onto the mortal plane.

And then they followed.

Leading the reinforcements were two men.

One was clad in a metalic core armor, reminiscent of a knight of the old days but beyond the mortal spectrum it was. Divine steel plated his abdomen while red chest pieces interconnected around his neck in forming a colar to protect it. Pauldrons and sabatons of silver with the shine of the sun glistened in celestial splendor, ephemeral rubies adorned his shoulders while yellow orbs as big as an eye were lodged within his chest under a second series of three triangular pieces locked them together. Shoulder guards in the shape of two crescent spikes protruding, knees guarded by unmoving steel with crosses cut into them were upon his limbs. The metalic shimmer of ruby red swirled marks were upon the gloves of mystical iron in following the fingertips into sharp claws with a diamond edge.

More diamonds glistened on his suit, going as far as the soles of his feet in golden splendor. Six wings flickered in existence as flames covered their feathers in making them swirl with red illuminating light upon the pure gold of their making. The bones and outer edges were guarded by an unknown, segmented construct of a substance imitating carbon steel in six rows of seven semi-conjoined sheaths with blue crystals at the tips. They gave off an aura of power, holding in place the burning wings of the Seraphim in the skies.

His face was guarded by a mouthpiece with small holes on the girdle,being held together by two plates at the sides and his chin length patches of golden hair were being waved by the wind, some parts of it falling on his forehead in framing his face while the ears were hidden by longer locks of hair. Sharp but handsome features, clear eyes of azure and a look of determination were seen.

And just then a fiery sword burning in the godly white-red flames was within his right hand, fiery tongues encasing it in defying the natural laws through divine intervention. It was a broadsword of the finest quality there was, made in the ways of the old and stronger than any earthly ore there was in the present day.

Next to him stood the second man.

Illustrious like the first one, he had a suit of his own in dark green and silver but it was of a gentle disposition; no spikes protruded nor was it as heavily protected as the first but instead it was based on elemental channeling through the three emerald crystals upon the breastplate interlocking to form an Y-shape. It completed by the motif of small wings of crucible steel upon the knees and the wrists, bearing black gloves with bangles of Latin, Hebrew and Classic Greek lettering in a green sparkling engraving while the torso had the extra plating and a sash over the bottom to cover the grieves and the lower armor body in a tight mesh.

Six wings of gold feathers fluttered as they became green lit appendages in bearing the element of Air upon them, having the same protective layer on the bones in a similar fashion but having scripture engraved in the sheaths and a different set of diamonds. Those wings were fully encased in hurricane swirling wind as they were building up power to use the blessings of the wind upon the enemies. His face had a deeper scowl as well as having pronounced cheek bones and a lower jaw, giving him a sharp gaze and a somewhat sunken appearance bearing the age of thousands of years on it. Thick eyebrows stood over his dark green eyes that glowed in tune with his element. Dark red hair spiked up on his head in rows while a few loose strands hung free on his forehead in a short undercut hairstyle.

Within his arms was a javelin, tightly compressed in air and being long as far as two meters in length with a red wrapped handle and a ball pommel at the end. It carried rings upon the dull edge of it's gunmetal blade, rattling and swerving at the direction of the wind.

Angels of all kinds were around them, all varying in shapes and sizes. More and more were erupting from the ground to attack at the lower levels.

They had heard the calling of their brethren. The Ophanim joined the fray to support their commander Orphiel while the Dominions arrived to give a helping hand to the small squad of Powers. More and more Powers descended from the skies, rearing to support the rest in this stand against the World Destroyer. They tapped into the ley lines and the territorial boost to strengthen themselves, commanding elemental weaponry and magic at their disposal while a portion of them were knitting an overlay to defend the barrier in preventing the big ones from entering.

Raguel and Orphiel looked at them in awe, courage renewed. The dying flicker of hope was rekindled into something more than wishful thinking. Even if it would be certain death they were ready to make that sacrifice for the greater good. If this was the end then so be it.

Atleast they would die with dignity as men and women, proud and standing tall before the unbeatable odds. If it were death then it would be with honor. The fate of the world rested upon them.

"To the death! Let us show them once more the splendor of our kingdom. This is our world, stand up and rise! Reclaim your yourselves!", Uriel screamed with pride at his brothers and sisters. The Flame of God raised his Deus Solaris above his head as the Bandersnatch sneered at them in a challenge. "Defend our home to the last breath. Will you follow me down to the pits of Hell?!"

And they answered in a unified roar! The hearts were set ablaze in fervent frenzy. The look in their eyes brightened, their muscles tensed. They were ready, they had been lying in wait to once again remind the world of their existence.

Raphael held his javelin before his face, ready to fly down and fight.

"Defend your state. Through the ages you had been with me, never forgetting our plight. In the darkest of nights and the brightest of days. We were born together and we shall die together. Will you lend me your strength once more?"

"I could not have said it better, my brother. Even i was moved by your inspiring words, Uriel, Raphael.", a female voice echoed as many others roared in courage after her's. "Cast out of Celestial we might have been but today we have come to aid you. Let us fight once more alongside you."

She was glamorous as the stars, bright as the sun itself. Her form was beautiful and she had immaculate soft skin, good proportions befitting of her divine status. Her frame was clad in dark, obsidian plating from head to toe with jagged spikes resting upon her shoulders. Pauldrons and sabatons of a violet shade draped across her thin arms and legs, each one bearing damage in the form of scraps and chipped edges to display her pride as a warrior while leather bands of violet spread underneath her bust and biceps with belt buckles holding them in place.

Her ten wings were like those of an eagle,unlike other Angels her wings had a reverse positioning because the bones were structured to bend upwards and point in that direction. They were like the twilight in their darkness. Her skin had a healthy pinkish tone and her face had a mellow appeal with those deep beryl green eyes, rounded features and thin eyebrows. Her nose was small and so was her smile so mysterious.

Her most defining trait was her abnormally long blonde hair that cascaded down her back. Her hairstyle had three big flat bangs on each side, framing her cheeks as well as an assymetrical fringe covering her forehead. It was cut unevenly to be longer the more it went down to her right brow where it met the flat bangs. The rest was well brushed and freely hanging.

Overall, she looked like a bigger Lusamine with a sharp electric green light spear with ringlets dangling on the blade through small holes that held them.

Hundreds of Fallen Angels had came to aid their family like in the old days when they were still in Heaven. Even in their fall they had not forgotten. They remembered.

Help came from an unsuspecting ally.

Penemue had arrived to offer a helping hand to her brothers and sisters in the Heavens, never having forgotten from where did they came from and who they were.

And so did her brother, Gadreel.

Cast out of Celestial they might have been but never for a single day nor a single night did time erase the memories of their brethren. They always remembered, they would always remember that they had been Angels once and even in their Fall they had never forsaken the oath they had taken to heart.

No matter how many days and nights had went by, they would still remember till this day. They kept the memory within their hearts. The tainted wings of theirs were only a minor decoration as they were still and would always be Angels in their hearts.  
Centuries might have passed, a millennia or more since the gates of Celestial were unwelcoming to them but they still hoped to be able to walk through there once more. No matter how many centuries would pass because they still loved their brethren and would never forget the one thing they cherished the most.

When it meant the eradication of that cherished thing they would once again come to aid those whom they called family. Because they were not alone in this fight.

It was a fight where Angels would band together to remind each other what they were. The color of their feathers meant nothing in the face of this abominable monstrosity that stood before them.

For their brothers. For their sisters. For their Father...

The drums of battle were pounding. The song of war trumpets signaled the beginning of the battle for the sake of Italy. The war cries followed in like a wild fire spreading and igniting the hearts of everyone present to raise a hand towards the skies as they once had done ages ago.

It was the reminder that they were still here and ready to fight for the existence of every single life upon these lands. To defend their world from this overwhelming opposition.

To prove them Heaven had not been dead as they would assume.

"Deus lo vult. Let's send this motherfucker back to whence it came."

And then it began. The war drums and the trumpets sounded the war cry.

Then they came upon it. Together.

XXX

The titanic clash of two monstrous entities was about to take place in this wretched cavern of darkness. The space had grown darker, all light had been snuffed out of existence by the putrid taint of the despicable Juggernaut Drive absorbing anything within it's horrid mass as the thing moved left and right in twisting it's limbs in impossible, cringe inducing angles that no being could produce naturally.

It did not care about the world. It had been nothing, it was always nothing to begin with. A conglomeration of malignant fear, a primal fear of the unknown it was as the voices of thousands upon thousands screamed, wept, snickered, ravaged and cried for salvation, despair, mercy was one of them. Brooding, death, curses of every language living and dead, harrowing melodies of macabre. It was something beyond a hidden function of a mere tool; it was all real and unreal, existing but not existing in a paradox that was both correct and wrong.

The empty casino was no more.

Within it was nothing but a far away plane that could not be reached through normal means. It was somewhere close but yet so far in a threshold. Somewhere entirely else they were.

The Shadow looked at Vritra with it's nonexistent organs, twisting it's head in a tilt as the maggot covered tongue wisped up and down in a demented, lackluster slither of a snake. It was unreadable in the way it moved, unperturbed by the sense of time and space in those being nothing more than constraints. It was going to have fun, they would have their fill tonight in tearing apart the demonic dragon into shreds.

It only raised a hand in a friendly gesture, beckoning the flame user to come at it.

Vritra was hissing in rage, snarling through primal fear that shook it's world hard into a spiraling frenzy. The only thing keeping it steady and granting it a partial resistance to this wretch was the Brand of Dominion that glowed back to life upon the armor, resisting the mental corrosion and insanity inducing traits of the Shadow but not for long. Because they were already crazy. It was a challenge, it was a boon to add by defeating the Dragon and taking the title of Heavenly Dragon from Ddraig. It would never forget the humiliation it brought upon them, not even for a single day.

So it did not hesitate for a second in sprinting straight for the repugnant malicious entity it had been tormenting all this time. The act of taking his companion resonated deep within in, making the host revel in the hate it induced so much in joyously flaunting a savage smile behind the mouth plate.

The adversary of Indra pounced with reckless abandon, formulating a new plan by surrounding this plane in black flames with a violet tint, forming it to it's desires as it aligned with the element of his domain. Fiery tongues and hungry shadows came through the vastness in every direction, resembling crooked and bent forms of terror as they walked towards their prey.

The onyx one led the brood in surrounding the enemy, keeping a safe distance to utilize the tentacle sets for an ignition to cover them with cursed flames and charged new serpentine dragon heads upon it's fingertips like psionic scalpels to rend through upon contact. It was done playing around. The Brand of Dominion commanded the thralls to fight against the repulsive figure with renewed vigor and might, upgrading their performance to have their chances tripled.

The shadow/cursed flame clones crept in less than a second from all sides, crashing against the entity with all they had. They released a shriek of ghastly rage in unison as the shadows stretched between them, wrapping up the humanoid silhouette into a dense net of the dark element. The curses spread over in becoming actual letters, crafting an overlay formula for a wicked spell of the seventh tier to bind it into place as a means of damaging it's core.

Sanskrit lettering swam across the tainted ichor form inside, chants of incoherent babble were echoing as more and more flames were being converted into arcane spells of mana, aligned with the dark, came to life through powerful vibrations.

Curses of different kinds swept the form, casting pain and rot as they struck one by one in latching onto the obsidian shapeless prison, sizzling in heat and bathed in violet the world around them. It was a domain of despair, it was a realm of filth that struck by the incoming blasts of fire.

The cage brought malice and rot. The hysterical shrieks did not stop in their weeping for the blood of the innocent nor did the vengeful cackling of demise cease. The cage was strong; it did not budge as more layers came onto it to become walls of flames and hands of Umbrakinesis gripping the folds to contain it. Magic was being spent to secure a victory through cursing and cursing with rot the foul ugliness inside, trapped by the prison of shadows to waste away.

Vritra was clearly enraged further when a voice crept upon it's senses, whispering sweet promises of release and asking for mercy. Two hands popped into the tentacle sockets, withstanding the scorching hot flames that would burn until extinguished by grabbing the neck and digging fingers with no fingernails into the scaled neck guard and caressing it's shoulders in a lovely hug.

 _"Oh, i wouldn't do that, darling"_ , those appendages lifted the Asura into throwing it away in the distance only for the shapeless forms of humans to loom over it by staring and smiling at it. No eyes, no lips, nothing. They were dead, they were dead. There was nothing there.

One of them touched the central orb, tapping the violet stone lightly as if it were a glass window. Before it moved away something else happened - white, wriggling worms moved alongside the illustrious armor, having no direction at their course of action.

Vritra thrashed his tentacles into a whip, effectively swatting away the specters foreboding through a clean slice that made them cease to exist. It was struggling for some reason to retaliate.

The cage burst into nothing. There were no flashy explosions, no rattling noise or anything more than a crash when it happened. It was there for one moment, the next there was nothing at all. As if it never existed, completely eradicated from the face of the earth. Instead, something else came from the pit.

The flames were still there, without a single doubt, however, the tongue and needle teeth shone in the host's peripheral vision for a brief moment it took to strike with a serpentine head, hitting nothing. Frustrated, it was growing fiercer by the time another tongue smacked the neck before it dissappeared.

Vritra set on fire everything he saw in screaming at the entity in defiance, fear and rage. It belonged to a tortured soul to the point of breaking as the barely clinging sanity was trying to withstand all of this sensory overload in a bid to survive the psychic attacks towards it's psyche. Grunts followed, being ripped out of the throat by a sleek hand before a light blade was run into it's abdomen in mimicking the way Hilda was killed by this freak,only that the wound started to burn through the draconian steel with no apparent difficulty when naturally it would not be enough to leave a mark upon the black hide.

Another hand dug four fingers into the armpit, wiggling around like a clockwork mechanism in a mechanical manner of dismantling the area, leaving corrupted taint to flood the armor in trying to make the host release it if they wanted to live.

The Shadow was holding the dragon hostage, no matter how many burns were upon it, despite the curses rotting it... It held on tight, leaving space for the featureless head to twist and shake while laughing in derogatory mockery, curling the smirk into a Cheshire grin.

Something from the cracks writhed aimlessly, leaving a ghoulish gargle of words in beloved admiration for the attempts that did nothing but to amuse it.

 _ **"Hello there, boy! REMEMBER ME?!"**_ , screaming in a perverse cachinnation, the familiar features of a dead man were emerging from the pitch ugliness inside. Flesh knitted over a cracked skull, bearing white worms over the meat in wiggling in a chaotic dance as the skin was shaping the gruesome disgusting visage to be covered by healthy epidermis _ **. "Remember me!? I remember you~"**_

He greeted back in a sing-song chortle, swaying left and right in a dance rhythm of his usual repertoire. He was in the same state as he once was in his life, not having changed for a mere second through the time he spent here in dwelling. It was none other than Freed Sellzen who spoke back in guilty pleasure, emerging from the gestalt entity of thousands to resurface once more into the living world.

The dragon opened the slider panels to reveal the jaws that swarmed with a Shade Flame Breath in response, sending the torrent right in his face.

Nothing was left of the visage.

Only the burning stump where a head was once connected remained.

 _ **"That's not**_ _ **really nice**_ _ **, you know? I kinda wanted to fuck that chick in the ass ever since i saw her the first time. She had a good pair of tits, you know?"**_ , Freed mussed over the lost opportunity for another night of passion as his head began to reform from the stump, covered in worms and blood while he dejectedly sighed in disappointment. _**"But i did get a second chance to fuck you up. So here comes some love, my boy!"**_

He contemptuously chuckled as a third hand brought his gun into the open wound and shot a bullet into it, spreading maggots to burrow in the flesh of his victim as he continued to whimsically moan in glee of delivering justice. How much he loved doing that, only he knew.

Panicked, Vritra brought his knee against the shadowy matter in a groundbreaking hail of fire-encircled talons, making contact with his torso but as well as using his draining touch to weaken the fucker and make him scream. The place where the knee blades met flesh left a rotting wound with roasted insects to crawl out in this phantasmal reality, twisting the other serpentine blast to gnaw through his chest, leaving a wide gap within.

It broke free from it's tormentor, babbling incoherent gibberish through a shrill tonality of dread, breaking through the space by the power of it's roar. The darkness was shattered as the curses rotted anything in sight, bringing them back to their rightful place of existence.

Only to feel the heated edge of a sword dig into it's shoulder from the front.

The cackling did not stop.

 _ **"You cannot defy us, filth. For you are one and we are many."**_

More and more of them answered the call. They repeated the words fanatically, again and again. Again and again they manifested into existence to take what was their possession. Faceless they had always been by having forgotten who they were. Only the insanity and cravings had been left after the centuries long exposure to this plane of dwelling, driving anything mad by an endless loop of isolation, craving more and more for the world of the living.

 _ **"For you are one and we are many."**_

XXX

 **[~** **Phil Lober - First Flight** **~]**

 _The corrosion of the mind and soul was further eradicating the barely holding Issei inside. He had given up anything left of himself to be submerged by the past possesors and brought inside the monochrome city where he standed in the center as his features were becoming hazy and murky._

 _The color of his skin was fading like old paint being scrapped off a wall. Any semblance of hair was falling, thus leaving empty spots on his head as cracks appeared underneath his eyes. His face was cracking as shards chipped and fell down to become dust. There was no glimmer left in those sharp, cold eyes so tired to the point of giving up._

 _The faceless shadows of the once living walked past him as a select few were hiding from the rest before the insanity would completely claim them. There was no color left. It was dead. There is no hope._

 _"This is it. I'm tired of fighting... I just wanted to rest... I give up...", more shards fell onto his palms in every moment he was forgetting more and more, his psyche, body and soul fading every day into the thoughts of was he actually himself or someone else thought of being him. He did not know. There was no point anymore. "I should have given up a long time ago. It's pointless. I only wished to know the truth before my waning time is up. But life doesn't give you chances..."_

 _His face had lost an eye, leaving a gapping hole into the emptiness. The skin was dried up, bearing no shine nor life but for a morose, accepting gaze and a lackluster subtle smile in having accepted defeat. He was a person, he was no unstoppable hero or some godly protagonist, he gave up and swore. He moved on with regret, he cast aside what he could not achieve and he took stops. He was a person._

 _"Why did i search for something when it...wasn't worth a try...Hah, now i get the feeling for another monologue.", he tried to form a smile upon this representation of his within the subconscious, hiding, thus another crack chipping away a piece of his identity in the crack that fell and flew away by the winds. "What's the point? There's no point. Give up...yeah, you're right and leading some crazy talk inside your own head? It's true. I'm coming, wait for me..."_

 _Another piece fell apart, leaving a jagged hole within his other cheek and it took another piece of his identity through a secondary crack near his lower lip. He was a bald figure at this point, having only a humanoid silhouette of a gray spectre as his fingers broke away into dust, seeping onto the cold pavement. "Let i... end already...i want to rest..."_

 _"Not yet, not yet. It's not your time. There's more. Fight. Stand_ _up_ _. Rise."_

 _A ghostly voice whispered in his remaining ear. A softness that eased the mind and prepared him for the final destination. He knew it was some of his insanity speaking in trying to get him to stand, some hallucination of sorts as no one here would help him._

 _"Shut up. She's not here anymore. Another one... I never thought I'd feel some attachment but it's no use now. What's the point?"_

 _"Don't you feel it, Izzy? The connection between you two? It's not gone...", the voice shuddered before mellowing down to a emotional one, filled out with all kinds of colors. Bright, blindingly bright light came from the source of this message._

 _The sounds were beginning to take shape into something familiar_ _._

 _"Because I Am Here. I Exist. And so do You, so let's do this. Together, like always."_

 _He looked up at the source and felt two tiny hands around the nonexistent skin that turned to dust. The slender and nimble fingers he knew well. Those that played the songs he liked and the booze they so voraciously held. He looked up with his remaining eye at it._

 _"I'm not even dead yet. Neither are you. So once more..."_

 _Illumination in all kinds of color swept away the grayness of this plane. Sounds of something above the mortal spectrum echoed. There was a pillar of light from which a figure formed before him._

 _H_ _er blond tresses were lifted by the winds blowing the dust, dancing in a free wave of liberation. The soprano voice he knew well, the sensation of fullness there was... It was real._

 _"Because I-_

 _More pillars formed around them._

 _There was nobody on the pavement anymore. It was a figure, standing tall and the pieces rewinding back to piece something different. The cracks were fixing themselves, not perfectly but enough to regain a sense of identity. To form a face. From within the sockets glowed the nightmarish green eyes of the Red Dragon Emperor, piercing and calculating with an inhuman terror._

 _It only looked at the source, flexing the jaws upon it's crack riddled face in preparation. Then it looked once more around the world that encompassed them in a subtle hint of self-deprecation but as well as something else._

 _Their forms were distorting into something was time to light enveloped both frames as they raised a hand towards each other._

" _Do you know who I am?"_

 _Both voices resounded in unison upon uttering the words._

 _ **" I am the First and the Last**_ _ **.**_ _ **"**_

 __XXX

It felt like a dream. The lines between reality had been blurred to the point of no recognition of what was there and what was not. It had happened all so fast as to register what had really transpired. The only thing that was perhaps real or maybe not was the standing catatonic Vritra, paused in it's tracks as the psychological attacks had shaken it's core and the host had ceased activity for a moment. Whether or not it was Saji Genshirou was of no importance at this point.

The devilish Dragon was there. There was no sign of anything having transpired, it was not of any surety of something having happened or not. The Devil casted away the chipped Scale Mail, dispersing it into the nothing before he felt something within him stir. He brought his hands up to his face while holding Romulus and Remus in a tight grip, loaded and ready at his disposal. The Phoenix Tear he had been stabbed with gave him back the strength he needed to finish this, to crush and avenge his companion the onyx adversary took from him.

Vritra had regained clarity as much as to understand what was happening, taking a sprinting stance to tackle the prey before it, preparing it's curses of rot and stagnation to shower the target of it's vengeance in more pain. The three tentacle sets unbinded, coiled around each one to make two dragon heads and two shield formations while the last two it formed into fists as they did the most damage so far.

"...Isshhff...sheee...iiiihshfeee! Aiigiii!", it took another chance at roaring in hatred. The Brand of Dominion flashed in making itself appear, making sure the host would attack and survive long enough due to it's influence.

The Devil host shot straight forward with increased speed, hammering the twin dragon heads forward in making them blaze up for a shot of cursed flames. It was going to use it's full array of tools and techniques to bypass the eight tier magical resistance to use the corruption touch it had instead of just draining him to kill. Now it had no other choice than to maim him after having had it's fun in demoralizing and breaking him enough to it's liking.

It traveled far, leaving a few seconds to retaliate in defense. It was the moment. Now was the time.

The Shadow came back to resurface, activating the sealing mechanism but enough to hold it for a few seconds to utilize. It waved a hand in a swipe, casting darkness within the already dark place for something else it had in mind. It was a cage, a special prison to give it full command of the situation as it always killed anything it came in contact if the victims didn't die from the fear inducement already.

 _ **"Come. Come. Come. Come."**_

It was taunting again, appearing behind Vritra in one frame of reality as if it had teleported from it's previous spot, punching into the back of the modified suit with tainted ichor in overloading it by the dead beginning to form from various spots on the armor. It was using the same strategy as it did against the White Dragon Emperor to make it disengage the armor and leave the host vulnerable.

Hands and eyeless heads were sprouting from the body, gripping and ripping piece by piece the black-violet majestic armor of the demonic creature, sapping it's strength and ignoring the thrashing rattling it made to try to break free. They were eating it, devouring it's fractured psyche and life force in seeking the living as a feast for their insatiable hunger.

Vritra discarded the corroded parts of the suit, choosing to clad itself into the cursed flames over those spots as a means of hiding the identity of the thing underneath. It swung back the dragon heads into tearing the Shadow but it caught them with two hands and the guns lodged into them shot - jaws sprang onto them, unbinding the rigid cables without having to fear any of the curses rotting it. The force of the point blank bullets tore them apart but not enough to render them ineffective.

And it suddenly changed it's face to that of Freed Sellzen, who used his iconic bitch-slap with the gun muzzle to smack the heinous dragon across the neck before it responded with a kick of it's own.

It was enough. It dissappeared like nothing had happened upon hearing a melody designed to force it back under the surface, dispelling their control over the body and allowing Issei to emerge back into the world from within, leaving the gunslinger in control as he turned around and pulled the trigger to send a bullet straight into the first shield of Vritra, utilizing the Arrow of Damnation over the borrowed firearm to set the creature on fire with reinvigorated flames to snuff out those on the shield formation.

But it wasn't giving up, only slowed down for a mere fraction of a second.

The host smashed the two fist configurations covered in Umbrakinesis blades thanks to the violet outlines shedding some light and the various holes that helped into that. It was faster now that it had absorbed power from the darkness but it had been weakened by the mental corrosion and insanity inducing visions, clearly struggling to keep fighting despite having all of the advantages.

When the fists were about to connect a wall of concrete erupted from the spot, acting as a hastily raised defense from the corruption it could induce, shattering through the mere touch but giving enough time for the outgunned shooter to fall back before the fists would reach him.

" **B-b-b-b-b-back-back-back** __ _ **"**_

A hail of walls crushed Vritra. More and more smashed into the demonic dragon.

" **Cause I'm back, back, back from the dead tonight. Back, back, back from the dead tonight!** **"**

Another sound attack covered the earthly prison.

"You motherfucker.", Hilda wheezed through her bloodied lips in an unnatural, demonic voice that did not belong to her at all. The hatred boiled in a sea of madness, her shaky step did not stop her from sending an earth hand, curled into a punch to sink into Vritra as she opened her jaws to release an ultra sonic high pitched scream at it, confusing and making it's ears bleed inside the faceplate.

More walls erupted around it, colliding and meshing together to craft a dome prison to encase it while she clutched her ribs in pain, spitting more blood and gasping to catch her breath.

The bloodied coat she had was still on, there were the soaked in blood boots. The stab should have killed her if it didn't miss her vital organs by a miniscule chance, and the traces left of the Strigoi blood virus had been enough to patch her wounds to live another day. The adrenaline injection had saved her life and those red pills she took had needed time to kick so she could be able to use something she would not be able to under regular circumstances.

It did not mean, however, that she was out of danger. She had lost a good amount of blood and and the adrenaline rush was keeping her standing. And a few interwoven seals had sped up the patching process thanks to the bodysuit she wore underneath; she had messed up badly but no more mistakes would she make.

She gripped the riffle, being able to perceive Vritra through the colors of sounds she saw around it and her face contorted in sick enjoyment, her eyes glimmered in the thrill of battle and her bright smile was exchanged for a wide, demented grin demanding blood. She had snapped, she lost it because of the fear and the pain she had to endure and was going to raise Hell's bells on this fucker.

Neither one of them was alright. Both were enraged further in thinking the other one had died. If they tried to run it would chase after them. It had every advantage here so it was time to change the rules.

Vritra escaped the dome with ease, igniting the field around them again and jumped out. The fist formations had rotted the dirt and concrete, throwing shrapnel in every direction as the creature had already finished in repairing it's broken armor to pristine condition.

Both shed the human visage to release the monsters.

Issei gave in, spreading his hands wider as to be ready to tackle the flame user. Bloody red scales spread out underneath his eyes and framed his cheeks as he no longer cared if he would die - his canines lengthened and every single tooth was nothing more than a part of the fanged maw. Scales spread further down his neck and vital areas, his arms and legs bearing claws as they sharpened. His Crest of horns grew from his forehead into five sets of curving in all kinds of ways horns with a few smaller sets growing around them as a crown.

A crown only Albion and the Nameless One bore. The skintight suit was torn for a spiked spine to grow on his shoulder blades while the shoulders each had horn growths forming.His knees now bore seven pikes each, more and more razor sharp talons jutted from his collarbone towards the neck. Next the strong tail revealed itself in wiggling the glaive blade with a pike threateningly. The way he moved, the pose and the further growing changes were an eminent reminder of something.

He had become even more draconic than before, losing more and more of his human form till there would be nothing left of it. Or it might not happen as his time was depleting and he would be dead before the process was completed.

And finally the eyes became nightmarish green pits of carnage, slit and atrocious to anything mortal within this world. The dead peered through these windows as one being, composed of many. The worms started moving and poking out at some of the places, wiggling and writhing in showing the eldritch abomination from within as the darkness was torn by the murderous eyes of death. Locked in an unmoving, icy expression were the lips that did not leave a sound to escape.

There was nothing. A souless machine it was of now. Only Death stared back in winking with a dark gawk of the abyss.

Death was looking at the host in reaping it's next soul to devour.

The other thing was transparent, nearly invisible but for the outlines of a human being to distinguish it from the background. It was a silhouette with no color and no actual face other than a pair of white eyes that were an illusion. It was nothing more than sound, pure living sound traveling through the air at a specific frequency to damage demonic entities and the divine alike. Living sound in a vague humanoid frame it was.

 **[The Devil's Violin:** **Rondo Number Three!** **]**

The world around them had changed into a similar setting like that of the AutoBarrier spell. It was an inverted version of the casino, static and frozen with nothing inside of it. It was cold and the sound of cackling echoed far and wide. It was a new battlefield where they did not have to blow the complex above the black dragon's head to bury it, yet it was to act as a contained environment to deny the beast many of it's advantages.

 **[~** **Sonic Symphony - Kill List** **~]**

The Dragon charged his Flame Breath at full throttle as he sprinted faster than before due to renewed vigor, gaining momentum and bypassing the limits of space through speed, accelerating further with the dual firearms reloaded in nanoseconds.

From the other side, Hilda's sound form traveled like a wave in being as fast as the single snap of a finger, creating sonic booms by her force in crashing against Vritra mindlessly. At the same time the Dragon blasted his breath upon the adversary, dousing it in flames without caring about the tentacles or the curses. The shadows it could not fully control in this barrier, only having to use it's various techniques and curses to respond.

The crash was so fast that upon hitting the host, Hilda curled and smacked it right in the chest, sending another sound wave into it. The frequency could bypass the suit in reaching the Devil inside as the red one struck with his tail in a clean stroke. It was blocked by one of the fists and it returned the favor by igniting them to deal some damage.

Red blocked it somehow through a cross guard before his face - jumping back as he charged a Dragon Shot next to utilize. Surely, it brought him immense pain but he couldn't bother to get distracted because of it.

Hilda held onto Vritra despite it's efforts to get her off it's chest, stabbing it's hands through where the heart would normally be. It ignited the fingertips with the infamous flames it was known for. It did nothing to her as she had no actual body but she could damage him instead! By vibrating the molecules in her right upper limb, she shanked the beast in the roughly same spot where it stabbed her, thus sending a ultrasonic vibro-knife through the insides.

It caused it great pain, enough to make it buckle and lose focus for a moment.

She moved away to bounce off a wall in less than a second, exhibiting inhuman strength and speed as she had overdosed to be able to use this form for the amount of twenty five seconds before she would break from the strain. It was rendered to ten seconds because of her condition, they needed each one to make it!

 **[Ten!]**

The draconian Devil crafted two hands of Emptiness within the space, holding the firearms before he prepared for the final charge he'd put everything into. He lunged ahead through a sprint, a second strike he delivered into the abdominal muscles by thrashing the plating there, even if he lost a portion of his strength despite the resistance. Desperation drove him further to use the firearms within the second pair of hands as a battering ram in hammering onto the shoulders with such strength as to break them upon it.

 **[Nine!]**

Hilda slammed her whole body upon it, exerting such pressure as to crack several spots in one go, continuously bashing and thrashing with everything she had in her to bombard it. She was a phantom of sound, inducing secondary sound waves through the heavy vibrations she produced to harm Vritra. It was holding out due to durability otherwise it would have died upon the impact.

All of the resistance it put up felt inevitable.

Blasts of fire, pikes of dust hailed as both commanded them to scorch and pin the highly mobile creature into a single spot for another second, yet these were nothing but distractions at this point.

Walls were raised around Vritra in a cage, making enough surface for Hilda to bounce off the walls with deadly precision upon each hit she delivered. They were similar to launching pads, propelling her ahead upon hitting them with her sound form to gain more speed and increase her overall strength simultaneously.

Inside the cage, Issei held Vritra's wrists to buy time and smashed his tail right into the shoulder area, grinding down to the left scapula joint where it skewered that area through a clean stroke.

Vritra responded by smashing his side with two sets of it's tentacles, trying to throw him away. It did work but the Dragon bit his index finger and splashed blood right into the other shoulder since he missed by a little.

It gave the onyx dragon a serious burn, corroding the armor at that spot like it was nothing. It was reeling in pain, fearful to the point of rotting all walls to deny them their advantage in using the spell. The flesh there was being eaten away.

However, it did not react fast enough to the sound wall that nailed it to the ground. These vibrations were damaging to Devils and Divine alike so it wasn't the only one suffering.

The Red Dragon was feeling each wave over his body, damaging him to the point where he was beginning to flicker between existing and nonexisting, but he forced himself to continue the assault because that was the only way they could beat the enemy. His ears were bleeding and his regeneration was slowing down because of the blonde girl.

He had to endure everything. So that they could live.

 **[Eight!]**

Flares and blasts rained but it was still standing. Despite the heavy bombardment, the host growled incoherently in a couple more painful, guttural screeches of defiance as it strengthened the defense by wrapping the tentacles around itself. And creating a strange barrier over them as two different signatures wove into one Physical Attack shield to endure any of their kinetic strikes. It made the shadows move again as it lit up, surrounded by them in a second shield to by more time for itself and make them lose theirs as it felt the growing increase in desperation.

 **[Seven!]**

It used the curses to make them weak, showering taint over taint in surging heat as they tried to get past the barriers before the time was up.

Throwing both extra hands at the first layer, the limbs of Nothingness flattened out as if paper and punctured the shadows as they glowed with a toxic green flame, concentrated into one point to weaken it through heavy pounding.

Hilda's psionic scalpels shredded through the solid shadow mass as she could not touch it nor could it touch her. Her fingers phased through, weakening the atomic bonds of the physical barrier by making them vibrate and collide at random. The massive gain in kinetic energy ruptured the layer, giving her free entry to the inside.

But the creature had means of defending itself.

The Brand of Dominion flared up as white lines spread across the chest area, changing the color of the violet fullers to a dim purple. It allowed the host to expand it's reach and use a different type of force to balance out the kinetic energy and absorb it at the cost of the barrier. But with that came a different effect; it's roar was enough to create a sound wave strong enough to mute the transparent silhouette of sound for three seconds and make the Red Dragon Emperor halt in pain.

Sound was one of his greatest weaknesses, or more specifically, the short girl from Berlin was one of the people able to stop him.

 **[Four!]**

That scream made him recoil and lose focus for a moment that the cunning beast used to send a detached tentacle as a spear, flying straight in his direction to utilize a different type of a curse upon him.

The hardened scales met the spear head on, withstanding the piercing tip with ease due to the gained resistance rendering it nothing more than a simple poke with a stick. But that was not the point. It spread out ichor that splurged onto the bodysuit like glue, marking him for Vritra to snap fingers and encase him in flames to slow him down. It would offer a single click of the clock but it was enough.

The inverted, mirror version of the casino complex was falling apart with the last ticking seconds of the clock. It was their last chance while the beast was weakened, the wounds sustained had made it sluggish and losing strength no matter how much it drew from the dark to prolong this battle.

An inundation of sound tore the constraints, freeing the brown eyed man of his shackles to lunge at Vritra. Time had slowed down, everything around them was a ghostly shadow of reality as both man and woman raced together in a bid to subdue and kill their tormentor. They were moving faster than ever, bearing claws and vibro-knives to tear apart metal and flesh.

Hilda's form reformed at it's back, throwing a straight punch that rumbled through the surface of the inverted world.

 **[Three!]**

They were upon it, bashing fists against the barrier to tear it with pure strength. Through tenacity they removed the resistance and landed hit after hit in fervent madness, unrelenting and vicious as Death came to claim it's prize.

Yet, it would not croak under the pressure.

It fought back, pushing both away to spin like a hurricane and keep them at bay through the use of it's tentacles. It was generating enough force to rip apart any lesser being but both had no other choice than to give it one last push. One more second, one last try was all there was left. The very last charge that would change everything, a matter of life and death it was as they screamed together in one unified roar to make the surroundings shatter and for Hilda to command the rubble into walls that flung Vritra aside and then pinned it.

 **[Two!]**

Vritra blocked their assault by a barrier of unknown power, blending both dark and light into one to defend. It roared behind the mouthpiece in a battle cry, pushing more and more strength to hold the fort in giving them a heavy resistance. It's resilience was remarkable as it still tried to fight with the wounds that weakened it from it's initial attack. The earth formations rotted away from the curses it released upon them.

"This is it. LET'S GO!"

The momentum they gained upon the last second was tremendous, both enduring the pressure admirably for the final blow. Together they could beat it, they had to win no matter what. Accelerating further, they annihilated the spell completely in using it as a launching pad to draw more than enough into putting whatever was left of the fight in them to utilize. Time was about to flow normally once more but they made it!

The fist of the Dragon swerved upon it while the vibrating hand of molecules tore through the tentacle tornado. Putting everything into this, they groaned in pain as the collision was titanic, leaving the black one unable to deflect all of it but enough to survive.

The fist blew past the defenses, the hand struck the visor in a thunderous concussion of flesh cracking the mouthpiece. The vibrations reverberated across the metalic plates into chipping off its main offensive capabilities while connecting with the first hit through a synchronized attack, coordinated to weaken it beyond any possibility of resistance.

" **ONE!** ", they screamed at the top of their lungs together as the inverted plane came to an end.

 **[Zero!]**

Everything became normal. It was still the same, holes and torn walls and a bloody floor with carcass and guts everywhere. It was over, it was the combined effort that stopped it. The darkness had been there but instead of death, life triumphed through minimal chances and a hell a lot of effort and pain.

The red dragon fell onto his knees as the strain got him even with that Phoenix Tear rejuvenating him. Even with the resistance that gave him the chances of survival all of his muscles ached and his nerves needed a few seconds to regenerate properly, thus meaning more pain to withstand. He stood there, trying to catch his breath as he gasped and panted.

The girl collapsed, having no strength in her body as her legs did not hold her upright. She bent and fell over a corpse, resuming her fleshy human form once more and spat blood as her heart beating fast tried to return to a normal pace. The drug had worn off, leaving her to feel the side-effects of using two pills to achieve it. Never mind the fact that she was completely naked upon returning to normal, stained in blood near her uniform and skintight padded bodysuit huddled to her form.

Yet, his scars burned up once more as the presence was not extinguished.

Upon the floor, smeared in corpses and guts was the host of Vritra. The three tentacle sets were barely there, most of them having been crushed completely as well as a large part of the chest plates destroyed. The cross shaped shoulder guards and the pauldrons were cracked and falling apart, the neck scales were broken completely as they fell off and the horned visor was damaged. The inverted horns were broken and some were missing, a testament to the insane durability this beast had through modification.

It was still moving. Barely but with enough effort it rose up, clutching it's side in horrid pain as it whimpered and hissed at them. The mask, more than half of it was gone to reveal the identity of this mysterious assailant. Only a single red slit was left on the left side of it's face, dimming out until it lost light as the violet color faded into nothing. The Devil wings were broken, crooked and bent at various angles and blood dripped from them...

"...isshh..ff... ihh...eee...ish...ghe-eee...", it spat blood before it looked upon the Red Dragon Emperor in mindless eyes locked in utter hatred and fear, primal and twisted in fright. The torn section of the chest was all bathed in red blood over the black undersuit it had to act as a secondary defense. It had seals upon it that faded, that was how it still moved and was kept from shattering from the force it was struck. The last ditch effort it put into making a barrier had lessened the impact to make it survive but it could not fight at all.

Issei gazed upon it in a frozen look of disbelief. It was something so possible yet so disgustingly hard to accept. It was not a false assumption he had, only to be further shaken as the host took off the remainder of the faceplate in revealing it's face. It was what made him cower before the truth.

"...No...no...", he muttered barely in recognition of the atrocity. It had no power, the voice died within his throat as words could not escape further. They were lodged deep and not a sound could he make when the host smiled despite the pain with a bloody streak trailing down it's black lips in pure joy that it had never felt before.

 _ **"Yes, yes, yes~!**_ _ **",**_ the dead spoke within his head. The Shadow was behind him as it took the shape of the one that had taken his life before. Behind him stood the form of Raynare, hugging his back and moving her fingers across his face as she leaned down over his shoulder and whispered to his ear words of sickly promise and twisted mockery that sank deep. _**"That's why i love you, Ise.**_ **"** , she purred in his ear seductively as her smile grew wide.

The host sneered like the animal it was, hateful and still bearing the repugnace, only more feral and vicious as it tried to produce something meaningful through that guttural speech it attempted to use. It was petrified. The black lips curled in a knowing smile out of abhorence that deviously took in his reaction.

It had lost the battle but the war was far from over.

For a member of the supernatural world to use a Sacred Gear, only usable in human hands as it was made for them and only them to have, they would have to incorporate a piece of the host and to use their flesh and blood to trick the Gear. Otherwise it would shut down and go dormant to seek out a new host as a soul and a human body were needed for it to work. It was one of the failsafes installed in each Sacred Gear, one that the Evil Piece could bypass through tricking the system by leaving a single link to the sealed soul and using the consumed grace upon conversion to keep it active, effectively rendering their usage possible.

The host opened up a small transportation circle behind it, slowly sinking in as it made sure that it's face would be remembered, no, burned within his mind longer to haunt him.

The Brand of Dominion sizzled out as it did it's job perfectly in keeping the host in a condition that would make it easy to retrieve.

"...Iiighdhsee...iighhse...ahhmm...ische..ie..e." it hummed again in the childish habit, narrowing it's eyes in a half-terrified, half-abominable gawk…

The way all of Vritra's Gears being bonded with the host was through eating the flesh of the other hosts and incorporating a small part of them in the host.

What looked back at them was none other than a pair of eyes, deeply immersed in the horizon of psychosis. It sunk through the seal but not before waving a finger as the ludicrous, deranged smile formed again. Only more civil after the former one. Perphaps it was equated to something dead.

And that smile he could never forget...

Belonged to a person he couldn't erase from his mind. No matter how many times he tried.

XXX


	25. Act 23

Act.23 Alize Blue & Moscato: Shidou Fiasco

13th September, Vatican City, Rome, Italy, 13:47 pm

"Take aim. Do not break formation.", Xenovia took the chance to command the rest as she waved her arms to gesture in a series of fluid motions. She was floating two meters above the ground with multiple hexagram pentacles spinning around her, each having a different configuration and purpose for spellcasting. "Prepare for the first wave."

The fifteen members of the Last Battalion plus Irina took various stances. They removed their hoods and entered a battle formation before Xenovia and Saint Lucca of Sicily, each one holding various armaments as the cloaks were pushed behind their shoulders. Some held heavy automatic firearms, another used dual light blades while some held other various tools like blades, knives and small firearms to fight back.

The command was given.

Lucca stabbed an injector with booster drugs into his neck as everyone else did the same to grant them far more speed and strength than their regular base human strength. They were mortal, weaker and fragile in comparison to most paranormal creatures so they had to compensate through tactics, superior tools and drugs to be able to stand up to their foes.

The Angels that were on the ground were of a lesser rank, bearing the standard two wings total, crafted armaments of light and wove mana into various elemental spells to fight back and repel this incoming troops.

Irina found her injector in a pouch on her uniform, twirled it with her free hand and stabbed it into her jugular vein to use the special drug, a one of a kind type using Angel blood to grant her heightened core strength and increase her speed. She emptied the injector and threw it aside, holding her Blood Excalibur in the Excalibur Rapidly configuration as she took out the standard Browning pistol she used in her other hand.

From the other side the footsteps of a legion were echoing. Heavy steps, the sound of a bloodbath coming straight ahead for them. Black clad figures of various height were marching together in a tight knit formation, medium armored in metal and tactical gear. They were humanoid, resembling humans if it were about their stature and shape. They had pure white Venetian carnival masks with black optics behind the material as their heads were covered by hoods that ended into small capes upon their shoulders, bearing no facial expressions due to the eerie masks they used to hide their features. The only thing obvious was the crest of Beelzebub etched onto their shoulders, displayed for all to see their belonging to the rightful heir of the title.

The way they advanced was somehow odd. They were moving fast but it felt quite strange. They held halberds and a riot shield in a tortuga formation, standing close to each other as their steps echoed loudly. The way they ran was like that of some soulless machine, fearless and heavy with each step of their boots.

Dreadnoughts fell from the skies at different spots, emerging from the rubble to join the extermination squad when they flexed their limbs and roared by opening their saurian jaws in a challenge to the defenders. The fifteen meter spawns joined the ranks at the sides as they eyed the smaller number of troops on the other flank, twisting their plumage and javelins to prepare for the first stage of the siege.

"They are coming. Do not let them get past us. This is our last mission.", one of the men spoke grimly despite the fake tranquility he displayed on his rough features. His black hair shone and his eyes were set upon the strange humanoids as he clutched his sabres, clanging against each other in demanding blood. Ewald Cristaldi was ready for battle.

"It seems this is where we get some recognition. Fuckin' Devil scum...", Teodoro Legrenzi cursed. A boy no older than 14, he was thrust into battle under the tutelage of Touji Shidou and Vassily 'Vasco' Strada, both of whom he missed dearly. The margarine blonde boy spread out his angelic wings wide and stood behind a female who held a FR F2 riffle, guarding her back and acting as a support. "Let it be a good hunt and let us not make haste."

"We're already used to big fucks like these. Nothing unusual except it's my free day!", the woman he hid behind shouted in sheer annoyance. She had margarine blonde hair in long tresses with a fringe between her eyes, bluish eyes of a light shade and she looked like someone particular. She wasn't so tall and she was more on the thick side for a body type. "I didn't sign up for a world destroyer event."

"Shut it, Lucina. We're going to die anyways, be it a free day or not.", Irina growled at the female in fright. Her hand held the sword readied while her firearm was loaded and ready to roll.

The incoming troops were nearing them.

Some of the Angels threw light spears at their direction, testing the waters to see how they would react. The spears collided with the riot shields, cracking them in various spots and reaching inside the closed formation to kill the troops.

But the surprise came afterwards. The broken shields were discarded to reveal the unscathed Venetian carnival masks shining with a barrier spell encasing the legion as a protection. The javelins were a mere ornament they stabbed into the ground to act as a resonator field, activating a medium scale spell that disrupted the resistance the barrier had cast on them. It opened a hole large enough to pass unhindered.

From the hole bursted a massive horde.

Deranged, enraged to insanity and dangerous. Flaming fists, elemental tools of celestial design glowed. Spears and axes, multiple levitating swords of Blade Blacksmith hovered lazily while other various Sacred Gears materialized upon command onto the horde. Men, women, children were advancing towards the inside in no set order, running frenzied with no shred of self-preservation nor a sense of fear to detter them from entering the premises in heaps and rows upon the entrance. There was no structure, no order in their ranks as only the drive to slaughter pushed them forward.

And there weren't a few of them. Each one was nothing more than a drone. A mindless, hellbent automaton with no free will and higher cognitive functions other than being able to call forth their gears.

"Okay. We're fucked in the ass really hard.", Teodoro spoke up, stunned and shivering as his real colors revealed themselves and he ignited two light constructs within his palms in a lance formation.

XXX

 **[~** **AND Compositions - We Walk Amongst Titans** **~]**

The horde was incoming. Their pace hurried as the Dreadnoughts advanced further, step by step onto the streets. They were still a bit far but it was only a matter of time before they would get here. There was no time to waste, every second was of importance.

Saint Lucca of Sicily brought down his light rapier wing of illumination as a gesture of commanding the forces to mobilize. Men and women formed a thick line in a V-formation, akin to the blitzkrieg tactics of the Deutsch army. The Angels took up into the skies, flapping their wings and charging new armaments of light to attack while some started forming barriers to make shields. They stood close to each other, forming a wall to safeguard the position.

"Wait for it.", Ewald bellowed in a hardened tone. His muscles tensed and he felt the heavy rush of the booster drugs taking effect. His focus intensified and so did his strength and speed.

The horde rushed forward in the same pace, pushing each other and having no formation, save for it's overwhelming number that rivaled the defenders. But all of them had Sacred Gears, deadly and effective and most certainly at a heightened frequency due to the tools used to make an army out of them.

"Wait for it.", Ewald gripped his armaments, waiting for the right moment to strike. "Wait till they cross the line."

The horde was advancing further, unrelenting and spiraling in perpetual madness, craving for blood and carnage with each clang their tools made. They were nearing the line, unfocused and disregarding anything else but to charge forward and overwhelm them with sheer numbers and tenacity.

They reached the aforementioned line.

"Now! Fire at will!", the dark haired man screamed in a war cry as he gave the command to fight back.

The earth shook in forming spikes of concrete and cinder blocks, tall and rigid spines erupted beneath the horde's feet in piercing them at various spots. The spikes were growing in size upon impaling the enemies on sight, stabbing into their bodies and riddled them with bloody holes. They started to stack corpses upon them, dripping with blood and writhing screams echoed in pain.

However, they did not stop.

Climbing over the corpses were new drones, bashing their Gears upon the makeshift wall and flurries of elemental magic flew past them. Blade Blacksmith swords cleaved the concrete formation to free some of the impaled drones who slumped back and yet they kept moving despite their bleeding bodies. Bullets and a rain of spears fell upon them in a storm of shrapnel and mana blasts, blasting holes and puncturing their bodies at various points further, enough to slow down and criple any ordinary man, save those hellbent to take down the enemy with their dying breath.

Humans lost limbs to the counterattack, pushed away by the concussive force of firearms, losing body parts and being soaked in metal slugs and bloody wounds. Ragged, beaten up and reeling back, they paused for a moment before the advance would continue anew.

Those who took the brunt of the attack were still going on despite the wounds that should have put them down - those with lost limbs used their Sacred Gears to form new ones and continue, those who could not proceeded to drag themselves ahead with any strength they had.

Slumping, sprinting, trotting men, women and children from the front row marched forward despite the grievous wounds they had sustained, something sinister drove them to walk further despite the fact that they should be dead. These were no more humans, they were nothing but deadly thralls surging over the bodies of the fallen ones to reach faster their designated target.

The Dreadnoughts took the cue to jump high, spreading out their limbs as they climbed upon nearby buildings and brutally tore apart some of the Angels stationed there. Javelin stabs, ripped cadavers into pieces by the use of their plumage hooks. Torn heads flew down as the echoes of death renewed. Some managed to avoid them, moving away to relocate and fought against the fifteen meter spawns valiantly. Alas, more and more fell victim to the merciless hovering blades of Blade Blacksmith into being pinned and bifurcated at different angles despite their best effort.

A second volley followed to thin out the line but the thralls had adapted enough to make use of the remaining Dreadnought spawns that stood on the ground, the spawns grabbing human bodies and flinging them like cannonballs. The black clad troops had not advanced at all, they crafted barriers to protect the horde from the incoming projectiles as they hid behind the drones.

 **"Blaze Meteora."** , a wave of fiery tongues spread out across the street in rapid succession by moving like a sentient being upon the drones. Those words were squeezed out by the horrified Xenovia as she nearly gave into fear. The Azure Priestess saw their faces; dead and croaking with missing skin and muscles, hanging jaws or eyes peered at her way with no sign of protest or even pain...

She had no choice. If she was to live she would put these things out of their misery.

Her features sharpened in hateful fury as her hexagram pentacles started to spew out more flames to engulf the drones in hopes of burning them. Her grimoires glistened with pure mana as she twitched her fingers in a wide variety of gestures, chanting at a high speed in using Speed Casting. **"Scorch the earth in fire, set ablaze thy enemies, Blaze Meteora!"** , she intentionally made pauses to divide the two line chant into three as to tweak it's purpose. Torrents of flames curved downwards like a staircase upon spreading over the bodies and some Red Dreadnought troops, blasting them with fire from her position.

They still pressed on.

Snipers shot at the thralls with bullets straight for the head, blowing off gray matter in the process. Heads were torn open as blooming flowers upon the cold asphalt and pavement while blood leaked like a river.

The thrown humans dashed across the air in reckless abandon, having a set trajectory as those were picked up because of their Gears. A fan of blades with the properties of the wind popped up in spreading like wings on one of the thralls, making it glide as a sharp metallic messenger of death. The crash course was quite fast as it tore through the left flank and the restless drone swung both appendages into a few slashes with precision, deeply ingrained into the man when he spun and jammed his blades into the face of an Executor and then swiftly dealt a blow into the nether regions of another.

This one began to carve fellow humans left and right, severing tendons with superhuman strength. Executors fell under it's blades before the creature was put down with three bullets to the head. But the human corpse blew up into pieces by a surgically attached bomb inside his stomach wall, taking several men and women with him.

More of these were incoming.

"Charge! Now is the time!", Saint Lucca led the Last Battalion fighters who were on the ground forward, spearheading the retaliation in battle ready cries with his light rapier wing tucked closer to his chest.

The blitzkrieg formation sprinted head on - blasts of arcane mana lanced forward as they pressed on, shooting down the incoming human shaped projectiles. More and more Executors followed suit and gave chase with courage beating into their hearts.

"Come forth, Garmr! Sea Bishop!", Irina growled in rage as two custom pentacles formed, each one bearing a different elemental Affinity to summon two of her middle tier Guardians simultaneously. Due to their low maintenance cost they would be the ideal beings to evoke in assisting her.

The pentacles glowed as a black dog with ruby spines burst out in seeking it's prey. Red bloody eyes and ugly fangs with dancing flames poured out of the dog's mouth as it lept forward for the kill. A small sized fish with faded blue scales and a tail of a similar shade came forth, cyan blue eyes shone as a single gem rested upon it's head.

She dashed forward, readying for the collision. Her use of Rapidly accelerated her body beyond human boundaries, making her leap ahead in one unnatural jump as she took aim and pressed the trigger of her firearm, blowing up the head of a woman carrying a flaming axe of some darkened metal. Her Blood Excalibur was swung as she met the first combatants at her direction, parrying a blow and she ducked to the left before she brought her leg against the woman's knee in a kick. Her next move was to bring down her blade upon her head, splitting it into two as the edge caved into her neck. She placed her gun into her chest at point blank - shooting her right into the heart and freeing her sword from the mushy neck to avoid getting cleaved into two by the dying swing of the axe.

 _"_ _S_ _..u..m...n...all...m...e..."_

Garmr moved near her back in biting down a child with metalic blades in place of it's arms, digging it's teeth into the shoulder area and drawing blood as the drone rattled in an attempt to free itself from it's clutch. The summoned creature pounced back before it spewed out flames from it's jaw at the child's legs but it stood strong and extended it's hands to become elongated spears that stabbed an Executor in the leg.

The man was preoccupied in fighting off three drones that were overpowering him until the Sea Bishop crafted icicles from the moisture in the air, producing frosty projectiles that shanked two of them in the head and in the back. The Executor managed to cleave the third one with two strikes at the chest in leaving bloody deep gashes that made the thrall reel back in pain, if it actually felt pain in the first place.

Ewald was killing drones left and right with his swords, parrying the flesh from their bodies as he tried to keep them at a distance. His merciless onslaught continued on until a Sacred Gear user drove a spear against his back, tearing the cloak and rattling him even through the armored plates on his back. Another one, a woman whiplashed her icy claws at his arm in cutting him in a few places before she was shot down by supporting fire from the margarine blonde female Lucina.

More and more bullets rained upon the woman as they left holes in her flesh and singed her limbs in metal slugs that ripped her body apart.

Teodoro Legrenzi threw one of his lances upon an elderly man but the lance dispersed as it was consumed by tendrils of darkness bearing snake heads. The man had foam across his lips while his Gear lashed back on command, sending shadowy snakes that quickly grinded fangs over the hastily made barrier the boy made. They cracked the surface in prying open the shield, slithered inside and met a second wall of light with pikes extending from it. Those pikes impaled the snakes but more and more drones came upon him in bashing against the makeshift light barrier.

Before his shield could be breached, help came from the Executor with the big braid on her back.

Xenovia was hovering in the air, gathering mana to craft a series of threads that merged into spears with tips made from ethereal light. "Have a mouthful of heavenly love!" she bore a sneer when she threw down those armaments upon the ground, stabbing several thralls but it only gathered their focus onto her. She saved Teodoro in the last second but she could not save others in dire need.

A few Angels were brought down and torn asunder beneath the unforgiving might of flaming swords and metalic talons shredding their wings. Thralls dug hands and swords into them and tugged - blood and dying screams were heard but it was too late to save them.

"There's no end to them! They keep getting back!", Linda Sellzen yelled in fear and frustration. The sister of Freed Sellzen was nicked and had slashes at her arm and her thigh as she fought back in trying to cull the thralls. Dejection and hopelessness were growing but she didn't stop, no matter how many she cut down. "Francesca! Support!"

A petite woman with auburn hair threw Black Keys with Uriel's name in Latin engraved on the shaft at the incoming thralls. The blades resonated with one another in casting divine wrath onto the mindless thralls; the twin short swords burst into flames as they shanked two drones in the head and in the shoulder, connecting the fiery wisps into a binding chain that gave time for Linda to kick one back and the other fell with it due to the chain.

The darkness user crashed his snake tendrils over the corpse of an Angel and threw the bloody cadaver against Lucca, flinging him to the ground where a small girl struck at his light wing with a hammer of water. Another one pounced over him, twin daggers of gold aimed at his eyes.

"Fuck you!", the auburn haired Luciano Alba swore with disgust when he pried free his light rapier wing and cut the dagger user right in the neck and broke the leg of the girl, leaving a deep gash that made her slump back before he rose up and rammed his limb across her face in putting her down. Upon contact with the two Sacred Gear daggers, Luciano used his Miracle of Almagalm to merge them with his light wing to cover his other arm in a protective casing with serrated edges that could rend through mana with ease, acting as a canceler and a secondary defense.

The girl was struck. The blades dug into her and cauterized the wounds before they separated from the main body. She had no time to respond properly other than to sluggishly lift her war hammer and thus limped on the ground, jerked and the bomb planted in her stomach was triggered.

He had only a moment to rearrange his limb into a protective casing to survive the explosion, throwing him off into crashing against several deranged thralls in knocking them down.

"Lucca! I'm coming, brother!", the voice belonged to Irina in a cry for the man whom she considered as a brother. No wonder people called her Little Lucca due to her fawning over the pupil of her dear, missing father. She dashed across, jumping higher than a human could due to the acceleration and booster drugs acting up before she switched Blood Excalibur to the heavy Destruction formation, landing with a weighted blade that dug into the asphalt upon touch.

Cracks spread in succession at the center, offsetting balance and focus for a second to make the nearest Sacred Gear users fall on their faces, knees and more. The signature of Destruction flared up to life in striking a few more. More bullets went around from the snipers at the roof. She crept with heavy steps and gasped for air because she was getting tired - it was hell when two Dreadnoughts, one black and one red jumped near her position, squashing Executors and thralls alike in barring the way to Luciano.

The two fifteen meter titans roared in a battle cry as they prepared their armaments to initiate combat.

"Dear god...", Irina froze upon the sight of these hellish spawns barring the way. Thralls were incoming, leaving her with no option for escape but to hope she could get away in the nick of time.

 _"..Call..._ _m_ _.._ _e_ _."_ _,_ that ringing she heard again but couldn't understand clearly.

The black Dreadnought stomped the ground with the heel of it's foot, sending a tremor strong enough to shake anything in it's wake as the second one swung it's javelin straight for Irina before any other drone would rush and end her life.

Her Sea Bishop defended her by phasing before her and made a physical barrier of ice by using the moisture in the air. Transparent frozen layers bonded together in a simple squarish shield that met the javelin's edge head on, breaking underneath the pressure the creature put through it's swipe, but despite the ice Guardian being of a mid tier, it withstood and ice began to spread over the mass of the javelin in traveling upon the shaft to the arm.

It was enough so Irina could pounce back and spin in sending a flury of Destruction as the shield collapsed into bits, aimed at the freezing limb of the spawn. The wave crossed the line, smashed against the appendage and it was no more. The titan tumbled for a second in registering the lack of it's limb but a lance of fire scorched the eyes it had into blinding it. Garmr had arrived to assist his Summoner in tearing through thralls but it had sustained injuries that limited the time it had to manifest to mere seconds.

A thrall was about to stab her axe of earth into the twin tailed Executor's lower back while another one leapt at her with bearing red steel arms with sharp claws to make paste out of her head. The second Dreadnought threw it's fist forward to act as a battering ram with the goal of killing her in one blow.

Two Black Keys shot at the man and woman; gutting them in the chin and the other suffered a blow to the head when they reached their target, forming earthly walls through the name of Archangel Michael engraved on the shaft, thus buying time and making a shield to slow down the red spawn.

Irina seized the chance as her Sea Bishop made a pillar that shot her in the sky, making her twist in the air and she was above the spawn when she gripped Blood Excalibur Destruction in an inverse grip and left the rest to gravity. She fell down in gaining momentum with an inertia dampening sigil glowing on her forearm. Destruction went through the beast's head as she screamed, covered in blood and having discarded her Browning pistol, forcing her blade to resonate and unleash a pulse into it's whole body.

It was about to explode until Luciano stabbed his wing into it. Utilizing the Gear he merged temporarily with through his Miracle, the auburn haired man turned the big monster into dust before it could kill more, swiftly having knocked down a few thralls to do it.

Irina was pulled back by a stepping seal through Xenovia's casting, evading more Sacred Gear users and threw her back far away from the skirmish to land somewhere safer. A bolt of blue mana crashed against one of her hexagram pentacles, imbalanced her enough to fall onto the ground. Yet, the Azure Priestess curled and relocated one of her pentacles beneath her back to break her fall and spring onto her feet as more flight enabled users rushed to end her life.

One of them was a child with red hair and freckles, flying through the use of hovering crystal wings and shot green shards at her while the other one was an elderly man with missing legs and jaw that used watery limbs to dig into one of her protective hexagrams.

The cobalt haired Executor chanted, **"Iron cage around my body, heed to thy master, keep me from the hands of wicked!"** , calling forth iron to seep through her pentacles in stretching like a blanket around her to meet the water limbs and protect her from the shards. She felt the impact on her shield in pushing her down to the asphalt where she slammed and spat blood.

"Xenovia!", called out Linda Sellzen who rushed to her aid, slicing troops before her, sustaining an arrow to the shoulder as she dove further and threw one of her sabres into the skull of a burly man battling an Angel.

Suppressing fire continued to rain, metal slugs and pellets flew in blowing ruinous craters into men and women who stood in the way. Blasts and arcane mana responded in kind.

Ewald managed to grab Lucca and lifted him up, standing back to back and furiously fought with ferocious frenzy - parrying flesh from bone and ending lives with no finnese was his speciality. The problem was not the strength of these thralls, they've killed many High-Class Devils before and subdued an Ultimate at a great price. It was because they were so damn many and didn't stay down! These things were no human beings despite looking like that, they were nothing but soulless machines of slaughter coming and coming back for more.

"We need to fall back, Captain. We can't put all of them down.", he spoke through spitting some blood, never taking off the terrible, horrified look on his face. The second-in-command looked around him, seeing a massacre unfold. More and more fell victim, struggling to breath men were chopped to pieces by the Sacred Gear users and Dreadnought troops.

Flying debris fell onto the ground; chunks of buildings rained, smoke and concrete marred the ground in smashing the asphalt into bits. Craters formed upon each hit while squashing humans left and right. Some of it killed a few Dreadnoughts, taking down Sacred Gear users and Executors alike in a merciless storm of shrapnel.

"Shit. Look out!", Ewald pushed Luciano away in the last moment, sending him backwards and kicked him next to get him away with his enhanced strength. Luciano fell flat a few meters away in a hurried pace as he gave into fear and moved away seconds before the impact.

A chunk of concrete landed in the previous spot. Exactly where Ewald Cristaldi was standing, being impaled in the ribs by a filthy thrall and the man cleaved his head with a final swing of his weapon. He only made one quick smile that his comrade could not see.

The debris sprayed blood. Ewald Cristaldi was no more...

"Retreat! Fall back!", Teodoro roared as he started to run for his life, driven by the primal necessity of survival. Fighting turned into a full blown retreat under the support of fire suppressing drones to make an opening.

Xenovia and Linda rushed back to the defensive line where the Azure Priestess wove walls of concrete and asphalt to rise as more and more retreated in a bid of survival. They were demoralized, morale was weakened and only survival dictated the course of action to be taken. Irina was shooting thralls with her second firearm, lending support to Lucina and the snipers who fell back from their hiding spots. Angels hovered above the walls in a panic, giving into irrationality in the wake of the unrelenting drones who did not stop despite grievous wounds and missing limbs.

Teodoro was struck in the left wing by a knife as he was rushing to safety, falling on his feet and three thralls with an axe, claws and a wispy arm pounced at him. There was no time to defend, the walls were closing up and he couldn't fly over due to the knife being lodged into one of his joints. He tried to get back up but the child with the claws gripped his ankle and began to drag him back despite sustaining a light lance into the jaw by Teodoro's hand.

"Not today...", he was about to die. He didn't think any further but to twist his lance and make mush of the child's face, no sympathy or disgust could bring him to spare the enemy because it was a child like he was. Screw it! His own life mattered far more.

The woman with the axe raised her tool with both hands, aiming for his head while the elderly man brought his wispy limb to break his other wing. About to be carved and bashed to death, he rolled around and stabbed a pike into the leg of the axe user. It wouldn't have been fast enough to kill them as he was about to be surrounded.

A bullet struck the elderly man in the forehead while a wing of light split the woman from the shoulder down. Saint Lucca managed to reach him in the brink of time, killing the woman but her axe instead grazed into the boy's shoulder, leaving a gash on the surface but not so deep. He kicked the old man and picked up Teodoro with his normal hand and dragged him towards the walls.

A hole opened in the walls, where Francesca Bianchi and Lucina Vincente picked them up a second before the spawns and thralls could get a hold of them. The hole closed, crushing the arms of a drone that tried to enter.

"Balance...Break!", finally, one of the Venetian mask clad beings muttered under it's breath the key to the gates of oblivion.

The said figure walked a few steps before the rest in a dignified pose of victory, confident in their own power and unparalleled ego to show off. The German accent was quite heavy behind each word no matter how much they tried to speak English without it.

Behind the soldier who stepped forward something begun to take shape, gaining mass and combusted to take a rudimentary shape before it spread around her like willowy wisps or tendrils. The wisps started coiling around each other in forming a structure, resembling an ancient crucifix as the air burned with the putrid, unpleasant smell of brimstone and incense.

It was a two meter tall crucifix of purple flames that further expanded to change shape into something mobile and humanoid in wake of it's master. Six wings composed of purple flames with a white outline burst from the cross as a maddening screech followed - legs spread out and arms covered by the sleeves of a nun's habit followed. Clawed and wrapped with rosaries were they as they wove an Executor's sword within the right palm and a spade in the other. Next, the rest of the body materialized upon the cross with an Inquisitor's plating on the breasts standing over the clerical garments, a beaded rosary rested on the surface as the face of the creature was revealed. Patches of straight hair cascaded around it's neck, reaching down to the chin in flat bangs while a symmetrical, evenly cut fringe rested on it's forehead, nearly reaching the eyes. Those were seen underneath the headpiece of fire, being made of the same type of matter as the whole mannequin.

It had two empty sockets instead of eyes and wide stretched lips in a Glasgow smile where the edges clearly separated them from the healthy look they should have. It was a mockery, resembling more a wretch than the typical image of a nun. The large crucifix rested on the mannequin's back and twisted until it became an X while smaller ones manifested around it as levitating crosses around her head as if they were a halo.

 **[Incineration Anthem: Santo Dell'Ira Il Martire Sulla Croce!]**

The Venetian mask was removed to show the face of a young female of twenty years in age. Symmetrical thin eyebrows and a small nose, puffy cheeks with a rosy tint upon white skin were shown. She wasn't anything extraordinary, bordering between pretty and unattractive in the middle ground of average if her thin, luscious lips were to be ignored as her defining trait. Features marked by nothing more than the plagues of the mind was her visage, lost in the moment of admiration for the carnage her mindless comrades performed even if she was stunned herself by their sheer brutality and efficency. The eyes of murky and watery blue with a bluish-grayish scattering around the pupils blinked twice.

Flaxen blonde hair in a chin length hime cut with sharp bangs at the ears, a fringe similar to that of her mannequin stood on her head in pure mimicry. The girl even used a black hairband diadem with a small violet bow on the right side as an accessory to make herself look better or even cute in her demented judgement. It wasn't a bad look if only the disgusting smile forming on her lips wasn't there.

"KILL THEM ALL! To the last man and woman in this city! Not a single one is to be left alive!", her manner of speech was mostly composed of commingled English and Deutsch pronunciation in communicating through her accent, belonging to that of the cities in Western Germany.

Cold, unsympathetic, full of hatred and pride it was when the girl narrowed at the walls erected before her. "Ich brauche einem sport. Das ist so gut für mich! Ahh, ja!" she switched to her mother tongue as she relished in giving commands over others with no reservations or anything to stop her as some higher authority.

Walburga Dressler, former(escaped, as a matter of fact) asylum patient from Bremen and current matron of the Hexenacht Faction was here to lay some waste. Her mannequin was a reflection of herself, mirroring her looks and being symbiotically bound to her in acting as an avatar of her will. It also doubled as a Channeling tool for her spellcasting abilities and hexes, requiring no one else other than herself to bind a fragment of her psyche into the crucifix to animate it. And she was one mean, mental bitch with a severe case of paranoid schizophrenia and megalomania.

A wave caused the remaining Sacred Gear users to initiate their Balance Breakers on command. Compelled and silent they stopped any movement to tap into their powers to bring out the next level of a Sacred Gear.

Cloaks of darkness formed. Multi-limbed appendages spread out in holding weapons as claws sharpened and some became armored shells to bind the broken bodies into place. Wings of elemental magic fanned out with zeal. Metalic suits and weapons were brought out, animalistic forms took over the human bodies to call forth the beast within.

Animated snakes and metal skin clad some of them. Swords with different properties made limbs and users became centaurian in shape. Pinions of steel encased the back of one. Hammers and flaming swords with a luster glowed in demanding blood. Hounds and leonine based Gears took over thralls to give them a hunting pack and an lion avatar in the body of a small girl, making her sprout all of the features of a feline while maintaining her humanoid form.

 **[~** **Robert Slump - Abandon Earth** **~]**

"Now then.", Walburga addressed her mysterious peers in Venetian carnival masks with a gleeful, sardonic smile that seemed rather civil in comparison to her usual outburst of violence. "I'm sure my mother would be proud of me. I even had an epiphany earlier so... Let's make mother proud, my dear.", she turned to her mannequin Saint Ira as if it were her very own mother Augusta Dressler.

A memento of the deceased hedge witch left in the care of her daughter(she always thought that way even if it was never true), Walburga purred in a cringe inducing tonality that was like nails on a blackboard.

It was quite twisted given that she thought her mother was evil for having sent her off to a mental institution for nearly killing a few hedge witches over a teddy bear familiar back in the days. It was done as the painful last resort because she was harder to control and she wasn't so easily restrained. She didn't take her pills and lashed out at her mother at the slightest provocation she perceived as an insult to her greatness.

"You can slaughter them now. I need to go home at six." the flaxen haired blondie waved her arm in pointing at the walls. She was absolutely calm, maybe even bored by the way she responded with a mere civil smirk that was anything but pleasant and nice. It was quite stupid and strained as if her life had no meaning. "So make it quick. Chop,chop the golden slayer. Cunts and hoes are best deposed. Flame them up like roasted chicken. Tear them till those pervs are weeping. I don't care about no peeping.", Walburga sung a song she made up on the spot.

Then she yelled out, "Kill them all!"

The thralls resumed their attacks, trampling over the bodies of their slain comrades and dead Executors alike. Sprinting slower than before but as twice as frenzied than earlier, the wounded ones really slowed down as the damage was starting to affect them like it should have but they continued to run towards the walls.

Walburga herself walked cackling as her Saint Ira mimicked her actions, since it was her in a way so it was quite adept at imitating her master/self. Inverted pentagrams were made by both mannequin and hedge witch as a means of using long range magic.

The other masked beings started walking besides her as equals, silent and menacing. Around ten magicians and hedge witches aided their leader by appearing through the asphalt as the barrier had almost repaired the hole from whence the drones sprang forth, making it so only a mere ten could have passed and not the whole platoon of Walburga's Faction.

Those other beings were perhaps Devils but they would be weakened as they could not get near any holy establishment nor consecrated land. The same applied to any member of Celestial who tried to go down in Hell; risking the loss of their powers due to the lack of connection to Heaven and the daunting prospects of the darkness weakening them in a Devil infested domain. Only those who were specifically chosen to preside over the boundary between both realms were truly mighty in either spot. The same applied to any high ranking Angel.

"Ohhh, I'm so gonna get laid tonight. I'll have that ginger boy for dinner~" Walburga hummed as she was about to break down the defense.

XXX

13th September,Casa di Cura San Pio X hospital, Via Francesco Nava 31 street, Milan, Italy, 13:35 pm

"Why do i have to do this again?", Eleonora Florence-MonBlanc murmured in pure annoyance over the task she had to accomplish. The tall girl was waiting in the custom made, four seater Lamborgini Murcielago of her cousin who was currently working in the operation room. Even if she had agreed to help, the blonde woman was more than annoyed for the earlier mention of the stupid fucker she hated so much.

She was sitting on the front seat as Castor made sure to keep her away from taking the back seat. Because if she did, they would have had to listen to unpleasant banter between her and Vali who wasn't going to keep her mouth shut and it would escalate to some serious nuisance both men did not want to have any part in. She was kinda sour on the way to the hospital, frowning and chewing on some snacks to keep herself occupied as she didn't quite feel like talking with the silverish blonde girl being around.

Castor was sitting in the back, patiently waiting for his closest friend to finish his work and get ready for the day. It was today, the one they had anticipated to happen and took precautions. The African Major tapped on the seat before him in trying to ease his mind and remain aloof. He chose to answer her question with a mere reminder, "Because we need the big guns, Eli. Thus we brought you here. Please be patient and it's time to roll, soldier.", he retorted in his usual calm, softspoken voice with a confident tone. He moved his fingers around the two dog tags he always carried around his neck as it was a reminder of the many battlefields he had fought upon.

And the city of Rome was going to be the next one. Another battlefield to fight upon with the stakes raised higher than before.

Eleonora blinked and narrowed her gaze upon hearing that. It did spark her curiosity as to turn around and peer past her seat in a look demanding an explanation, curiosity and mere interest. "So we go and bust some fuckers, get out and call it a day. Sounds just like a job for me then. As i told you, I'm in. And do i get a suit or something?", her green eyes with greenish-gray scattering peered in a mellow gaze despite the sourness she usually presented on her face, becoming a bit more comfortable and the way she said that was her ego speaking. She was prideful and smug after all so she couldn't exclude those in anything she did.

Vali shrugged in looking through the window, watching for something to happen as time seemed to go slow for her. That child earlier made her remember the times when she used to be like that and it had her thinking about her late mother and those beautiful summer days she would take her out in the park back at her home in Sofia. Seeking something while gawking at the distant past, trying to stop herself from thinking about anything, Vali fiddled with the flower in her hair to fix it. Wearing the dress wasn't that bad even if she was not used to things like these, she felt girly for a moment and it wasn't that bad actually. It was like looking at a different person in the mirror for her.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get this over with.", disinterested she was when she said that out of habit. She didn't pay attention to the fiery girl in the front, they were quite similar so they would probably clash and the thought about what she saw earlier still haunted her. That thing... so that was the sort of monster the Brigade was trying to free by breaking the seals scattered around the world. Guilt took her by surprise for having aided that plan, it might have been a way to get closer to her grandfather and kill him for everything he caused her but she always felt conflicted about some of the things she had to do.

Eleanora huffed. She crossed her arms before her chest and looked at the mirror in seeing her distracted face casually peeking at her and then swiftly glance at the other side as to avoid her. Truly, the first impression both had of each other wasn't quite good and neither one of them did anything to change it. "I don't like you. I'm just doing this for my cousin and those children."

"I don't like you either so let's just leave it at that." the ocean blue eyed Vali retorted back with her eyes rolling. She couldn't bother to fight with this chick now nor did she felt like it was the right thing despite the need to slap her for her behavior. It was quite funny how she got annoyed by the aspects of her personality that she herself possessed - arrogance, smugness and a sense of pride that were a coping mechanism. "But it seems we'll have to pretend to get along. I need some fresh air, this colar is tight."

The Cambion tried to unbutton her sleeveless dress shirt but the buttons didn't seem to budge. The skirt felt odd and the corset below her bust made her uncomfortable so she opened the door and went out of the car for some fresh air.

Castor nodded and did the same, leaving the Calamity Queen alone for a moment.

He went around the car and opened up the trunk to unearth two big paper bags and a pack of candy bars. He tossed one of them to the White Dragon Empress in sending her a friendly smile to relax and make sure she felt right. He was a man of few words, speaking only when it mattered the most as someone was needed to say it.

"I saw you earlier with the kids. You seemed happy in a way, you know." he left the bags and took one of the candy bars as he leaned over the hood and took a bite from his dessert. "I guess it reminded you of many things. But don't forget that life continues on. Be it hard and heavy or something uneventful, we would always carry our regrets to the grave with us. So why not try to make the best out of the situation and turn that frown upside down?"

"It reminded me of my mother... I miss her dearly and i would do anything to even the score. I was all alone...", Vali looked down at her feet in reminisce, painfully eating her candy bar while her tone grew more sentimental once again before she looked up at the sky in a grim expression. "...i still don't see why you would spare someone like me. If it were me I'd have probably killed you instead of letting you live." she didn't deny anything.

"You're not as bad as you think. Sometimes we need to do everything in our power to survive. The world is bigger than you could ever imagine but that doesn't mean that you should give up and drown in hatred.", the African man relaxed further as he continued to speak. "I used to be angry at the world. I hated how much i couldn't change things but i let it go. I did what i had to do. But then everything changed. I met people with whom i could feel content and live together, so why don't you try it? You needed some help so why not take it?"

She thought again for a moment.

"Hmm, you might be right about me. I guess it doesn't hurt to try, right? I'm not the stupid girl i used to be. My eyes are open now and i know what i did was wrong so i want to be better. Do better, be a stronger person and prove them wrong. I'm not a monster.", Vali slid her hand inside her dress shirt and took out a silver sun rosette on a silver chain to take a good look at it.

A symbol of her heritage. It was a present from her mother Lyudmila for her seventh birthday as a memento to never forget who she was, where she came from and to never forget her identity as a human being.

She gazed upon the rosette her mother gave her, inscribed with various sigils and the Y with two lines in the middle, with hope. It was a symbol the Bulgars wore on their necks before the rise of Christianity back in the sixth century before Khan Asparukh founded the First Bulgarian Empire in 681. Back when the God of the Sky Tangra was venerated as a guardian of the many tribes that set foot on the Balkan Peninsula and fought with Byzantine many times.

"И точно затова ще започна първо със себе си(And that's why i will first begin with myself)", she now shot a determined glance at him, making an involuntary smile on the bright chart of niceness. She dispelled the negative thoughts she had about this. The smugness came back full swing as she arrogantly curled her lips into something she wanted to present with pride. Her bright smile with the feeling of snark and the glamour she had.

"Well said for a gold digger. I must praise you for your sincerity even if you're a terrorist scumbag." clapping was heard from the front where Eleanora stood amused. There was some lightness behind her tone, not being snarky nor overbearing but aligned to a far more whimsical nature. The thin blonde girl leaned on the front door and bore a lax smirk like what could be expected from her whole familia. She and Doctor MonBlanc were the more normal ones of the family which didn't speak any better about them since they were from the eccentric side of their club.

"We're not together, you damn woman. I'm his assistant or something.", dignified was the correct word to describe the pose Vali took at the moment as to stand up.

It wasn't so begrudgingly false as she used to think before but it didn't mean she had let it go about being kidnapped as some damsel in distress and getting embarrassed by the Doctor. It was like some hobby of his to cause mischief and spew awkward questions at her to make her feel puzzled. "And you're a mean bitch, too."

"A really sour, mean bitch with anger issues and a heart of gold. Emphasis on the mean bitch part.", Castor added his two cents to the conversation in pure honesty. He had a sense of humor after all.

This made the Italian girl cross her arms and switch to an awry grimace that seemed rather cute than anything menacing she could normally produce. Her pride would not allow her to show weakness before him, she did try to present her better side while she was around people she liked.

"Dammit, Cas. Not you too?! Am i really that bad?", she carefully tested the waters by appealing to the Major's goodness as to know how to get back at him in a sticky situation where she would return the favor. It was quite the frazzled look she had now upon having heard that. She did sour a bit. Just a little...

"No kidding, girl. You got nothing on me. Let's begin." he threw her one of the bags and the other one found it's way in Vali's hands. Those were specifically designed for them to use because what sort of idiot ran into a fight with no protective gear or a damn kimono?

He seriously questioned that Pendragon boy and his feline compatriot Kuroka about their choices in apparel.

"We need a good spot to change since i can't use magic." Vali muttered with a very narrowed look at the extremely tall man.

XXX

After some minutes the two girls and gentleman returned.

Eleanora had switched her jeans and jacket for something that was requested by her cousin and approved by her. Her tall and thin form was now clad in a full body catsuit with a big zipper on the neck. It was quite tight and shiny underneath the rays of the sun; it consisted of a black catsuit with various padded sections on the back, elbows and kneecaps as those were extremely vulnerable. It had a high colar with two metal studs on it as well as a bullet resistant Kevlar plating on the inside of the chest area to cover her breasts and she wore an reinforced, microfiber brassiere. Comfortable shoes and weighted biker gloves were included. It had some red accents on the biceps and a few lines on colar.

She still looked fragile and her thin legs didn't seem like they were racking in experience for running. She had good proportions and symmetry so the catsuit showed everything there was about it. Her light blonde hair was brushed past her shoulders and retained the pink bow. Her sharp eyes of a very light green with a grayish-green scattering were covered by a pair of black sniper shades.

The skinny, tall girl grimaced in a coy look with her right brow raised as if she was asking for confirmation about her appeal. She oozed confidence and appeal in everything she did, making it known by any means necessary. Eleanora stretched her arms a few times to get used to it and pulled on the catsuit to adjust it properly.

Vali Lucifer had a skintight suit with no accessories other than some zippers and a belt on her waistline. It had a high colar and some white lines here and there, running shoes and she kept the gloves from earlier since they were pretty comfortable. She unzipped the front a bit to make it easier to breathe, pulling down the zipper midway to reveal her cleavage as she always did when wearing a V-neck shirt. It wasn't so much as to flaunt herself but more on the habitual practice with a sense of pride in her looks. Yet, she smugly gleamed at the other girl in a mockery of a smile, conceited in showing her who was better as she slid her hands down to her perfect rear and closed her left eye in trying to make some dastardly cute expression.

Maybe in the end she did want to flaunt her breasts since they had good volume and hit the 88 number.

She left the long silverish blonde hair, which was past her mid-back, to flow freely since she ditched the big braid to return it to it's usual form. The yellow clip and the flower accessory were removed. Instead, the Cambion placed a leather jacket over her shoulders and a black cap to make it a little less conspicuous.

Not that anyone would recognize her except for a few individuals because she always used the Scale Mail for any meetings between the other sub-factions of the Brigade. Almost everyone thought that she was a man because Albion had exerted his influence over the system and always picked men to be his hosts while she was the first female host in history.

"Now all we have to do is wait.", Eli took that as a challenge and unzipped her catsuit as well. She wasn't going to take this provocation lightly, she had her own charm to compensate with. Because of her superior height and frame she looked less endowed despite having roughly the same size with an inch or more on top. If that bitch could show some sex appeal then she could too!

"Dear gracious, do i have to be the judge in this?", Castor spoke in a frustrated intonation. He towered over both of them, dressed in his tactical gear from the days when he was a Major in the African army and the nickname stuck since then.

Eleanora eyed him in a serious glare, putting up a questioning look behind it that literally meant "yes, you should." This was going to be a serious matter if he didn't make them get inside the car and cease any possible hostilities for the time being.

The Doctor returned to the parking lot behind the hospital, carrying a suitcase and wearing his hospital scrubs over his regular clothes as he strolled around rather nervous upon reaching the car. He took the driver's seat and handed the suitcase to his cousin next to him as he put the belt on.

"Stella will seriously kill me for this... Oh, well. That's her job anyways so let's hurry up. I don't know if we're gonna make it on time." he expressed worry in any possible bickering with the remote control unit he had brought from the world he was stranded before having found his way back home. He always took advantage of the situation in getting some free time despite being responsible but he had to juggle between work and other activities that demanded his attention.

He placed the key, turned it on and started the engine. "This is going to be one hell of a ride. Don't die, okay?", he made it awfully clear to run away when the heat starts packing. No matter the circumstances. Nothing else mattered since they were doing this by their own volition.

He left the parking lot as he drove away and headed towards the street with the intention of getting on the highway road to make it faster.

"Covering this up would be really hard. The government is onto something and then again", he mussed over with nothing serious behind it, "this is so gonna hurt on the taxpayers but it's not like any officials would give a fuck about it. It's all gonna be the taxpayers finances that would have to cover up the damage. Aside from the rest of the world growing suspicious every day, it's only a matter of time till they get enough proof and take actions against the paranormal. They're onto something."

"We can worry about that later. Minimizing collateral damage and casualties is the top priority at the moment.", the taller man grumbled. "And something has been bugging me since awhile."

"What is it, Cas? Is it about our secret plan to murder your ex-wife and get your son back?", subtlety was not one of the Italian girl's strongest suits. The calmness she displayed while saying that was a testament to how much she was holding back out of respect for the gentle giant. It was no secret that she despised that abusive woman and always made sure to scare her away every time she saw her.

The surgeon nodded in agreement with his cousin. He didn't feel guilty admitting that because they really cared for their companion as if he were family. And if anything happens to befall one of the familia meant you mess with the whole house.

"God, no! You still can't give that up, can you?", flabbergasted and sighing in exhalation was the reaction he displayed towards that mention. She had misread his intentions so he took the chance to gently correct her assumption and dissuade her from such thoughts. "Back then Kokabiel asked me if i was one of the new ones. It felt odd because Angels can't procreate so easily which leads me to suspect...", he paused to take a deep breath, "the enemy has made it possible to inflate their ranks and give birth to new celestial beings or rather found a way to convert them. Chesare, does your father know anything about this?", he directed his inquiry towards the mischievous surgeon at the front.

"Beats me. My father is just a local pastor back at the church. If anyone would know it's probably my cousin Dulio." he finished afterwards upon fixing his mirror. "Given how the Underworld has it's method of conversion it's perfectly fine to assume an alliance of sorts or the former case."

Dulio Gesualdo-MonBlanc was the son of his mother's brother, first cousin to the both of them. And he was as eccentric as they were, perhaps even more so. They were a really eccentric Italian familia after all. He had two sisters and a younger brother while Eleonora was the only single child among them.

"I know your feelings on the matter, Cas. I really do-

Castor stopped him from continuing with that. He wanted to say something himself before they would venture down the path. Something in him hardened and his gaze bore an intense feeling of pity, anger and acceptance. He wasn't a person to be ruled his emotions. "It does not matter. Every life matters, be it human or paranormal. Even if they had forgotten, I...have not. There is no difference, each and every life has the same value because we are equal."

"Except social justice warriors. They're fucking ignorant trash. Screw being politically correct and trying to fabricate and twist the truth just because someone isn't happy with reality." the green eyed girl with glasses muttered with disgust when it came to this topic. She was all about naming things with their real names and hated silliness like the terms 'war on terror' because it was utter crap.

"We should get some booze afterwards and throw a party or something. That is, if we make it out alive in one piece. The rest would be waiting for us there." Vali spoke.

"Tina, what time is it?", displaying his showmanship skills with a pure joyous clap of his hands, Doctor MonBlanc fixed his glasses with a finger and jested for her to reply. Somehow it felt lighthearted despite what was incoming, she knew what they could do and how they talked casually like nothing was wrong puzzled her deep down in her core. "And your real name is so much better than that alias you use. I like the way it sounds. So... what time is it, Valentina?"

"Showtime. Fire it up. But we'd be late.", Vali reacted rather emotionally to her real name because only Azazel and her late mother called her that way. It was something special to her.

"Oh, you're damn wrong, girl. We'd be just on time~", Eleonora waved her hand up and the car started to levitate slowly in the air. She was going to use her Gift of Telekinesis for this task, she seriously didn't give a damn about being seen since anyone who did would forget about them.

The rest knew that face very well and what it encompassed; shit was about to get real.

"And Chesare... shave that stupid beard already! Or I'll do it myself!" she raised her voice and slapped his thigh, forcing him to hit the pedal to the metal.

The car literally flew up as it gained momentum, cloaked in a barrier that made it undetectable to the radars and unseen to the naked eye.

"Goddammit! You're fuckin' crazy?!", were the words Vali Lucifer shared as she sunk back in her seat.

XXX

 **[~** **Revolt Production Music - Splendor(Extended Version)** **~]**

The hurricanes produced by the wings of Raphael shot down like bullets to meet with the face of a seventy five meter Bandersnatch spawn as weapons and magic supported the incoming attack with zeal. On the other side, Rahab commanded the rays of the sun to gather upon his right hand as to craft a series of pikes made out of sunlight while others called for their arcane powers to shape various sigils.

The unnatural wind dealt damage to the black creature; enough to immobilize it for Jegudiel to command the clouds in gathering together. Pure lightning struck it right in the neck, dealing heavy burns that the Ophanim exploited in dealing additional damage by sending torrents of water and slashes of pressurized air into the wounds. More and more projectiles followed by the second, not sparing a single moment to deliver pain upon it. The hurricanes ruptured the Bandersnatch spawn into pieces that spread all over the place, dealing more collateral damage to the city.

It was down. It didn't rise up.

The pikes rained upon the filthy spawns, impaling them in various areas while the hurricanes ripped apart the torso of another Bandersnatch before it could swung it's massive arms in retaliation. The sunlight pikes darted over the thick skin in spreading like a fire as they connected with each other in a net to constrict the movement of the spawns even if for a moment.

That's what they needed - Raziel's arcane magic was thrown down upon a specific one while on the ground there were fists of earth mass that made their way up the creature in digging into it's limbs and begun to pull down despite the creature's struggle to free itself from the forms that trapped it. Volleys of arrows followed as they were backed up by arrows of dust and earth. Chains and multiple pentacles crashed against the creature in subduing it for Selaphiel to call forth his heavenly armament in the form of a sun wheel that spat out ice and light in the shape of crescents that struck the beast.

The Erelim banded together in conjuring a combined blast of light and elements, joining the fray in blasting a hole through the thick skull of the said monster as the other consecutive attacks landed till the only thing left of it was the massive legs that supported the Bandersnatch. The magnitude of the blasts was tremendous, shaking and rattling the ground like an earthquake when the legs fell down in crushing several living facilities.

Two of the second line of Bandersnatch were down.

"Defend the barriers! We must not let them get past the line!", Barachiel flew straight for the barrier that the main Jabberwocky and Bandersnatch were gunning to bring down. On his right stood Sauriel while the older Zechariah zipped past him alongside Uriel to defend the remaining two barriers and to aid the ones made by their brethren.

Dreadnoughts were thrown towards them but they were blown away by Gadreel's darkness infused spades as the Cadre joined them by acting as the rearguard in bringing down as many of these pests he could. It only made them fly faster to reach out to their brethren who stood unrelenting in defending their post. A part of the Principalities raised walls from the debris over the barriers, making use of the gathered mass to conjure long spikes from them to push away the main Annihilation Maker monsters. Upon those bridges were Powers who threw their armaments simultaneously.

One Principality used the air to gather enough hydrogen and flung it into the open mouth of a Bandersnatch as the weapons of varying nature and the elemental spells merged to force it back. The hydrogen blew up inside it's jaw, making it stumble back with the lower line of teeth missing but it stood tall.

The thirteen main ones were tougher and nearly unstoppable. All of their efforts were nothing but trying to tire them out and pile wounds over wounds in a war of attrition in hopes they would cease their movement and be incapacitated.

Three Bandersnatch flung fists against the constructs, bringing unnatural pressure that ripped apart the walls and killed a good amount of Angelic warriors in the aftermath. Some survived the initial strike so they banded together in weaving a secondary barrier over the already existing hexagonal one, layering defense upon defense as Zechariah commanded them.

Uriel stood in the center, Zechariah was on his right while Sauriel took the left side. Barachiel was behind the Flame of God. They chanted together with Uriel, who raised Deus Solaris above his head, a high ranking spell as the interlocking pentacles of both Seraph and high ranking Angels piled over each other in spreading out and Latin scripture started to etch itself on the surface. It grew bigger and bigger, gaining power and momentum until it became a huge shield of Divine Flames, Light, Water and Air that went over the rest.

It was the Angel Halo of Protection. An eight tier spell that they opted to use. It would offer them enough to gather strength in executing their plan due to the nature of those flames keeping the thirteen harbingers of doom at bay.

"Sister! It's time to show them how too much of anything can become a poison." Sauriel ushered a war cry towards someone specific that lowered herself behind them and flipped the bird to the 200 meter Jabberwocky. She was known to go overboard with anything she did. "Penemue. Now!" he screamed in pure righteous fury, giving her the command to do what she was infamous for.

Penemue focused her mana into several twenty meter long spears of electric green that sizzled with poisonous light. Her Poison Affinity was sublimated through her spears in coating them with a specific light she had used during the Second Faction War. A light poisoning that had killed many, many Devils upon contact that left them to rot, unable to shake off the extreme pain they delivered after removal. The secondary function they had was none other than a regeneration canceling factor that perfectly worked on normal Regenerators and dealt lots of suffering on a True Regenerator.

Penemue smiled in a disgusting grin that was anything but civil - her lips curled upwards since she couldn't hold back at all and with a flutter of her wings did the abnormally long spears levitated past the Angel Halo barrier. Instead of coming out like usual they were amplified into huge polearm structures that glowed electric green with the Divine Flames of Uriel swirling around them.

Penemue sneered as she brought down her hand, cracked her fingers and ushered her polearms forward. "Die, you big fuck! Die!", the projectiles flew straight ahead for the Jabberwocky where they rammed against the cheeks of the beast, there where the armor was thinner.

The special spears connected with it, spreading out like a curse upon it in delivering poisonous light like the x-rays to hamper it's healing factor and give it a good amount of pain. The flames of Uriel danced over the spots they landed on, burning the outer layers of protection while the poison was taking it's time to slow down and possibly cancel the regeneration it had in it's arsenal. The Jabberwocky roared in outrage as it stopped for a moment to regain composure as the properties of the spears were eating away at it's flesh but it was anything far from over.  
In response to that, the Jabberwocky opened the two jaws upon it's chest to stretch out. Dark miasma was spat out against the barriers like a garden hose watering plants in the garden. The barriers and shield withstood the taint belched at them, sliding down like raindrops on the surface where it would reach the ground in massive drops.

This wasn't good at all.

From the mass arose warriors. Black lanky figures with sharp sinewy hands and strong legs emerged. Clad in some armor of sorts and bearing filthy wings, these creatures were roughly human sized in comparison to a Dreadnought. They fully formed into something ugly and sick, twisted forms that were only wrong. The creatures took flight, rushing upwards by the beat of tainted wings. Their eyes were purely white, faded and murky pits that held no actual life within them.

Those who could see them felt like their hearts broke into pieces, revolted and fearfully they brought their arms in defense as those things were a hellish phantasm of abominations.

"...no...no...how could...you ...", Sauriel was stunned and shivering by the sight of this. No words did he have in stock to vocalize what he felt. The uncanny valley effect was in place, the sheer revulsion and frightening prospect of this act shook his psyche.

They were clad in celestial armor on their bodies. Garbed in the sashes some wore. Metal clung onto them as before. The wings that dimmed out in holding no more light nor any feathers upon their bones flapped.

Angels.

Dead Angels who were raised to act as the brood of the hellish creature. Tainted, pale features looked at them with no sentience behind them to say they were once something intelligent. Dolls, dead dolls held together by the tainted matter of the World Destroyer. Their brethren were denied a warrior's death, stripped of the safe passing and dignity they had to become something disgusting... No more were they people. They were a brood of an even uglier kind.

The twelve Bandersnatch dispersed, putting distance between each other as every step razed buildings, cars, homes, pavement and anything in their way. Their steps squashed the defenders on the ground into a bloody mess. The bombardment on them did not stop but it would not be enough to completely anihilate them. The Bandersnatch monsters bore ruinous wounds and various marks from the combined efforts of the reinforcements. It didn't stop them from turning tail and moving away from the flames that kept them at bay. Their steps were terraforming the region, causing waves after waves that killed left and right indiscriminately.

The dead Angelic warriors rushed to reach the barrier in a mindless charge, bearing no memory of the thousands of years in experience. There was no gracefulness left in their movement, those were only animalistic cravings encased in a humanoid form.

Menacing. Ugly. Cruel. Lost.

"...Forgive me...my brothers...my sisters...", Uriel did not avert his amber eyes from his fallen brethren for a moment. The fury was gone. It was replaced by morose contemplation, a sense of loss was his visage. To see his very own family being reduced to this state struck his core like the thrust of a blade deep into his chest, where fire burning was only lit up more. "...Forgive me...", he shed a single tear before he brought up Deus Solaris and ignited the Flaming Sword that was the bearer of the original Miracle of Separation that Durandal shared with.

Uriel braced himself as he swung Deus Solaris downwards - the white flames with a red tint sprang into action in the shape of leonine constructs that pounced straight forward to put the dead Angels out of their misery. Divine flames met the fallen protectors head on, bashing fiery claws and bearing mighty jaws in clashing versus their former allies. Penemue charged her spears in a barrage while Zechariah created orbs of compressed air to strike down his enemies.

Barachiel swiped his wings left and right, calling forth chains of light with an orange glow to their making as he brought out Deus Temperamentia in the form of a crossbow of celestial design, swirled and loaded with arrows of light as he sent out projectiles that ionized the air upon traveling while his chains lunged out to greet former kin.

Sauriel and Gadreel who had catched up to them combined their water and darkness tainted armaments to send out shadowy snakes over the water serpents that shot down like thunder.

Principalities and Powers gathered together to send blasts after blasts to put an end to their advance. Flames boiled their flesh, air dismembered the bodies as light burned through the shadowy forms. Serpentine forms snapped jaws at the creatures, drowning them inside for snakes of darkness to clamp on them and devour anything in their way, gaining more mass for Gadreel to command.

The strength applied was tremendous in putting them down. They were not that tough to anihilate but their sheer tenacity was the problem. Yet, that was remedied by the use of more force to break them.

They burned as they fell, scorched and damaged beyond any means of prolonging this charge. The dead warriors dropped like flies before the strength of the defenders for these creatures could not use their experience nor their higher abilities. They were mooks, nothing but pale imitations to the way they were when alive.

The taint was gathered around Gadreel, drawing more and more from the dead to cleanse their forms as to offer a final respect to these brave people. He might have fell but he never forgot that they were one and the same, brothers and sisters they had been even in his Fall.

The gathered miasma expanded like a blanket in offering a partial defense over the already made layers, further bolstering the fortitude of their stronghold.

"Wait...That's it! It's the sun! It's the motherfuckin' sun they need!" he swore in realization after having noticed how the Bandersnatch miasma relied on light to expand. Without a good source of light, no shadows would form and they would not be able to multiply. He pointed at the sun but saw clouds gathering.

"It seems someone already had that idea, Gadreel.", Zechariah spoke in his aged tone to the Cadre, a little bit snarky like the old man he was. "Count on Raphael to show his ingenuity at the time we need."

It was a thunderstorm forming.

"This is not the time to be talking amongst ourselves. The beast still lives...", solemn in his gaze, Uriel brandished his sword against his armor before he took a stance with his six blazing wings compressing to aid him.

The weather was changing. More clouds gathered in the skies as it darkened like the twilight, the winds were blowing viciously with cold air as well as mist forming all over the city below. The sound of thunder echoed through all corners, crackling and thundering booms broke into the fight. Everything was getting darker and darker. The light was dying out, only to obscure the sun as to shut out any possible source of light that big as Raphael had figured it out.

It made sense now, how to stop them from multiplying further.

"Good job, Dulio.", Barachiel spoke in a tense, cautious tonality as he saw what was about to happen. He knew it was the Italian priest who had called for the weather to assist them. "Shields! Hold the line! Hold the line!" he was practically screaming at this point.

Principalities started weaving shields to withstand the heavy pressure. Powers used their elements to reinforce the bindings to buy enough time for other Angels nearby to be able to cast their spells in the brink of time.

However, it wasn't much as the main Bandersnatch returned with their slow steps, the Jabberwocky leading them for another bout. It had casted aside some of it's armored parts like the spiked shoulders and knee horns to gain mobility, having regenerated enough to make it hell for them so it roared.

The vicious growling it made shook the secondary barriers through sheer force of sound, crumbling away the surface of one of the hexagonal barriers as it opened the jaw on it's face to fire a mana blast that would disrupt the Angel Halo of Protection. The Jabberwocky took different spots and they started thrashing the various layers in sync, bringing fists and tails in deadly swipes.

The titanic Jabberwocky fired at will.

The incoming blast smashed into the Angel Halo, putting up enough force to pass through the darkness veil and crushed secondary hexagonal barrier before it exploded onto the main barrier Uriel had casted. The blast was heavy ladden with force, it sent shockwaves through the city in droves, further razing more buildings to the ground.

The Coliseum would have been destroyed if it wasn't on the opposite side of the creatures. The path it carved was spanning in kilometers. The Angel Halo sizzled out due to the strain but it contained the majority of the blast, absorbing the damage it accumulated and redirected it as a kinetic force strike through the use of a water hand that was thirty meters wide - it punched the Jabberwocky in the knee, sending back the stored force it applied to the barrier.

And for the twelve Bandersnatch who smacked at the layer... The Flame of God made sure their wounds would burn till he would die. That's what you get for ramming your fists into the flames of Deus Solaris - they would burn until the taint would be purified completely.

That broke the plating on the leg, snapping bones even with that incredulous durability; it made the leading spawn tremble and halt. It was pushed back only a good 300m which wasn't much in the span of events. But it dealt enough damage to slow down the already slow behemoth.

Only that the Bandersnatch gave their best in returning the favor by tearing holes in the other regions of the hexagon shield. Of course, they suffered greatly in damaging their fists and mace tails so much that it would cause them to cease activity before they would venture deeper. The death toll was further raised, blood splattered upon their fists. The Angel Halo preserved the actual barriers but it faded away from existence as soon as the leftover energies were scattered. Many Fallen Angels died falling from the skies in irony - once they fell and now their fall would be of a deadly nature.

"Enough is enough..."

A Dominion that was behind the leaders murmured through bloody lips while clutching his chest. He spat blood and most of his wings were damaged; he was standing there by some miracle as his flight appendages were starting to mend themselves. He was a three meter tall man with dark hair and black eyes that dripped tears down his cheeks. Horror was written on his face, how would they fight back if they had to defend the city? For that reason did Uriel and Raphael withold six of their wings as it would destroy the whole area.

 _"No more will you take from us! It is our turn, now."_

He was cast in immaculate light, warm and gentle, acting as a beacon to signal it was the time to utilize what every Dominion had within them. Dominions and Powers were drawn towards this specific one, whoever could reach his location was blessed since the surviving forces retreated behind the barriers and raced against time to reach him.

 **[John 15:13 -Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends.]** , he was quoting the Gospel of John to rally the incoming allies into one specific formation. It was used as a chant to bolster morale for this one last time. It was the battle to prove that they would not stand idle when the destruction of the world was at a happenstance.

Chains of light burst through the Dominion, glowing and resplendid illumination bathed him as his whole body glowed in a divine aura, drawing near the Angels who were racing against time to reach him.

The echoes of a hymn spread out in one unified roar for justice. An Aria beckoning all celestial beings to join hands and stand together once more. Wings resonated with each other as the light further spread in connecting like an array network between Powers and Dominions. Chains wrapped around them in bringing them close to each other as their collective shine grew in magnitude to call forth one of the abilities of a Dominion. Before His passing they would have had enough strength to do this on their own but now they had no such option.

Around the Dominion were Angels who stuck closer to him and in multiple other places the same was happening. Uriel looked back in despair, knowing what this would bring out and the sacrifice they would have made for their brothers and sisters.

 **[John 3:16 - This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters**. **]**

The light merged into one unified essence. The veil of darkness was torn apart by their aura, their courage and their selfless sacrifice. In those various spots where Powers aided Dominions stood figures of an ancient nature. Archaic forms only known to the age of old formed in an instant as the light ceased to radiate and died out for a second.

"...No...Don't do this! Stop! Don't!", Barachiel broke down in weeping, his scruffy features could not hold at bay the despair creeping upon them. That course of action was the last resort they had, an Angel's vow of undying loyalty to their loved ones. He could not stop it, he had to accept it for as it was.

He bitterly bit his lips and placed his fist upon his chest as to pay his final respect to these brave men and women who had reminded him of what they stood for. Their valor sparked a flame within his chest, igniting a feeling he had long ago forgotten. The sense of duty called for them to band together in this final bid to hold their ground against these monsters.

A corona of light erupted like waves in coating the Angels with pure seither or also known as godsair, a higher form of mana and life force that only beings of divine nature could harness due to it's properties. The wounds on many were healing, patching them up and empowering them by sharing godsair with each other.

From that spot emerged a humanoid of pure white - armored by metalic skin that held the force of hundreds of Angels in one vessel. This being stood at forty five meters of height, clad in ivory and gold accentuated armor that had no chinks to expose flesh. Gold lines spread across the orb of light in it's chest as it's arms tightly clenched to form a guard. Upon it's back were ten gigantic wings with glowing feathers of steel and various masks rested upon the joints in different colors. Golden grieves and pauldrons shone in the darkness, segmented fists clutched together in crafting pentacles were seen. A face of unmoving metal guarded it's visage where pure white eyes blazed with fearsome glory and it hovered before the barrier.

 **[Adonai Tzabaoth: El Re'em]**

The Dominion's ability to change size was unveiled in a different way. They were not alone, they were one. There was no going back from this, unlike before time this could not be reversed so easily and neither would they waste time in doing so.

Other beings like this formed at different spots. Heaven might have been weakened but it's residents had taken it upon themselves to gain power to compensate for their state. Not all of the Powers and Dominions had merged into these forms as they were needed to carry on the word of their tale. Because dead men told no tales.

Penemue solemnly brought down her hand in a singular gesture, expressing her sadness upon her face as her outrageously long blonde hair was ruffled by the air. Even if she had fallen from grace she still had it in her to sympathize, to mourn the losses of her family, irregardless of belonging. Her black wings glowed for a moment, twitching and convulsing as if she was trying to get something across.

Her only command was to yell out in a booming voice, "Charge! Take vengeance for your loved ones! It's now or never!", she raised her hand and multiple light constructs were knitted out of thin air.

War cries followed her in response.

The altered Dominions of forty five meters sprang into action! The metalic feathers spawned swords to rain against the shells of the Bandersnatch spawns who were still suffering from the burning flames of Uriel. Multiple Dominion forms flew towards the creatures, their greater size assisted them and their higher mobility would aid them further.

They flew around the spawns and hastily brought fists against them. One of them struck a Bandersnatch in the chest, pounding and trashing it with the punch of metalic limbs over and over with pure strength as it used two sets of it's flight appendages to punch further. The Bandersnatch was sustaining hits but it would not croak under the pressure even as it's arms were burning. It's superior mass and height gave it resilience to withstand the strikes. Bolts of varying nature and heavenly armaments bombarded it's side as the Dominion fought on primal aggression in breaking a part of it's armored sections while another one broke a goat horn from it's head and stabbed it's left eye. The spawn roared out in pain and rage, waving it's titanic hands in a frenzy in trying to swat away the damn pests.

It was being distracted as much as possible, sustaining damage and taking outworldly hits that should have crippled it. The Bandersnatch spawn swerved around with it's mace tail swinging in a violent trajectory, about to smash in the barrier before a shield would stop it in it's tracks. A Dominion held on, using magic and it's body to save the Erelim at that post on the west side.

The surface started cracking as the shield collapsed into bits with the Angelic soldier being pushed away against it's peers with tremendous effort. The combined Angel slammed against the barrier, sustaining more damage as the vessel was about to leak out the contents.

It regained flight as it's metalic wings materialized stepping seals to propel it forward under the defense of friendly fire paving the way for it to renew the attack. Gaining momentum further, it accelerated further to move away from the barrier and it's peers because it knew that time was running out. The Bandersnatch beast it targeted reached out for the layer sluggishly due to it's size but the merger between angelic beings zipped straight ahead like a projectile, leaking out seither as if a broken dam, intensifying it's light as it glowed white hot and met with the chest of the beast.

Only a blinding flash was seen, the monster tried to pry it off but the construct held on and dug all ten wings into the massive body while it continued to raise the intensity of light it had...

Light came afterwards. The sound wave followed, blowing away the nearest Principalities who tried to bring up barriers to defend their peers.

That Dominion blew up. The last of it's shine was gone, the lives that made up it's form were extinguished and converted into pure heat and kinetic force was generated. The damage was critical - that specific Bandersnatch halted as the result was evident. Scorched marks and a big hole in the chest oozed tainted miasma from it but despite the roughed up appearance it still had some strength in it for a last resort attack.

Their best efforts were being thwarted, their sacrifice was pointless no matter how much they fought back and tried to deal damage. Other Angel mergers were being trashed around and fought to a standstill, their numbers lowering at the hands of the thirteen harbingers of death. A few were torn apart with great difficulty, more exploded in trying to take down the twelve with them only to damage them enough but not outright destroy these creatures.

The Jabberwocky opened the snapping jaws on it's chest, used the colar of horns around the neck to encase it's face into a protective layer and used it's third red eye to take aim as it slowly took position to focus despite the constant bombardment it endured. It was going for a different mana blast this time, one mixed with miasma and the armored shell of horns and swords on it's back spread out to blow away the smoke and mist around it.

If that second blast met the makeshift layers over the two big barriers it would be game over. Heaven was going to lose.

Right off the bat Uriel brandished his sword and swiped down a large gash across the air; the Flaming Sword was able to cut through the fabric of reality as it was one of the ways to reach the gates of Celestial by tearing a hole in space. The cut was spreading but it wouldn't have made it in time to deflect the blast. Angels started weaving shields upon shields to survive, stacking debris over and over to be able to prolong their defense a few more minutes. It was hopeless, it felt for naught but it was too late to stop. There was no choice but to withstand or lest Rome would be annihilated completely, possibly the whole of Italy would follow next if they didn't try.

Angels retreated while casting barriers. Anything that could save them was used.

Zechariah, Barachiel, Sauriel and Uriel combined forces to make another wall simultaneously even if it were nothing but an obstruction. Penemue commanded the Fallen to flock close to each other while Gadreel took a hold over the darkness in conjuring more veils by exhausting what strength he had left in him.

They were tired, demoralized and drained even with the strengthening their brethren offered them.

The remaining Dominion mergers used their seither by slashing their bodies to cause it to leak, manipulating their contents into crafting force field domes before the rest like a protective wall before the cut in space could block the blast.

The remainder who were battling the second line of 75 meter spawns could not reach them in time. Raphael blew a hurricane straight for the back of the Jabberwocky to try punching a hole in it, however, the shell darted swords of horn growths in a jetstream.

Thus breaking the formation behind it and killing a portion of the forces.

The Jabberwocky was done charging the mouths on it's chest, waiting for the command to bring down these pinpricks that stood against it's way to victory. Atleast the Bandersnatch halted to await the moment for continuation. Some of them were ready to fall any second as the wounds had pilled up, thus rendering them at a lower capacity as combatants so those were to be used as battering rams.

The blasts were charged already, the final trigger was about to be unleashed...

This was probably where it would end. Even if compressed air walls were raised it wouldn't amount to anything due to the anti-magic properties of the World Destroyer. Physical barriers would be easily trampled under it's feet, it could amass an army by spitting out miasma. It could adapt to the circumstances and that insane durability only made it harder. Only blunt physical damage had shown itself to be effective so far.

Penemue screamed as the Jabberwocky was about to release it's charged blasts to finish them off.

"We're not gonna make it in time!"

Despair was the only answer before them. Complete annihilation was the only prospect left.

The Jabberwocky fired it's twin mana blasts.

This was the end.

The twin blasts traveled straight for the target... Only to be met by a wall of shields that were outside of reality's scope, rendering the attack unable to damage the defense for a mere ten seconds while the twin arcs of mana were balanced and lowered to a point that made the regular protections hold out.

 _Balance_ _d._

Space-time shifted so they would become inconsistent, uneven and ultimately useless projectiles with no punch behind them.

 **[Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide! Divide!]**

The light died out. The tear in reality traveled and expanded in crushing two Bandersnatch into oblivion, cleanly cutting through them and leaving only the lower body intact.

Someone protected them with all they had. It didn't matter what had happened but what was before them.

Uriel stood there in shock, not having registered what had happened so fast in these few seconds since the light died out. Nothing but the question how the Angels in his vicinity were alive boggled his mind if he even had the time to think about it. He uncovered his body by flapping his wings away, retracing Deus Solaris closer to his body as he eyed what stood before them.

Everything was so damn fast it was hard to keep track of what was happening at all. Too many feelings raced past his head to get a hang of it.

Angels focused their gazes upon the figure standing before their leader. Some of them had yet to even catch a breath since the adrenaline hadn't gone down at all.

"W-who...are you? What a-are you!?" a Principality spoke fearfully.

The figure turned it's head around only a little as to show a dark eye looking back at their commander in nothing more than a mere glance with nothing behind it. No warmth was present in the words it shared. "Just the son of a father. You always forget the faithful men who serve your kind. But i haven't...", it turned around to face the beasts with a conflicted smile.

That deep baritone and the wording was not coincidental at all. It was a reminder. "Not for a single day did i forget that evening... Nor did i forget my father like you did..."

Gadreel gleamed in recognizing a pair of white angelic wings jutting from it's back. It was a man reaching the height of 1,95 meters, towering over a good portion of them, dressed in tactical gear bearing the African army logo emblazoned on the shoulder in white letters. This was impossible. This was not real, it couldn't be real at all...

Barachiel broke the silence. "...Marcus Zeble...the fourth Heavenly Summoner. How is this real?!", it was pure outrage speaking within his voice. It was unbelievable, it was impossible to think he was alive.

"...No, it's not that.", Sauriel added. "This is not Paladin Zeble... Dear Lord... it couldn't be true... "

No response followed.

Something else entirely happened.

The white wings on his back unraveled as durable, long bones with separate joints and elongated radial bones stretched from the stumps where the feathered wings once stood. Leathery skin formed upon the bony structures as they grew further to a massive wing span reaching 18 meters, black scales manifested over the flight appendages as his body began to morph into something far scarier than a mere angelic messenger. His body frame was expanding exponentially, muscles grew in size by ripping the sleeves of his tactical gear uniform and horn growths spread over his spine as a muscular tail covered in black scales formed instantly to offer balance.

The hands became strong claws capable of shredding through reinforced doors and delivering deadly swipes at whatever was in their way. The legs gained clawed toes and expanded with more scales forming over them where the boots were before. Layers of merged flat scales formed on the kneecaps in ending with two spiky protrusions that were the same as the ones on the thorax around the collarbone, the chest bulged in size with semi-conjoined keeled scales to defend his body.

As for his shoulders, they had pinions perched upon them while the same scales spread underneath his eyes and the sides of his face, his lenghtened neck and lower jaw.

Two sets of demonic horns grew from his forehead like a crest upon his bald head. The facial structures barely changed except for the white lengthened fangs sticking out of his jaws.

And those pure white eyes with no iris or pupils formed as the Harvest had used the remains of the dead Cannibal King Dragon to give him a temporary use of it's powers, making him grow up to ten meters. Half the size of the creature it had devoured. The nightmarish monstrosity that brought carnage and death wherever it's Toxic Breath reached.

The infamous tenacity and deadly strength of the King Bahamut were brought out to be put up to good use for this one moment it had been intended.

Castor nodded back before he unleashed one deafening growl that bore the bloody mad screams of the cannibalistic dragon that had razed the city of Munakata.

It resounded across the air, wretched in it's twisted ugliness that screamed for justice and bloody vengeance as the animalistic, mindless instinticts of a dragon hunter that devoured it's very own kind announced it's presence to the world for all to look upon it and for all to hear the battle cry in his heart. His calling, his very own cry for help.

His very own story that day twenty years ago...

It was signaling the arrival of a protector. A soldier on the battlefield like many others. A brother in arms in desperate times of need. A father like many others. A mere human standing against the face of death with a deadly wrath upon his eyes.

A mere human.

"This is my fight as much as it is yours. My father died protecting us all while you never answered his call." his soft spoken, baritone voice was altered to a menacing chortle of an abominable beast.

Zechariah tried to impart a few words only to be met with an quick grunt that hid no animosity whatsoever.

"Save your breath, it ain't gonna cut it."

Something in his tone felt dreadful and animalistic, barely restrained behind the seemingly humanoid form that shielded Uriel. "I'm so gonna fuck you up like it's Christmas till you get the jimmies rustled, boy! Stand up and fight, you damn pansies! This fucker ain't gonna kick the bucket itself." he finally swore with nothing left of his gentle disposition as he pointed at the spawns preparing for the next battle.

"...I-I'm sorry...", the Archangel tried to apologize to the African Major instead.

He only looked him dead in the eye as a response to shut the fuck up. It did not matter anymore, the past was the past but the future had to be secured by saving the present. This was the killing machine unleashed.

"Let's take down this big bafoon. You're just a big baby! Why don't you go cry to your mama!" and of course, Penemue swore at the Jabberwocky since it's attack did not reach them. Her pleasant mezzo-soprano voice was expressed in some typical crisp accent. She was a woman of many things, indeed. Swearing bloody murder was one of them. And flipping the mightiest of birds was another one.

"Good. Very good." Castor mumbled to himself as he opened his jaws to begin charging the corrosive, acidic Toxic Breath of the King Bahamut and the beat of his wings kept him steady in preparing to shoot.

He was not alone in this fight. Even among the people he could never forgive he was not a lone soul. Help had arrived in a timely fashion when it certainly meant that the reaper was hiding at the corner.

Thousands of sparks appeared all around the barriers. Luminous and small as a baseball they were but their light cut through the smoke, mist and darkness. They started taking shapes, humanoid shapes of different size and frames that manifested into the world one last time to seek vengeance for their passing. They were dead, they were killed in a conflict that was never meant to include them. Their rage and hatred were the driving point in seeking a moment where they would fight back.

The souls of everyone who died in Munakata escaped the arm that held the Harvest in it. They were released to pass on but not before they would give a good fight as their final earthly deed. All of them had been drawn to that arm to be sealed and used as fuel that had made those shields that defended the barrier by cutting it off from reality for ten seconds.

The dead wanted to have their revenge. By any means necessary.

They were with him as he was with them.

He was not alone.

He was never alone to begin with.

XXX

13th September, Realms of Asgard, The Cave, 14:00 pm

Asgard. One of the nine realms of the Aesir, where the Vanir and the Aesir lived together in awaiting the arrival of Ragnarok. The home of the venerable Wotan himself was quite peaceful as the gods of the Norse world were partaking into their usual activities every day without having to be disturbed by the machinations and events of the mortal plane. It was a place that still prospered despite the setbacks caused by the christianization of Europe, the gods not falling into obscurity due to their veneration, popularity and various portrayals in the world of art and entertainment.

People still remembered them, read about them and enjoyed watching the adaptations about their various tales with the Allfather Odin himself having taken the time to see how Sir Anthony Hopkins had portrayed him in the Marvel movie series adaptation of Thor.

Some did not like their portrayals, some had a few gripes but otherwise were totally fine with it. It was remembrance after all, people still knew of their tales and that has not changed even when they had ceased to partake in the world they called Midgard for such a long time that most had even forgotten how it looked like.

And today it was another day for the ageless gods of the Aesir to lead the life they had while preparing for the beginning of Ragnarok.

Aside from one woman who had been faithfully waiting for the promised day. In a cave where the one of the enemies was being held captive, bound and subjected to the humiliation for his betrayal and multiple transgressions.

Once, as written in the Prose Edda of old, there was a son of a frost giant who rose to prominence as a god of the Aesir, just like how the son and daughter of the Vanir, Freyja and Freyr had been drafted to the Aesir after the Vanir-Aesir conflict, a war of the old times long forgotten in the passages of time.

Inside the dark cave stood a man, bound to a monolithic rock by the entrails of one of his very own sons, who had been forced to be killed by his brother and his guts were spread around the cave in being morphed into gigantic, iron chains of the strongest binding to prevent his escape. It was a dark place in the outskirts of Asgard where there was nothing but barren wasteland and frozen tundra with no vegetation growing.

The wind blew cold air and snow, blizzards were the norm around the cave as to prevent anything from getting near this forsaken prison of a conspiring traitor. The entrance was shrouded in snow and ice, blocking the view in the distance where time did not matter for the imprisoned being but only to bid his time in planning his rise against the woman who had bound him in the first place.

Shrieks and pained grunts echoed through the vast cavern of the cave, the rattling of the iron chains ominously reminded of the fate of the traitorous jötunn of ice as his pains were growing stronger and his hate did not quell for a single day.

A woman stood there, holding a bowl within her palms to tend to the accursed jötunn every single day for centuries. Having taken up the oath to ease his pain, the woman would come every day and night and to place the bowl before his visage as to collect the dripping poison from the snake above his head, giving him a mere release from the pain the serpent inflicted upon him.

And even now she was here to fill the bowl.

She was a fair beauty of short stature, bearing golden locks of straight hair up to her chest in a simple hairstyle with her fringe being parted to the left while her longer bangs were brushed behind her ears. The rest was left to flow freely, unrestrained by any accessories to hold it in place. Her body was lithe and her build sinewy with lean curves, having not lost her beauty even in her current state despite the cold blizzards that blew onto her fair skin. Her features were divine, bearing not a single blemish or a defect in her visage but a more humble disposition in the way she looked. Soft features and smooth skin, godly greenish eyes with the shade of a clover softly looked at the bound jötunn in trying to ease his pain.

Her body frame was light and she was not lacking in curves but her disposition and appearance belied a far cry from any other goddess who was the epitome of desire in the hearts of men. Her body was covered by a beige criss cross shirt with strings holding it together at the front, displaying an average bust poking through the cross section of her apparel, made from a normal fabric.

Upon her legs she had garbed herself with a simple pair of pants made from a heavier fabric to withstand the cold, giving her a baggy look due to her act of placing dense fabric of a normal tailoring upon her thin legs, her upper body was protected by a large fur coat made from the pelts of bears and wolves in a commingled mesh of skin over skin with a fur linen colar that was partially unzipped.

She had a hood over her golden locks as to keep them from the hazardous winds that did not stop to blow day and night. Her feet she protected by mere shoes, plain looking and patched together to support her.

She was standing before the cave, walking into the darkness with a torch in her hand and the bowl within her other one as she had ignited the torch to illuminate her way to the center of the cavernous space.

"I have come, my beloved. I am here to ease your pain.", she spoke in a comely voice of beautiful tonality, between the divine and the mortal spectrum, at the end of a mezzo-soprano in the higher octave. Even with her beautiful voice, it sounded nothing more than a hallowed shadow in the way she spoke. The sound of the winds muffled it enough to blend in with the cry of the storm but enough to echo in the cavern.

Sigyn. The faithful wife of the bound jötunn Loki was here to collect the venom from the serpent above his face that caused him immeasurable pain.

Onto that monolithic rock of three was the bound Loki. His pale skin shone with a bluish hue due to his Frost Giant pedigree, having the chains dig into his skin and making him unable to move a finger. His body was clad in a sleeveless black top that could not protect him from the cold weather, his lower body had black garments and metalic knee guards of an arcane steel and no shoes as to add further pain onto his being by being unable to cover his legs from the frost. His hair was white and went down to his chin with one half of it covering his eye as the fringe was parted to the right side of his face and the one behind his ear, showing black marks like a runic brand onto the surface of his forehead, caused due to the venom of the wretched serpent the goddess Skadi placed above his head.

A black eye peered at the incoming Sigyn with a sense of relief and pity for having her share his fate; she had lost her sons due to Skadi having turned Valì into a great wolf and forced him to tear apart Narfi for the gods to create the iron shackles that secured him onto the rocks till the day of the Ragnarok where he would slip free and wage war onto the Aesir with the jötnar.

Even in his weakened state he did not give up, even when the poison caused him suffering he did not waver from his goals. Atleast Sigyn was his comfort in the long nights and days in this frozen wasteland.

Sigyn lowered her gaze to the Frost Giant as she knelt and left the torch on a stand to shed some light for her to raise the bowl above his face to collect the venom. She did not complain, she always stood there and held out her hands to snatch any drop the serpent dropped as to ease his suffering. She would speak to him when he had calmed down to the point of being able to converse, sharing the details and knowledge of the present day to prepare him for the world he had been torn apart from.

Yet, as she stood there, she heard the sound of footsteps and the slither of a beast incoming. Sigyn turned around to peer into the darkness and somehow managed to distinguish the steps from the screeching blizzards outside. Something in her gaze darkened, her clover green eyes narrowed in dread as to whether it was another god or Skadi to mock Loptr once again for his pitiful state.

Then the glimmer of two yellowish eyes cut through the darkness while sparks of static electricity jolted in the pitch black cave in the distance, only giving a vague shape of a humanoid being clad in some sort of armor. But then again she noticed the eyes of a serpent narrowing in a predatory gawk at her.

"Sigyn... run...", the shapeshifting trickster uttered in a low, pained voice that had no presence behind it. There was compassion for his faithful wife in trying to avert her faith. He had expected this sooner or later due to the fear his peers held for him as much as the contempt they had for his act. They would not forget his deed towards Baldr.

Instead, the serpent lunged towards them but not to hurt either one of them. It brought it's massive jaws against the snake that dripped venom, biting into it's head mercilessly as to kill it in one clean grind of it's jaws, ending the life of the poisonous creature.

"Thank you, Python. Now... Let's free him." a deep voice replied to the creature in making it stand back and make way for the owner of the voice to take a step further.

He brought his hand with some sort of weapon against the chains, making them rattle but they did not snap yet. Next, the big hands belonging to two other beings gripped the constraints around the shapeshifter and tugged with all their might as the weapon was once more brought down onto the iron in breaking it apart and freeing Loptr from his prison.

The chains snapped, leaving the god free to take a step forward while his wife held onto him as support.

"Who...are you? Reveal yourself.", Loki looked at the figures and noticed that the big serpent had slithered behind the back of his savior. He was tired and still in the grasp of pain as he bellowed in whatever strength he had to speak. Weakened, pained from the poison he had been but he was liberated, tasting the sweetness of freedom he had not felt since the day of his imprisonment into this cave.

The being in turn made the torches on the walls light up to bask the cave in dim light. They ignited by a spark of his weapon, finally revealing his identity to the weakened god and his wife.

"I have come here to liberate you, God of Mischief. I believe you seek retribution upon your jailers, do you not?" he spoke towards him.

Before them a serpent of ten meters stood tall, bearing ashen scales onto it's body with a similar shade around it's underbelly covered in segments. It resembled a draconian entity but as well as a mighty snake with two horns over it's sickly yellow eyes bearing slits upon them. It was ugly, massive and definitely as ferocious and ugly as a wretch. Massive jaws of white poisonous fangs opened up to take a gust of breath before they closed up not to frighten the fair blonde goddess.

In the center stood a being clad in golden upper body armor with inscriptions of Sanskrit swirling across it's surface. Round pauldrons glistened in the dim light, heavy arms in forearm pieces stretched out before the wrists while the same material was used to craft human-like gloves with pieces attached to them on the back of the hands, the palms bearing a black surface with Sanskrit lettering.

The chest was broad and shimmering in a illustrious glow while the gaps showed a black suit onto which the individual pieces were connected. His head had a helmet and a serrated mouthpiece to guard his face and lips and blue optical coverings protected his visual organs from the heavy storms.

His lower body was less armored as to give him mobility but still had the similar sabatons and knee guards onto them. He was a godly being in yellow and black with blue accents like rain over him...

And in his hand he held a Vajra...

Next to him two beings of considerable height stood side by side to reveal themselves. Pale from the lack of sunlight and after being imprisoned for so long, they had appeared to be weakened as it took effort to destroy those chains. Each one wore armor of the antiquity, bare chested and having a red loincloth drapped around the waist. One had dark hair and a beard while the other one was of fair skin and had ashen blonde hair.

Two more of them were waiting at the entrance with a black haired woman near them, having the features of a woman from the old age, namely a female of Greek origin. She was beautiful - thin and sensual with raven hair and black eyes with great symmetry and allure of a seductress. And still she felt monstrous despite the seemingly human form she assumed as to fit in the cave.

"What would you say now, Loki, Son of Laufey?", from behind the mouthpiece spoke Indra as he took a step back but no more than to inspire trust. The God of Rain had liberated the prisoner with having in mind an offer that would benefit both of them in what they desired to have. "I offer you an alliance that would satisfy both of us in our respective goals. Join us on our quest and you will not regret it. For how long have we endured the ridicule and scorn of those foolish gods that bound you and took what is ours?"

With a stroke of his hand, Loki eyed the other beings surrounding Indra and considered his chances. He knew of Indra's existence and what history had done to his myth in demoting him to a mere nuisance when once he was a mighty god of the skies. The tinge of hatred he noticed and thus compared to himself - they were both considered fools and nothing more than a mere nuisance, no matter how powerful and dangerous they were. But so far he did not know who the rest of these odd creatures were in reality due to his long stay in the cave.

"An alliance... I like the sound of that. But i ask of you, God of Rain, who are thy companions and why should i trust you?", he was suspicious of the truthfulness of his claims. Sigyn was behind him so he took a shaky step to shield her. It was too good to be true, he thought. As a trickster he knew he could not be so easily tricked yet he always had his reservations.

The bearded man took the cue to introduce himself before Indra could do that for him. "Crius of the Titans. Former prisoner of Tartarus. This mighty Titan is Hyperion, the father of Helios the Sun." he concluded in short.

The ashen blonde man nodded in confirmation. "And this is Lelantos the Titan. This is Iapetus. Brother of the great Cronus himself. We were freed from the clutches of Tartarus by our savior before you." he finished his part of the story. "We come here in offering you a hand and your freedom. We had been prisoners for way too long, have we not?", he grossed.

The serpentine creature was Python. Resurrected and breathing for the sake of revenge against Apollo for his death and theft of his oracle. Indra found him and through his power returned him to the world of the living to aid him in his uprising against the current order.

And the last being was the woman near the exit. Her monstrous nature was none other than that of being the former jailer of the Heccathonchires and Cyclops in Tartarus, the slain by the hands of Zeus drakaina Campe.

The monstrous half-woman, half-eldritch abomination Campe smiled in a vicious grin when she saw the face of Loki sharpen and his smile to grow in calculating his next escapade. She had been resurrected by Indra as well but sadly they could not free Cronus from his sweet dreams in the illusion of being in Elysium while he was bound in Tartarus, chained in the darkest pit of the Underworld. With her revival came the ability to gain a compact human form so she eyed Sigyn in a few strange gawks upon seeing her legs, mostly out of jealousy but now more in recognition of their marvel.

It felt different in having two legs now.

She did smirk as her hoarse voice echoed in a lighthearted manner.

"It is time for revenge, Trickster. Do you not see the gravitas of our own union? Your daughter Hel was most pleasant as to let us free Nidhoggr from Niflheim the previous week. The poor lindworm was so fed up that he couldn't wait to break loose from the roots of Yggdrasil and swear bloody vengeance on the stupid rat and the feather-brain above." she was enjoying herself. She found it funny in a way that the psychomp that brought the dead to Niflheim and imprisoned beings was so complacent when it came to her father.

They had done all this in less than a week, breaking into Tartarus and Niflheim to gather allies and strike fear into the rest. It was extremely hard to get past the all-seeing eyes of the phantasmal frost eagle Hraesvelgr but somehow they succeeded in doing so with some outside help.

Loki was thinking about it. What did he have to lose? He was one of the most venerated and well known gods of the Norse in the mortal plane, giving him a strong territorial boost in the lands where he once roamed and where people widely knew his name. He could enact his revenge, gain power and allies and share the spoils of war. He had been waiting for this moment for so long. Skadi would die before his feet, he would survive Ragnarok instead of being killed by Heilmidr and would reign upon all of the old world.

"...Let the venerable Loptr think. He must be still intoxicated by the pain afflicted from the venom. He would need time to consider."

It was a human voice that spoke from behind the two titans at the exit. It was that of an middle-aged man speaking old Greek with a regal tone of a king. Even the clothes he wore were over more than 3000 years old but faded and torn at some points, he felt ancient and somehow prideful but more than enough to make his scorn evident on his bearded face. He seemed to be in his early forties at best with short black hair and bronzed skin.

"This doesn't concern you, King Tantalus. We have no time to frolic. We need to go now before the stupid bird would sound the alarm and the old idiot would be upon us." Campe spat the words right back at him, not hiding her annoyance with the attitude the human had.

The mythical King Tantalus had been freed from his horrid fate to act as the human factor in this ragtag bunch of scorned gods and monstrosities. Upon his exposure to the Shades of the Underworld he had gained some power of his own to use the dark connection he had to the pit of darkness. Manipulating shadows and having Shades to become a container for his psyche. He had been incarnated into his previous form through this convolluted way and it fooled the jailers into thinking he was imprisoned.

"I accept your offer, my friend. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. " the Trickster chimed in a wondrous tone of pure bliss. Loki was beginning to return to his normal self by the minute, bearing a lackadaisical smile of ecstatic joy as he narrowed his eyes in a half-serious look of dazzling glory. "The god of everything mischievous has returned to put a wrench in the plan~! My kin of scorn... let us make war onto the filth that denied and destroyed us." his black venom marks moved in agitation over his carefree moment of dastardly bravado. They reformed into something like the ancient Nordic marks to better suit him.

His black eye shone in promise of something mischievous... very mischievous in fact.

Python slithered in accepting the god's declaration in glee, trying to smile but he had no lips to make the expression so he waved his tail like a street dog in having found food and communicated through slithers and hissing from time to time.

Loki grabbed Sigyn's arm for support, tapping into the small residual mana he had in himself to create a warlock cloak and sprawl it over his bare shoulders and focused on making more for himself. Through his magic, the white haired giant crafted a pair of fisherman boots for his feet, a belt with his insignia and within his free hand a wide brimmed hat manifested. It was similar to that of a stereotypical witch with a red band over it and being made of leather.

"Lead the way, gentlemen and ladies.", he bowed in his usual humorous sense of theatrics, being grateful for the freedom he was about to taste. "Yet i wish for one meager favor you would grant thy~", and in no time he placed the leather hat onto his white hairs and tipped it forward with his eye, covered behind the fringe, glowing in a sinister coloration of impending death. "The death of Skadi... And Gungnir since I'd really need some symbol of power, you know?! Ain't fun when i got nothing to swing."

Iapetus grunted. "Can't we pick the imprisoned Typhon in Mount Etna? Maybe Nyx since Zeus fears her more than Typhon."

"Lovely. I am certain Ixion would be pleased to hear that since he hates Zeus too.", was the only thing the man calling himself Tantalus said since awhile.

They started walking with Indra being in the lead. Another two had joined their deadly alliance - it was just the beginning.

Indra chose to deliver some words on the way out as if it were the best time to show his greatness. "Loki, Son of Laufey. Sigyn, wife of the Trickster. Welcome to the Khaos Brigade, comrades."

Loki smirked in madness with his visible eye widened in anticipation of the incoming storm. This was his ride, the spreading of chaos and pulling off tricks at those stupid Aesir pricks was his calling. To the point of getting aroused by the mere thought of balling them hard and leaving a message on the way out. He only spoke in enthusiasm the words he wanted to say all this time.

"Loptr is back in the game, bitches! Time for some family reunion, old man. Daddy needs to express some rage~. So let's get it started and the get the gears rolling."

"The last laugh is mine, Father. Let's see how you handle the prodigal son..."

"Welcome to the Khaos Brigade, brethren.". Indra repeated as they headed for the exit.

XXX

13th September, Vatican City, Rome, Italy, 5 minutes earlier...

The car stopped by at a safer spot if there was one to call as such. The rumbling of destruction echoed through all of the city, smoke was rising from the distance as it had not yet reached this area that seemed totally contrasting in appearance to the ravaged city.

The car was placed at some narrow street where the occupants exited through the doors in a timely order. Vali went out of the back seat in a worried step as she wanted to puke what she had for breakfast because of the insane stunt the other blondie pulled off. She felt sick and the abhorrent, nauseating feeling of wanting to regurgitate made her pounce out and try to get a good footing by holding onto the Murcielago at the back with her hand pressed against the window.

Eleanora opened her door, satisfied and thrilled by what she had done. It was no secret she loved pulling off stuff like this on a weekly basis to her own delight. When she looked at the city something in her was horrified, something ugly ran across her visage where a different emotion flashed right away. Fear. Anxiety for what was about to come.

"Damn gracious... This is like the story about the battle for Tideborn against the Marobal...", she made the immediate reference to one of the stories her cousin had told her about when he was in Mundus for God knows when. "What the hell are we gonna do?! This might get ugly...", she was hesitating now unlike earlier. She was pretty squishy and small in comparison to such beasts.

The Calamity Queen was a human.

The suitcase she carried was left on the hood of the car.

The smell of burning materials hit her in the nose. It was really unpleasant.

The front and back door opened up for the two men to exit.

The Italian man did not say anything about it. This gave him so many memories about the past - the March, the siege in destroying Lleons and Phylods by pitting them against the Academy in Ferkina and so many other events. All hard won battles with extreme planning and tactics. As well as burning down nine camps belonging to the Champion of Cenithar, the so called Wicked Man or the Great Monate.

It was all a memory now. Memories and people he would not forget for a single day. Comrades, friends and enemies he would remember always.

He turned to his cousin with no bravado present in his voice. It was grim and dark, crestfallen in the way he spoke because even now he was afraid. He never denied it. "...listen, I'm scared as fuck. I know what we are but even now i feel afraid. I can't do this alone, guys...", no matter how inhuman they had become, they were still normal people and had normal reactions to things like a miniature apocalyptic event that would probably spread out to include other cities.

Namely his home and that house at the outskirts of Milan where all those children resided.

"...But...if we don't try all of them would die. I can't let that fucker kill my mother... And everyone i care about. It's... I don't know what to say..." he shakily fixed his glasses before he went to open the back of the car.

"Do you remember?", he heard his companion raise his voice. That was quite the rare sight for the soft spoken man who kept his cool at all times.

"Where's the glorious bastard who bitch-slapped an Aspect of Fate on the way back?!", Castor had to give him a pep talk to rile him up to work optimally under pressure. His stature towered over him frighteningly, even more so when he saw the flashes of anger swirling within those dark eyes.

He was a man of few words. He spoke when it mattered the most only.

"This... We've fought worse. Way worse than this. Think about for what we are needed at the end. Or did you lose your damn sack on the way out?!", now he was letting go of his benevolent nature and delicate disposition to drill some courage in him once more. "Get your ass out there and make it work! Right now... So let's move or everyone you know would become everyone you knew..."

That was painful to talk about. He turned around to hide his conflicted emotions from being seen but it was obvious that he felt terror like all of them. "Don't make the same mistake twice."

"You don't have to tell me twice about that.", Chesare only responded in a cold, clinical tone as if it was sterilized of anything human. He gestured for Eleanora to open the suitcase where he had prepared a few useful tools that would get them some extra strength in the long run. It had definitely reminded him of something he never wanted to talk about in public.

"Not all of us are as tough as you are, you know?", he snapped back in anger. But it was more out of sadness and remorse for something else entirely.

"You're the toughest bastard i know. Don't forget it." was the response that met his.

The tall girl unearthed the contents to pick up a syringe with booster drugs and a small canister with some pills in stock. There were a few more syringes inside and a really specific injector with a label written in English. There was also a small package wrapped in some white paper with a marker drawn tag of highly explosive on it.

Eleanora picked up the syringe and grabbed the other ones to distribute among her peers while she pulled back her sleeve and tapped her wrist to make the veins appear to insert the needle and inject the performance enhancing drugs into her bloodstream. The canister she cracked open with her teeth, spitting out the plastic binding and with her tongue she picked up two of the pills. She made a really sour, disgusted look when she swallowed them, almost choking because of their awful taste.

Vali eyed the syringes and couldn't help but feel curious about them. Especially that strange injector had caught her attention, something like this had actually captivated her in trying to remember where she had seen it before. So she had to ask.

"What's that? Never used anything like this before.", curiosity was evident in her intonation when she tackled the question.

The African man looked at her, tense and on edge, but still chose to answer her. He placed the needle into a visible vein on his hand, turned towards her and spoke, "Some good old booster drugs to kick back harder. You might want to use this, girl. You'd need all the heat packing if you're up against what's over there." his gaze was transfixed upon the rising flames in the distance.

The Cambion understood the gist of it so she took the syringe designated for her rather haughtily, stabbing it in her neck since she thought it was far better to use it there. And then she felt the rush; her pupils dilated when she experienced the initial effects of using these, her heart rate increased and so did her body ache for a moment.

But it wasn't going to be enough. Her Gear was blocked, her mana was cut off to prevent her from using any magic she knew but most of all her demonic attributes were suppressed by those freaky constraints that she had been branded with during her stay in that horrible, dull room.

She was still spiteful for that. She never let it go but she didn't plan to run away just yet. She could learn so much more if she stayed where Azazel had decided to remain.

She would have to request the bindings to be let loose to use her full arsenal.

The phone in the Doctor's pocket rang in some upbeat ringtone that only made his cousin facepalm hard. It was totally not cool when it wasn't even funny - A-RISE's Shocking Party! It had to be that song always...

"Get in the car. Now." was his command.

Eleanora threw the suitcase on the front seat because she wasn't going to the same location as they were. Her role was completely different than theirs, thus requiring to stay at this spot for the trick she had up in her sleeve. The rest got in the car fast - the call was picked up.

 _ **[**_ _ **"**_ _ **Rendezvous point at the center. Kill any opposition that comes at your way. High ranking Brigade members are a priority. Don't be late.**_ _ **"**_ _ **]**_

The instructions were really simple to understand. No prisoners to be taken alive. Exterminate all opposition encountered, irregardless of status and abilities.

 _ **[**_ _ **"**_ _ **Understood. Did you bring the rest with you? What about the summit?],  
**_ Doctor MonBlanc had to ask even if he was in a hurry. _ **[**_ _ **"**_ _ **Just wait for the signal, then we go check if Kuoh is in the air.**_ _ **"**_ _ **]**_

 _ **[**_ _ **"**_ _ **No idea but the Professor would handle it. I've asked for some friends to join. You know, Roman and the Undead King are on their way. I'll be waiting. Good luck, lad. We'll need a lot of it.**_ _ **"**_ _ **]**_

The call ended abruptly by the sounds of falling rubble and explosions muffling it. The signal was cut off, there was no connection.

He only murmured under his breath, "Sir Mason, you just had to hype me up like some kid over the next episode. Fuck it, this is what i live for!", he brought back his mobile in the pocket of his medical scrubs in one fluid motion. A humm escaped his lips in reminiscing over so many events he had participated in. It was nostalgia playing with his emotions, that desperate need for satisfaction was burning in his chest.

The girl behind him noticed that right off the bat. Eli knew what he was thinking when he would do that half-brooding, half-heartless grimace and what usually changed it afterwards.

"Let's begin, Chesare."

"You ready, cousin? It's been a while." he addressed her question.

"It sure has. Get going and leave this place to me." the tall blonde was gunning to kick him as to get him going. It was annoying how he had to waste her time like this but even now, be it from fear or neurosis, she laughed in a despicable, maniacal chuckle to vent out some stress.

Suddenly as it had happened did it go away. There was no more laughter present. Silence was shared between them. It was the time, the time has come.

Both took a deep breath before they whispered together a single word that meant something special to them. It was who they were, the mark of a lineage shared between two worlds existing so close to each other.

"Malakkar."

A bloody red insignia in the shape of a two headed eagle manifested on his upper back, over the clothes, while the same on spread out over Eleanora's chest in glowing for a mere flicker of a moment before each mark dissappeared back to whence it came upon a mental command.

He entered the car and drove away, leaving her alone to fulfill her duty.

"Let's get this started.", Eleanora closed her eyes to concentrate in the empty street, focusing her attention to her feet or more precisely, the pavement on which she stood upon. But something flashed in her mind. An image, a person of whom she would not think of as much as possible. It always filled her up with fiery rage as her mood would take a rapid turn in the other direction.

The mental image of the Dragon irked her like nothing else in the whole wide world.

She roared out in one mixed sound of annoyance and loathe. A mesh of embarrassment and most definitely anger."Sorry for having to rely on you to get going.", It was what she needed to forget about the situation for a moment.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

"ISLEY! YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"

XXX

13th September, Vatican City, Rome, Italy, 13:56 pm

Xenovia was retreating with the remaining forces that had survived the carnage a few minutes earlier. Her two grimoires were levitating around her as did her Bible before her. She was in pain. That slam had hurt her badly even if she managed to use an inertia dampening sigil to survive but it didn't mean she had avoided the painful kiss with the pavement. Traces of blood were staining her lips before she wiped them off in her hurry.

There were not many of them left. A good amount of Executors were cut down by the relentless drones who could even match an Angel due to their state and numerical advantage. They were just a bunch of horrified, badly wounded and demoralized men and women in a race against the end that was coming for them. They were roughly forty or less in numbers, some injured and some begging for medical attention.

The Angels who had managed to get out of the massacre were around twenty five or something like that, holding the wounded and carrying those who had been paralyzed by fear.

They had to find a place to regroup.

Things weren't looking good at all. They lost Ewald Cristaldi even if the rest of the Last Battalion was alive. It was a huge blow to their morale. He was a dear friend and a brother to all of them.

The corner at the left side was a suitable spot to hide. The buildings there stood in pristine condition and it had a drugstore on the right where they would be able to get supplies to tend to the wounded. It was a narrow street so they took the corners and used the entrances to hide. Xenovia rushed to the drugstore where she found the necessary tools and painkillers to assist the rest. The absence of people on the counter wasn't surprising at all to her.

She went out with as much as she could carry on her arms; bandages, medical patches, iodine and alcohol plus some other things. Those had to do. It wasn't like she wanted to pillage a drugstore but the necessity was far greater than to worry about that now.

Irina was tending to Linda Sellzen's wounds while Lucina and Lucca held Teodoro still as they had to remove the knife lodged in his wing to patch him up. Angels had the capacity to fix their wings as it was the only part of them that had a healing factor because if an Angel were to be fully stripped of their wings they would be rendered powerless and with no greater access to their abilities. Something they noticed when the drones targeted their angelic compatriots earlier.

"Come forth... Huan Po..."

Irina called for a low tier Guardian she had a friendly bond with - one that had a healing capability that had saved her a few times.

A lime green pentacle formed upon her palm where a small being of twenty five centimeters in height manifested. It was a female one, clad in a grass green dress with wings made of oak tree leaves. Her legs were bare and so were her shoulders. She had brown hair, tied in a long singular braid with a bell and her eyes were greenish like the grass.

The small Huan Po was mending her wounds while others were casting healing spells with whatever strength they had in them. It wasn't much but it was better than having open wounds and nasty slashes to hinder them.

The knife was removed from Teodoro's wing, pulled out rather fast and he was made to bite down on the hilt of a blade to prevent him from screaming and giving away their location. It was nasty, it had damaged a nerve that prevented him from retracting his wing as it needed around a minute to close the stab and regain use. Just in case they cleaned up the wound and patched it up to help with the process undertaken.

Linda Sellzen grated her teeth against each other in sadness. So many had been lost, people she knew well and socialized with on a daily basis.

She knew what her job was, she understood that but it was still painful for her. She voiced out her frustration a bit louder despite the conflicting desire to break down in tears. "There's no way out...We don't have the necessary tools to fight back like in previous operations... We're all...going to die, aren't we?", she made fists before they unfurled weakly on her thighs. It was the odds that had crushed her. They had fought far dangerous things but each and every experience was different.

" _...brother... I'm sorry... I wasn't there. I wasn't able to do anything..."_

Her brother could not be saved, she wasn't able to give him his final rest for his tormented soul ever since that change happened with him.

Irina's hand touched her shoulder in an attempt to ease her if possible, to offer consolation to her restless soul because if she lost it they were dead meat. "We need to move, Lin. Maybe if we reach the vault there would be something we could do." her brows were raised unconsciously because she couldn't control her expression at this point. Deep down she did not believe that even if they reached the vault there would be something to help since it had lost some of the anti-demonic tools it had. They were stolen.

"What can we do, Shidou?" said Teodoro in some snarky, aggravated tone. He looked at her miserably in pure frustration. He was about to rage at her despite knowing it wasn't her fault at all. "They clearly got us. There's nothing we can do! Can't you see it..." the margarine blonde boy hit the wall he was leaning on in anger.

He was giving up and nobody could blame him for that. "We... h-have to accept it... Ewald... he's dead! We're nothing! We're just nothing!", it was his emotions ruling him at this point. He couldn't focus because of the pain, he was blindsided by the odds he couldn't beat.

The female Executor's hand tightened around the pommel of Blood Excalibur. He was right, she didn't want to admit it but she knew he was right. What could they do? Those things were unstoppable, they were relentless in their pursuit.

The tides were changing.

Yet, it still forced her to talk back at him. "Do you think i don't know?! Do you think I'm not scared? Fuck you, Teo. I hate it when you're right...", she looked away in trying to avert her gaze from his. "We don't have a path to the vault... We don't have enough manpower to storm this. Even if we did... We can't stop those big things. Fuck , this tupid ringing in mw head won't stop!", she growled in annoyance.

"That's it... A clear path." Xenovia murmured as she tended to an Angel. She stood up on her feet, refusing to stand idle while others were caving in. Realization dawned upon her as she took off her gloves and looked at her fingernails - they had transparent nail varnish over them with a series of drawn patterns that were masked as simple nail polish in azure.

"Both of you... You're wrong. It's not hopeless yet... Not yet." her amber eyes shone with a new feeling pouring out of them.

When she had stood up her big braid swung left and right like a metronome in giving her the idea she needed at this point. Never mind the fact it waved kinda sexy over her back but it wasn't the time for that. One of her grimoires fell into her hands so she started leafing the pages in search of something.

Her experience was barely worth more than two weeks and a few days given her condition. She was not a master in casting but she was smart and creative with what she knew. The rest was compensated by her grimoires and combat experience. She did not need a sword to be able to cut down enemies. Her mind was her sword, a sharp cleaver and her knowledge a shield.

"What are you doing?", one of them asked her.

Xenovia ignored that to focus on finding the right answer to her idea. There had to be something in there that matched it, there had to be or lest it would not work. Her fingers swept past pages after pages until she found what she needed - despite the situation she just smiled. It was probably her stress making her do that, she wasn't the type to smile in a time like this.

The cobalt haired Executor placed her palm on the cold pavement, letting the seals to flow out onto the surface in etching over the ground, thus forming a makeshift overlay that shimmered for a few seconds before it enlarged in size. It was a link, a gateway to the vault that had the same marks on the inside of the door to connect them as a portable armory. Cardinal Giovanni had made sure she was well prepared in having a good inventory to answer her call in a time of need.

"Evening the odds." she spat.

From the gateway emerged canisters. White metal casings shone together in cracking their seals open to be used. More and more of them popped out.

Those were the prototypes of a new breed of weapons; swords shaped like oversized khyber knives in a gunmetal silver coloration. A hand guard in a simple cross shape with cut in fullers for a better grip, an elaborate wing pattern was engraved onto the flat surface while a single black streak marred the cutting edge with spiraling forms extending onto the flat surface.

In some other canisters were similar tools but differing in size and shape - halcyons, throwing knives, specialized high caliber bullets, a bow and last but not least one casing that held an entirely different blade.

Angel Blade v.1 were a brand new series made from the metalic feathers of certain Angels to craft weapons that would do much better than the standard light blades that were based on the recreation of the lightsaber by professor Michio Kaku on one of his Discovery Channel shows.

Men and women picked up blades and bullets. The last casing was left for Irina to take; it was a short rapier modeled after the original form of Durandal. An extremely inferior build that looked nothing like the stolen one, being inverted in color and bearing silver accents on it. It did not have the Miracle of Separation but it was enough to assist her.

"One last time... That's all we have left. Go for the main building.", flatly the Azure Priestess commented as her spell was disrupted and closed off on it's own. "I'll be right behind yo-

An explosion was heard. Something had pierced through the wall in making a huge hole in it, bypassing the defense and bringing down an adjacent building. It started crumbling before their eyes with more echo being produced. The heavy trotting was growing stronger the same way clattering halberds screeched against the pavement. Beastly throes spread out like flames in a forest. Screams were the next wave of acoustics afterwards.

The horde was coming. Mana flared over stores and cars, flames danced behind the mist and smoke as their arrival was drawing near each passing second.

"They're here! Make a run for it!" screamed an Angel trying to fly away.

...Only to be impaled by the shards of a Balance Breaker drone.

Before he could do anything he was riddled with projectiles and his head was blown away by a long range magic spell.

The corpse fell near Teodoro...

"Retreat! Take evasive action!" commanded Saint Lucca of Sicily when he picked up Legrenzi on his arm and started running to the end of the corner with others following suit.

The evacuation of the wounded took priority.

Irina pulled Xenovia by the shoulder in trying to get her going but she couldn't move. Her legs were frozen in place, she was standing there waving her hands for a goodbye. "Let's go! Come on, go,go,goooo!" Irina bellowed in an animalistic, gnarly pitch that was like that of a lioness. There was no time to waste. They had to move right now.

People were running in a panic for their lives. Pushing, jumping, rushing to safety was their priority. There was no formation when it came to the battle of survival. Anything was permitted, anything was justified.

Xenovia pushed her away. She did not face her at all. It didn't matter anymore. Nothing was of importance to her.

"Xenovia! You fuckin' idiot!" cried out Shidou.

"I know... Tell my sister...", Saint Quarta called out to her in her sincerity. Xenovia had to gain their attention or they wouldn't get away in time. At this one moment something broke out of her lips in honesty, she could never deny it because it was the truth. Her own quest in find the truth. Irina saw her eyes finally.

So much passion was there. So much care and love that had not been extinguished when the truth had been revealed to her. There was regret underneath the love she displayed, that loyalty to her friends...

"...Tell Asia that i love her, no matter the circumstances. No matter the cost.", the right eye was getting soggy by the tear welling up at the edge. She might have been at the point of crying, it wouldn't have been surprising if she already did that. "Because she is my sister and i want her back... Tell her that I'm sorry!"

Two of her light blade hilts were pulled out of her bicep straps, twirled in a X formation before she swung them apart in lifting her arms horizontally with each grip igniting for the light to be focused on the lens inside the construction.

Xenovia yelled in defiance. "Get going, you damn idiot! I can't deal with you now."

Afterwards the pavement moved at her command as if it were a living creature and not a road to step on. Her body was ready, her wrath was her motivation to stay behind to buy enough time for the retreat. **"Wall of Stone, grind the earth of thy origin, engulf the pertinent, and bow to me."** the bricks in the street were animated by the breakdown of her Speed Casting into a four sentence command by becoming blocks that began to wall off Irina to block her from trying to pull her away.

The segments of the wall connected with each other despite the screaming girl trying to reach her because one of them struck forward to push her away and make her running as another one shoved her further away.

 **[~** **Audiomachine - Godspeed** **~]**

Heavily breathing, the caster brought down her limbs in a guard, stepped back with her left foot and set her eyes on the goal. Her grimoires levitated around her once more as they used the same property that made her levitate to put on the cowl over her head and a piece of cloth over her mouth and nose, masking her face to act as a filter.

 **"Body of Beryllius, Negative Impact Shield** **.** **"** she spoke up as her books radiated a small illumination around the edges. She wasn't going to stop at two only. **"** **M** **ana Pulse** **,** **Triplet Caster Magic, Physical Ward,Shroud of Darkness, Mana Flow, Blessings of the Wind"** , she was casting all of these second-third tier spells on herself to maximize the duration of time she could win for her compatriots, risking to exert herself and render her higher casting ability to be sealed for a specific time period if she made a mistake in adding too much spells on herself. Too much buffs and they would clash, possibly overloading and messing up her nerves.

 **"Elemental Ward,Silent Prayer of a Martyr,Greater Magic Wall** **.** **"** , she was almost complete with the casting before she added a final boost to herself. The one that defined her as a person. A whisper in the back of her head, a mere thought that flashed in her mind.

Invictus.

Another building was shot down like a mere glass window being broken. The crumbling of the wall echoed again as the steps of frenzy were nearing. The sound of wings announced their arrival.

Xenovia gripped her blades tighter as the self-imposed casting produced a good amount of layers over her form with Shroud of Darkness rendering her camouflaged due to the mist and darkness all around her. If she didn't come out the legions would likely go for anything alive so it was her best shot to stall for time as much as possible. For a few moments. It was enough for her, she was going to go out as she wanted. It was her atonement for the cruel words she had said to Asia, having rejected her sister despite knowing it wasn't her fault. She was kept in the dark about her father's absence all this time.

 _"I'm sorry for everything. I hope you would forgive me one day. Because i have forgiven you already."_

She was waiting for the moment when they would get near. It was the precise time she needed as to show up and do this. Her body remained still in anticipation. Her muscles were coiled and tensed in preparation.

...Then the Sacred Gear users burst in the street like flies.

Men, women, children, elderly, sickly, insane. All of them marched forward in destroying what they saw as their flight enabled drones skidded in the air, delivering destruction upon the streets where the eye could meet. Fire was everywhere, signatures of varying elements were glowing relentlessly. The mindless thralls were running, sprinting, trotting, flying and any possible form of movement was available to them.

Dreadnoughts had found their way here.

The Venetian mask legion was marching in a heavy step without undertaking any action other than aiming to rush forward till the command was given. The ten magicians that had passed through the barrier were raining mana and spells that made the ground shake. Debris was falling, flames were spreading out. The raging of maddening creatures was the painting that was the reality of this time.

Walburga herself was walking casually like she didn't give a damn about anything around her, humming to herself a tune she had learned by heart while her pentacles were annihilating whatever caught her attention. Her Saint Ira gleefully imitated it's other half in immolating whatever it could reach with the Executor sword and the spade in it's hands, striking many cars and scorching the very ground they stepped on with each move they made.

"Come out, come out wherever you are~. I'm waiting!", the flaxen blonde haired girl purred in deranged ecstasy before her mood suddenly switched to cold apathy. Her brows locked down in grimacing over the nuisance this task was since there was no challenge whatsoever. It was too damn easy for her to waltz in like that, burn everything in sight and get back home at six... Or she thought she had one.

"Urgh! Was ist die zeit?! Ich brauche eine menschen für das nacht.", Walburga stomped the ground with rage, causing her custom seal to materialize over the pavement in a violet shade with Latin/Deutsch lettering forming over it.

It was complex, bearing four different layers and three smaller pentagrams that formed an inverse triangle by drawing lines between them. The inversed pentagram was modified, after all.

 **"Shock, Bolt, Thunder!"** , she flatly stated by using Shorthand Chanting.  
With a raised hand she pointed at the drug store corner in bringing down her appendage like a shooting mechanism, cocking her hand as if it were an old revolver. The index finger wagged down in meeting the middle one, acting as the trigger for sparks to start around her fingertip, upon raising said finger it shot a streak of concussive force right at the edge of the building where electricity traveled to the instalation.

Blasts were focused upon it. It was set on fire soon after by a dark spell.

Shorthand Chanting was a casting style that reduced a verbal spell's long verses into a compact, essential one liner that maintained the core of the original one. It was a style only applicable to magic that did not go past the third tier but required précise memorization to be utilized. No beginner was able to use it with ease because it also required an emotional state that would supplement a specific spell.

Purely destructive ones were best suited for people like the psychotic Walburga Dressler.

A blast of mana was shot back from a different angle. It traveled forward between the drones with the target being the witch.

Incineration Anthem's mannequin responded blindingly fast by wrapping it's six wings around her accomodator, blocking the shot upon unfurling the flaming wings that caused a small recoil in the footsteps of the mad bitch.

She was only grinning. It hyped her like crazy - her sickly smirk and those maddened eyes bore a delightful insanity in the way the girl responded in showing her teeth. "Can you smell the fear, Mother?", despite everything the girl was a showman. "Because i smell a filthy little amateur... Oh,yesss... Come to mama!" now she was in the mood again when she addressed Saint Ira like she would her mother.

Three drones immediately pounced towards the corner. One of the centaurian legged Sacred Gear users, a woman in a metalic suit and a little girl with black hounds raced towards it before the rest would try to do a zerg rush there. The magicians prepared to shoot while the mysterious masked individuals stood close to each other to defend themselves.

The first to reach was the man whose lower body had been damaged so his Balance Breaker had made new limbs for him to use. His front legs smashed in the ground while his arms were thrown to block something. Some strange noise followed afterwards - the sound of snapping, crushed bones were heard first. Then grunts had been the second thing in the moment the man slumped back with his blood dripping out, crushed to death if one noticed the individual rocks used the in pavement sticking in his skull.

Xenovia emerged from the spot to meet the two women who had reached her.

The suit clad one drove her hand forward to make use of her sharpened fingertips while the hounds of the other one leapt for Xenovia. Instead of trying to attack, she used the rocks beneath her, the wall next to her to break the woman into the other building by the bricks hitting her with inhuman force. It was faster than expected, the hounds were already in the air when she used the Blessings of the Wind to slice them apart in a second.

She had only two more uses of that spell preloaded so she had to think of the timing.

Her light blade found it's way into the little girl's skull like a cake being cut through the center. The hound user could not do anything else but attempt to claw at her with canine claws unsuccessfully because Xenovia rammed the second one in her neck to split it.

The corpse slid down near her feet when she brandished her tool by swiping it like a real blade with blood on it.

Drones were instantly attracted to the sole fighter like hornets in a beehive. They reacted on instinct by being driven like a hive mind that would be enraged by the loss of one of their own. The elderly man with the shadowy snakes was among them; his Balance Breaker had caused him to gain wings constituted by the snakes he commanded in also gaining hardened obsidian skin where snakes coiled over his body. This specific drone had caused her a lot of trouble earlier, nearly suffering deadly blows due to his involvement.

Sword Birth blades that had evolved to become arms spread out akin to a bird's wings in fanning out. They were encasing drones in a defensive cocoon to withstand physical trauma better. Other ones turned into severely degraded copies of demonic swords to be held by other users.

"Alright. You can kill her now.", the flaxen blondie clapped hands together.

Leonine Gear users leapt for her, followed by the second line of darkness shroud clad users who formed appendages of their element to act as piercing tools for an easy kill. Flight enabled Balance Breaker drones targeted her from the sky by charging metallic projectiles that would expand in weaving pikes upon hitting the terrain. Their other brethren forced the wings to shoot steel feathers with binding properties or supercharged aluminum to make good bombs of them.

She was definitely going to die since she was alone.

The only option was to build up enough walls to slow them down so the people she left behind would reach the rendezvous point.

"Triplet Caster Magic! Release!"

Three different hexagrams in colors were made real by command. One had a green light signature, another was gold in color while the last one was dark brown to signify the spell combo she was trying to complete. This one offered the capacity to cast three different spells of varying nature simultaneously by using only one to act as the ignition key.

The burning buildings nearby sent bricks at her way to act as a shield. The rocks beneath her boots were raised in tune for a combined layer that would make the Wall of Stone. It grew in size by forming in a second - it was basic attraction to a certain point in building up defenses. Next followed a resonance spell that would trigger the earth to rise up as rudimentary constructs that barely matched a high quality Golem. The final one was a barrier with the Light Affinity being drawn in the process to gather mana from the ley lines to power up.

Now Xenovia ran forward with everything she had in her legs to safety. She couldn't fly because she would have been shot down immediately by the thralls that were capable of the same thus forcing her to sprint like a gazelle, away from the pursuing lioness packs.

They advanced further. It meant nothing to them when they had almost reached her if not for the walls erected a second ago. Flaming hammers with the ability to disrupt magic struck the brick-rock composite in pure aggression - others bashed limbs, tools, wings against the barrier until the snake user used his body to send out serpents traveling like bullets. The jaws opened up to sink in as the futile attempt did nothing extraordinary unless if you counted the ruined teeth of those constructs that shirked away due to the illumination.

The rudimentary figures were wiped completely by the advance of human drones. It meant nothing to them, no pain, no fear and most certainly no self-preservation instinticts could stop them from continuing the massacre.

One of the ten Hexennacht casters uttered, "Empusa. Break the shield."

One of the Venetian mask's stepped forward to the caster. It was a female creature that made her tail burst out of the suit. It was a black snake that hissed and when it's maw was open a resonance ability broke the barrier in a mere second. The Empusa was a mid level being that had the natural capability to pierce barriers with her tail, be it an Elemental or a Physical Attack Barrier. This was child's play for her.

Drones climbed over the walls, jumping over them and flying above the constraints. There was no stopping them.

A pack of flight enabled ones caught up to Xenovia fast. One glided past her and turned around; shooting green crystals that were supercharged in her direction. Another slammed it's diamond covered fist over her back in a certain deathblow that would disable her while ten of these shot fire, ice, air, darkness and other elements without a care for their comrades who were close to her.

To counter the projectiles before her, Body of Beryllius activated to withstand any strike damage attacks such as blunt trauma or projectiles. That was her physical shield as the crystaline formations met her body and bounced off her armored parts but not without ripping her cloak apart. One had managed to cut her in the left biceps, revealing bare flesh to bleed.

The punch she withstood by the use of the same buff at the price of feeling the pain race through her upper body, nearly tumbling before she regained her pace at the last moment before the wing of another drone could attempt to claim her whole arm. She couldn't even yelp because she had to run and live a little longer.

"Elemental Ward!", were her words as she used her second buff to disable the attacks from killing her, making them bounce off her but not without suffering more pain and the impact of a fist at her leg that brought her down.

The Blade Blacksmith swords that were turned demonic flew straight for her as the three thralls were about to rip her to bits with limbs and deadly pressure. Upon hitting her they triggered her Mana Pulse into action, making a kinetic force slam that threw them off several meters away thus saving her from death. However, she had her bones rattling and felt the aftermath of pain drive her to pounce forward back on her feet and throw her secondary light blade into the attacker before her as she leapt with ferocious steps to press forward.

"FUUUUCK YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"

The Azure Priestess used her elbow the moment the drone deflected her sword. It was a fast smack into his jaw so she knocked him over without stopping for a second.

She had use of eight preloaded spells only. Her Body of Beryllius would last only for another impact while her Triplet Caster Magic had two more uses, same for Blessings of the Wind.

The whole horde was after her. And she was so close to the next street to swing by another corner. If she did she would be stuck in a tight spot but it would give her the advantage of narrowed space. Yet it did not negate the advantage of flying combatants so she ditched the idea to head for the right to a bigger street that led to the next main street where shops stood.

The choice of action was to take one of her other light blades from her other bicep strap. It blazed to action upon her press of the trigger.

She couldn't win. There was no way she could win against such numbers the way she was now. Not that she had a chance before either. Her stalling of the inevitable was only making her suffer further when the snake Sacred Gear user sent his darkness serpents upon a car and threw it in her direction, backed up by the throw of debris from multiple Dreadnoughts.

The car flew really fast in her direction, about to squash her like the squishy human being she was. The rest of the debris hit buildings in trying to make enough rubble to bury her alive. There was no rest for the wicked but what about the good?

Her grimoires never left her, they followed her no matter how many times she fell as they had been bound to her newfound hovering ability.

Triplet Caster Magic flared up again. A red, black and brown hexagram came into existence for the ground to rise up behind her, the rocks beneath her to act as a stepping pad in propelling her forward to levitate. The last one was a third tier Wall of Stone that curved over her in acting as a corridor when the debris hit them and the car blew up.

Searing heat bathed her yet did not hinder her because of Blessings of the Wind acting up for a second time in propelling her even further before it could reach her. She had only one use of it left.

Thus she became faster than most of the troops, barely faster than they were. It meant nothing when she went out of the protective tunnel because her Body of Beryllius had activated once more to have her survive some of the chunks that were chipped off the defense.

Those would have killed her if she hadn't buffed herself with these spells.

It was a tactic only a defensive caster usually used or extremely unexperienced ones to compensate for their lack of ability in casting right off the bat. It was working so far until Walburga whistled to make the drones change path towards the other streets since she had her fun in chasing the pest for a minute or two. It was enough time lost. Work had to be done on time.

However, the advance was far from over.

One of the female witches sunk down in her pentacle as the rest followed her in mimicry.

The Dreadnoughts crushed the wall by merely kicking it away. It opened the path for the legions to sweep in the now free entrance to the next street.

Walburga wasn't even having fun at this point. Her boredom turned to brooding in a matter of seconds. It was irritating her if she had to be blunt, so much as to flaunt a little spark of mana and yell out some command here and there.

At this point Xenovia slowed down to catch her breath before turning back to check if she was being followed. It seemed that nothing was tailing her anymore, thus bringing a sense of peace in her mind as well as dread in which she sunk in.

Her breathing was heavy for sure. At this point everything ached for rest because she was getting really tired plus the pain was the only thing keeping her awake. Sweat dropped from her forehead down to her frightened eyes of amber. Her cloak was torn off, her biceps was bleeding because of the wound earlier as to hinder her movement in that limb.

The Executor grunted.

"Fucking hell... I'm a-alive... Did they make it, i wonder?", between each breath she exhaled and inhaled in spite of the chilling responses her body sent to her brain. The look on her face did not change much aside from the added concern in it, it was still kinda ugly and primal. Nothing more than pure survival was her drive now. Atleast she bought a few minutes extra to give them a chance or she hoped it was that way because she feared it would have been for naught...

Or she might have been the last one still breathing.

"Not quite."

Only for her intuition to tell her to roll out.

A crescent of darkness nearly had her shoulder if not for her fast dodge at the last moment, nearly destroying her shoulder plating in the process.

Ten casters were surrounding her location from the exits and from above her. That path for escape was cut off. It was a stupid idea to have done this act was what she was probably thinking.

Trying to swing back with her weapon only to be blocked by a shield, Xenovia tried to use her Blessings of the Wind again...

" **Delay.** "

It failed miserably in the execution when another caster disrupted it. Afterwards a strong punch in her neck followed to bring her down on the floor.

Of course, she attempted to get back up only to be kicked in the stomach.

Each one created a different tool to indulge in one of their bloodier practices ever since Walburga Dressler replaced her deceased mother as the matriarch of the coven. It was a rite involving the shanking of a human by members to coat themselves in blood to be able to use a much darker, forbidden style of Blood Arts as a strengthening Channeling ritual to improve one's ability in the dark arts.

A woman among them took the honor to be the first in this bloody practice due to her seniority. A jagged dagger was twirled in her palm in her attempt to land the first blow in the stomach. Crouching down to stab it deep, it was met by an activation of the Physical Ward buff midway.

 **"Unwind, disrupt and shatter!"** , it was canceled out despite the struggling girl's efforts to avoid it.

So the only thing left to do was bring up her foot for a boot blade to snap open. The surprise came when her knee bent and struck forward with the small blade being rammed in the woman's thigh or so she thought.

It stunned her enough for Quarta to sling back a few steps to use the conditions necessary to utilize one of the buffs she used on herself. That one that wasn't able to be negated because it had already taken effect in the sure certainty of death.

Silent Prayer of a Martyr could be used by one of the cloth at a moment where death was certain. A time when nothing else would have the potential to prolong her life.

Light wrapped itself around her, derived from her Light Affinity by triggering the pentacles of the four Archangels on her hands in starting Mana Flow - her very own hexagram had etched the space where she stood. The four directions of the world, the four Classic Elements were further charged by Mana Flow in doubling her depleting mana for one big boom!

Uriel's Divine Flames were burning the woman and those who were near her. Atleast six of them caught fire that would automatically burn anything aligned with the wickedness of the dark. The second attribute of this spell was the particular effect of collapsing - anything that had been foolish enough or tainted depending on how low they were in depravity was pushed back by pure kinetic force into the walls.

Splattered upon the walls and the bodies collapsed in blood and flesh dyeing the walls.

It took no time to waste in getting back on the run for the Azure Priestess. The problem was those four hovering witches who had far superior skills in casting, no doubt. Aside from that the element of surprise was out of the picture so it would lead down to one single thing.

Physical combat.

Xenovia levitated through pure drive by leaping forward at the edge of the left building; clinging to the wall and pouncing at the other one, she did a back flip to grab the ankle of a woman through the momentum she had gained. Upon her body twisting at a near 120 degree did the second foot blade spring in stabbing her lower back. Then through pushing herself away, Quarta had the chance to kick away with the second action being two Black Key handles enlarging in blade length from their compact forms that she threw right into the other two as she was falling.

One bore Gabriel while the second had Michael on the handle.

Shields were raised to block, only to initiate the properties of thy name engraved in the form of ice spreading over the flat defensive spell by upsetting it's shape to transform it into a dome where the witch was crushed before any retaliation was available.

The second one darted the mage in earthly spears that breached her defensive ward. Impaling the dreadful woman in the head for a sure kill.

Only one remained.

This one threw a dark bolt that ate away at any light source in panic. The woman had not expected Xenovia to be able to fight at close quarters since most casters skipped physical combat to focus on razing their foes through the arcane forces. The bolt was atleast two meters in length like a scar, flying straight for the falling girl on the roof of the building.

Assuming that it would definitely kill her due to her Light Affinity, the bolt only met something that would always repel it's effects due to it's specific design. So the Azure Priestess only had one moment to pull it off right or die.

"Negative Impact Shield!", it booted up by flattening out like three squarish windows in a dark violet shade that was like a screen. It started up the second she smashed on the roof and her body curled in a ball to roll out but she hit into the door of a smaller roof building extension.

The shield took the brunt of the attack violently, curving inwards to make it redirect it's path by bouncing back at it's caster. Doubled in strength and taint.

It was much faster than expected when she tried to block it, only to fail at the last moment where the bolt went through her left side of the waist and passed through her chest and right shoulder, cutting her in two before she had realized it.

Death claimed another one due to her arrogance.

"Owww...god! This is so not real... I gotta move...", Xenovia held her right side with both hands, beginning to feel the strain she was put under as the adrenaline levels were cascading down. By her expression it was obvious she didn't think the plan would work at all, she was definitely surprised by her tactics which made her think how to further expand them.

"..I need.. To reach the rendezvous point...", looking down at her feet as she leaned on the door, Xenovia forced herself to stand up by holding the doorknob as support. "T-that bitch... I need to kill her before she kills the others. She's... What if she's controlling them?"

Taking off her mask she tightened it around her wound to secure it. That hand brought her pain when she moved it but there was no care about it. It had to do the job.

Only that horror struck again when she saw the Dreadnoughts coming her way...

And Walburga being held by her Saint Ira, flying by it's unnatural wings. Long range bombardment spells were knitting around the appendages as the wicked Witch of the Dark was grinning madly in trance upon seeing her. The distance was shortening, the bitch was coming to finish what she started without minding the drones advancing without her.

They didn't need her to do what they were made to do. She was here to cause mayhem for her own sick enjoyment, not so much as to help but she tagged along since the rest were her comrades.

It would take time for her platoon to enter but who cared? This was like the time of her life to revel in fun because it wasn't like she often went out for something like this.

Xenovia was prepared to run. Atleast she had four extra light blades on her lower body straps, a few more Black Key handles at her disposal. And of course one last Triplet Caster Magic, another Negative Impact Shield and Greater Magic Wall preloaded. Her grimoires slid in their holsters while the bible went into a small pouch underneath the crucible steel plates on her hips.

Walburga clenched her fingers together, extended them back to make a V-sign and crossed them once before she separated them while yelling like some freaking bloody lunatic at her in pure aggression mixed with ecstasy. She loved a good show herself so she always made it like a vaudevillian theater premiere. "Come to mamaaa! Gimme dat ginger boy, you damn cunt!", she had her eyes widen for a moment to look at her, "Here comes the hotstepper! Can i get a what?"

"Seems like I'll have to buy more time, Irina... Then it's time to make things right atleast once." she was done with running away. Two Black Key swords spun in her fingers upon her levitating off the roof with multiple feelings that forced her to stand her ground to the bitter end.

Atleast she would fight as a free woman. With dignity plastered on her face.

"Come and get it, you ugly bitch. We don't like hoes around here. Especially people like you." 

XXX

13th September, Las Vegas, Nevada, Casino, Caesar's Palace, 03:01 am

Issei crawled towards Hilda, dragging himself through the corpses and blood on the floor in shambles. Even in the darkness he saw enough light from the various holes in the premises, crawling towards her way with a fastidious step akin to a beast on the hunt.

He was scared. He was shivering as chills went down his spine, searching for her in a hurry.

He crawled to her, bringing his body closer and closer over her until he grabbed her within his embrace and pushed her naked body to his chest. They were alone among a pile of corpses, hidden by the darkness they dwelled in for so long.

Her wounds were patching up but she was dead tired, she only glanced at him in weariness since the strain had rendered her unable to move but she could talk atleast for now.

"...i told...you. I just need a minute to g...get back up...", she feebly muttered as she tried to stand up but she could not. Her breathing was heavy and hitched, struggling to stand on her own if he hadn't caught her to support her. "...fuck, i need...a beer right now...", she smiled with nothing behind it, an subconscious smirk that gleamed back at him in tranquil sincerity.

The Dragon grabbed the skintight suit and dusted it off to cover her with it. It didn't matter if it was covered in blood, it was far better than nothing.

"...you could have died... Do you realize that?", now he couldn't keep it steady because of what he saw. He was miserable, he was cracking up because of the sudden pain that hit him right in the heart. The cold visage loosened up to a mere grimace that had some feeling behind it. "Let's run away. Now. I'm scared... We need to go...", he had lost his composure. The sharp eyes were now swimming in dread and terror as a display of actual emotion.

Hilda wheezed in pain before realizing she was naked and covered in blood. It was a secondary thought that didn't matter much at this point. Even in the condition she was she burst out in mad laughter to cope with it, that terrible fear of death she met for the second time. "...jeez, now i get you...emotional... And you practically saw my tits just now...great...", she rolled her eyes in relief. She was alive, she felt more alive than ever before. Nothing else mattered because she was alive. The thrill, the rush of adrenaline. Everything.

It didn't last long before she broke down in tears. It was too much to handle, the feedback of emotions and pain brought her down to a miserable, pitiful crying fit with her arms gripping his shoulders tightly as to never let go.

"You idiot... Don't you want to live?! Live, damn it! I hate you... You drive me crazy.", she pounded her fists over his back now in using strength to bash him. It was ugly, it was desperate, it was frustrating and spiteful in the way she glanced at him with those damn eyes of her's. "I hate you so much! I hate you... I hate you... But if you leave me...I'll kill myself. And...", she broke in another crying fit as she gave up in trying to hit him. Her wails were so ugly like the wretched scream of a dying animal but as ugly as the screech of a demon. She burrowed her face into his chest and hugged tightly, trying to bring out some strength in her to do it but her arms slid down helplessly.

He only nodded in acceptance. He felt empty and like being nothing. "I...know you do... But isn't that why... Forget it...", he stood there silent in having nothing else to add. Anything more and she would have continued to beat him, he chose to remain silent out of shame and guilt.

Silence was the veil over them. Everything else was redundant.

The short girl was in one big emotional blender, her face unrecognizable in a mixture of conflicting emotions that were so hard to read as her crying died out like the last flicker of a flame. It was empty now, she had to filter everything she felt to gain clarity or she would have been crushed under the emotional duress.

"...I'm sorry... I need help... Comfort me, please...", it was hard to decipher what she wanted at this point exactly. Everything felt so weird, it wasn't anything strong but neither was it weak. She just wanted someone to tell her it was alright, that it meant something at all. She spat blood that had made her feel sick, a bloody spit upon the nearest corpse did she release.

The devilish Dragon was the same. Restraint he lost when he grabbed the back of her neck and pushed her quadra-tails to the side. It wasn't anything done out of love, it was because both of them were so fucked up to care about anything else at this point. It meant nothing else but the need to feel alive, any contemplation and reasoning were thrown away when he brought her closer and closer...

She gave in, it didn't matter who it was as long as it made her feel alive. They needed it, it was a way to relieve stress and get a good hang of it. Even if it meant casting aside any reservations.

Her bloody lips pressed gently against his before she completely lost it, gripped his head and pried open his mouth to slide her tongue in it. It might have been selfish and greedy but they didn't care about anything like that. The blood soaked both of them, smearing over each other's skin as they started to kiss in a red dyed tongue play of pushing back and forth in delirious comfort.

Her body pushed him down as they completely left any morality behind, only reveling in the fact that they were alive and breathing. His right hand grabbed one of her naked breasts to knead and squeeze it, smearing the blood further over her cleavage in a ravenous rub. It was their victory over having beaten the crap out of the filthy Asura Dragon and for having dealt crippling blows to the adversary of the God of Rain.

It was the wrong time for sure. It wasn't because they needed any attachment or attraction to do this, anything would suffice because it was comfort. Even if it would hurt their feelings and make everything awkward, however, it was necessary to keep it together.

It was so wrong on it's own that they did this. His hand tapped her back to make her stop, both separating with a bloody trail between them. It was confusion painted on their faces, they had no idea why they did that. Kissing while they were standing in a bloody mess of organs, blood and dead bodies. It was so wrong and disgusting but it didn't matter because it felt better for a moment. No strings attached, no necessity for guilt and no feelings to screw things between them.

She only looked back in the same disbelief and confusion as he did. It was way too messy to determine anything at this point. But it was enough to give them some peace of mind, even for a moment.

Issei undid her anchor clips to let her hair flow freely and cover her naked bust with the tresses. They were a mess, ruffled and dirtied. The stench of blood was like a coating over their forms, a badge to add on the trophies earned with each victory.

Her sound attacks had hurt him quite a lot even when he kept his distance, their specific frequency had dealt serious damage to his body due to the Evil Pieces nearly being disrupted for a few moments. His body had flickered between existing and nonexisting like before if she had not anchored him back by reconnecting their bond through something that could do it. They didn't have any life to sacrifice so they opted for the blood on them and some intimacy to give him a little push to make sure he would not fade.

"...I'm sorry... I", she tried to respond but she did get the chance once he placed a hand over her lips.

"Boot Up. Plating Ensemble.", he muttered only in a strained voice that was spilling out the contents of his mind.

The skintight suit of her's stood up as if it were a person, went behind her and broke down into a malleable form that stuck onto her body into reforming back to it's previous version, suiting her up. It was cleaned now and so did the kevlar plates align back to where they were.

The boots and belts jumped at her to clip and slide on her body afterwards.

He lifted her back on her feet and picked up the AK-47. "Can you stand? Can you move?", it was more out of habit than actually having any meaning. He placed his hand upon her shoulder to initiate a healing buff with the intention of using something else to speed up her recovery.

What better way than to boost her physical parameters? It would also enhance her physical recovery as the body would speed up in fixing itself.

 **[Boost!]**

Then he transferred it to her through the Transfer function. It should be enough to enable her to walk out of here but a hospital would have been the best idea.

Her gaze darted back to his in trying to see what was there. She saw blackness with spots of green, a tiny yellow, deep red and a disgusting violet shade that told her one thing - it was pure, soul crushing terror spreading over him. Her hands shivered at the thought of nearly dying again, it made her so sick as to wish she could vomit to ease herself.

Her soprano voice faintly uttered the question in fright... "Who... w-was th-that... What-

He averted his eyes from her in trying to protect his sanity, fearing to answer her question. He was tense and stiff, his blood froze, chills crept upon his spine. So did the helpless desire to scream, sadly he could not get the words out of his throat. It was burning, it was eating him from the inside if he tried to tell her.

Her hand gripped his palm in a reassuring tug, pulling him closer. It was the simple act of giving comfort. She was still woozy, frightened enough to shake and for her teeth to clatter uncontrollably. "...it's ok-kay... Izzy, someone is calling for you... You should go..."

She noticed the sealing mechanism pop out in resonating with a specific frequency she could hear and understand due to her Sound Affinity, it was a cypher in expressing one clear message that was like a computer code, a text message in likeness. It was linked to another mechanism of the same kind.

Issei coldly responded, knowing what she meant by those words. "I know... I owe you big time. ", his eyes were slowly returning to their sharp, piercing qualities with the melancholic, rotten gaze that always clung to them like glue. It wasn't completely there but a sense of closeness he did express. He knelt down to grab her hat, placing it upon her lovely patches of blonde hair.

"Thank you for believing in me, Hilda."

It was quiet. It was like the whisper of a ghost in it's delivery. Yet, he did it with no aversion to using her name as a sign of closeness. The professional, formal tone he did not drop but the feeling behind it counted much more.

And there was a thin, almost invisible smile on his lips.

With his right foot he drew the outlines of a rectangle, manifesting the door they usually used to access the bar from multiple spots all around the world.

It was finally available to them after the demonic dragon had disappeared from sight but not from their minds.

Of course, something else caught his attention. Nearby, where Vritra stood before were the chipped off remains of it's armor plating and a pair of tentacles that were in an arguably good condition. The chest segmented armor was there along with the big orb that was a part of it. And another one that was smaller in size, that one had been a part of the multi-plated shoulder plating. All of those were materials to be used for something he could make - precisely, it was a resource he would not leave behind.

He picked up her coat, carefully moving between guts and bodies to reach the spot, retrieving the left behind pieces by using the uniform as a bag with the sleeves locked in a knot to transport the materials easily.

He raced back to the door, kneeling to open it. The way he chose to adress her inquiry was the blunt truth he did not spare for nothing in the world. It was a promise he had made, one both parties swore to enact if the day when it would be necessary should arrive. There was the clear intention in his brown eyes, it was a promise he would keep. And in return he knew she would do her best to keep her end of the deal.

"I'm not going there to save her... No, it's nothing serious like that. What I'm going to do for Sitri is keep my promise...", Issei scrunched his brows in a serious expression like usually. It was morose and pensive, devoid of sentiment and no emphaty did he direct when he finished his sentence.

"I'm going to kill her before they do."

The door beneath them opened for them to fall down and dissappear without a trace. The casino complex crashed in on itself because there was nothing to support it. The roof caved in, and the corpses and the blood were erased as if they had never existed.

XXX


	26. Act 24

Act.24 Irish Cream & Jägermeister: Astaroth Reverse

13th September, Pacific Ocean, Conference, 13:55 pm

History was being made on this very day. An extremely rare possibility to put an end to the centuries old armistice had been presented as a chance to be taken. It was the day they had been preparing for; to put an end to a conflict spanning more than 1500 years between three different yet not so quite different factions.

In the middle of the Pacific Ocean stood a gigantic pillar of earth mass, having emerged from the bottom of the ocean to act as a stage for the negotiations on completely neutral grounds where no one had a single advantage nor the prestige to hold this summit on their territory. It was decided to be held at a spot where collateral damage and casualties would be minimal, at a safe distance from the land and it was convenient since it would be easier to hide in the middle of nowhere.

It was a wide platform that was brought up by the element of Archangel Michael, his Affinity being that of the Earth that supplied the process as everything had been made for this day. There was a big round table with many chairs and specially tuned equipment for a large media coverage to present to each of the factions populace live feed from the meeting itself. It was done as to avoid any attacks on the summit while also acting as a trick to fool the Khaos Brigade to take action and then be completely annihilated by their troops back in their respective territories. It was a gamble.

They still took precautions but no matter how prepared one would be...something would always happen to put a wrench in the plan.

Upon one of the chairs sat down the Prince of Lies himself, clad in the regal attire of his station. A garb of a king of the old, bearing both the ancient sigils of the demonic and the modern was on his body. A crimson pair of shoulder guards rested atop his broad shoulders while the remainder of his apparel was that of an ruler, dazzling and true. Sirzechs Lucifer took the chair at the end with a calm step as he carried a suitcase within his hands.

By his right and left side were the Representatives of the Devil Council, acting as witness to this summit and representing the whole of their society. Grayfia Lucifuge, representing the Reincarnated and Extra Devils took the left side without saying much, remaining quiet and tense even with that stony, unwelcoming face of her's.

Malina von Astaroth took her seat gracefully as she politely addressed each and everyone with respect and calmness, never taking off her black shades for even a moment before others. She was known as the Judge, the Arbiter or namely Satan the Accuser by her peers who detested and feared her greatly for her swift hand that did not stay from judging any crime against the wellbeing of her people.

The other chairs were occupied by Shemhazai, Azazel and Barakiel as the representatives of the Grigori. Azazel seemed quite relaxed despite the gravity of the situation and the ripples it could potentially cause to the world. It wasn't even amusing to him, he didn't know much about what had transpired all of these centuries since he was not the Fallen Angel everyone believed him to be.

Nor were his fellow brethren, they were masquerading all this time as to hide their true nature and to avoid any detection by the system if they were to reveal their true, monstrous forms to the mortal plane.

Even more since he had been prepared for anything to happen and anticipated it any moment now. His suitcase was left on the table.

Celestial was represented by Archangel Michael and Gabriel themselves, huddled comfortably in their chairs with the female Archangel having toned down her appearance not to induce pain and the unwanted uncanny valley effect over the rest. She always had to do that, even her brother felt uncomfortable at times because of it. Unlike her, Lady Astaroth had a far more natural feeling to her beauty as the Most Beautiful Woman in the Underworld, a sense of humanity enough to prevent her from being disgustingly perfect and unbearable to gaze at like Gabriel.

Gabriel was the one who carried the suitcase with the documents they had signed during their secret meeting before the official summit would take place.

But they were not alone.

Cardinals of each of the main body of Christianity were seated together to act as the fourth player in the game of politics, despite being aligned with Celestial, they were there to represent the interests of humanity. Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Evangelical, Presbyterian and other influential denominations were gathered together to discuss the notion of possible peace or a pact of complete neutrality.

The cameras were set to broadcast this summit to everyone of the Three Factions to witness freely. Safety measures such as bodyguards and the presence of delegates from each side made it feel like an actual meeting.

"Then let us begin, shall?", it was Sirzechs who decided to deliver the words to begin this meeting. He was a bit tense but he could not show a moment of weakness, having to rely on his usual charm and with that earlier encouragement from his one and only Serafall, it gave him the strength to utter such words with firmness. Everything was carefully thought out; his gestures were vivid and expressive as a way to ease the tension and to present a fresh air of open mindedness.

"Today, I would like to part some words to everyone who has decided to honor this day. For far too long we have clashed, lost brothers and sisters in a conflict that could have been prevented. I wish to put an end to this once and for all so children would no longer have to fight one another. We could build a brighter future together. So i hope to see it till the end."

"Likewise. This would end today so each one of you, present your parchment as proof of participation in the summit.", Gabriel brightly glimmered as she opened the suitcase and took out the aforementioned parchment they had all signed as physical evidence in agreement to hold this conference. She presented their copy on the table and patiently waited for the rest to do so. She was like a star, beautiful and bright with finnese and perfection as her visage locked in a subtle smile of benevolence.

Both Devils and Fallen Angels presented their parchments and the meeting officially begun as the cameras rolled and zoomed on each sheet of paper to give any viewer the chance to glance at them. It was ready, the preparations had been completed so the main part of the event was about to start.

The atmosphere was neutral at best, each side held their own image in high esteem so they avoided anything that could portray them in a bad light. It was important to look presentable so everyone had done their best to keep appearances.

Shemhazai was the first one to present his own view on the matter at hand. The chartreuse green eyed man carefully selected his words and phrases in to express the wishes of his Faction as the spokesman of the Grigori, being the actual Governor but having to maintain the illusion by leaving it to Azazel. He was a man of many words, an excellent orator and skilled in rhetoric so it was decided he would do most of the speaking by the goading of his comrades.

Never mind the fact that Penemue told him to be prim and fancy for the occasion. She did express it in a rather strange, forceful way.

"For the first clause i would like to express the fact that we would like to have free entry and no hostilities within any territory of our counterparts. I do believe you would agree on this as well, given that neither our people nor the people of our brother Michael have free passage in Devil territory without any prosecution." he expressed tranquility as those eyes never left anything unnoticed.

Some of the delegates on the Devil side glanced at this mention rather dispassionately and with distrust for the words of the Slavic looking Cadre. Others outright rejected such a demand out of fear and spite, the looks on their faces growing a little awry but most withheld any contempt from showing on their faces.

"As you know, given the current state of events it seems rather demanding due to the risk of our territory possibly housing dangerous elements." Grayfia announced with her icy tone of frosty winter.

She was reserved and did not take any action more than to look up at Azazel in an accusing gleam, implying about the recent incidents of the Kuoh Church massacre and the Holy Sword Project. Each one having had Fallen centered around the conflicts on Devil territory.

"Mind reminding us how did your subordinate slip past your watchful eye", she injected a dose of sarcasm in her voice, "and wandered freely into our territories?"

"Need i remind you that those incidents were connected to the Khaos Brigade, Grayfia Lucifuge? Kokabiel was an avid supporter of igniting a new war and there has been information about his defection to the Brigade.", Malina von Astaroth took a different stance on the problem and through using a technicality she was trying to keep things from devolving into a rage fest right off the bat. "So therefore we must not judge a whole group because of the actions of one defector. I believe we should consider this clause."

The dirty blonde haired Lady Astaroth smiled and gracefully perched up on her chair, maintaining her composure and desire to be fair to each side.

"But we must be fair.", her eyes hidden behind the shades narrowed but they could not be seen. A fact that always made Sirzechs wary of her because... he feared this woman. "If we are to allow this then a fair compensation would be required, no? Sharing resources and technological development would be appreciated given the progress our dear Azazel has made with his research on Gears and armaments.", she intentionally made it clear about the intentions her people had.

Given how the Fallen Angels had a greater understanding of the nature of the Sacred Gears and the technology they had developed, it was far obvious that Devilkind would try to gain it as well.

"I concur. We would not gain anything in return as most would say that the Second Faction War was a tie.", Michael responded in his usual tone with no crispness behind it. He picked that up and decided to lay out his own demands on the matter. It wasn't missed how his gaze became darker and foreboding upon uttering the harsh truth with bitter pain. Gabriel touched his shoulder as an act of compassion and support.

"In reality it was Heaven who had lost. We lost the highest number of lives and unlike your kind", he glanced at Sirzechs with pure fatalism, "we cannot replenish our numbers through conversion of other races nor could we procreate as easily as the Fallen. That leaves us at a disadvantage and would not be just as we would not be able to participate the same way you could."

This did not surprise Azazel. "So you wish to obtain the Evil Piece system in return for cooperating? It is true, but it's quite strange given how we would be at each other's throats. Enemies who mercilessly slaughtered each other for the slightest provocation. Do you think that they would offer you their tech so easily just like that?"

The delegates on the Devil side jeered and sneered at the possibility of sharing their Pieces. It was outrageous. Why should they give one of their trump cards to increase the number of enemies they had? They were prejudiced, each side had lost people to this conflict and the scars of the past had not faded.

Grayfia Lucifuge interjected. "Correct. We have no obligation to hand over our most prized accomplishment with nothing substantial in return. A mere ceasefire and free passage are not enough as a compensation. What would you offer in return aside from research?"

Michael instead hurried to propose something on his own before the Watcher could react.

"We are willing to make a trade. A few of our most prized regalia and Heaven's resources on Resurrection Magic. Only a Seraph or the Angel of the Lord are able to use such a high tier magic without any backslash. We would also offer the removal of the curse laid upon your race and offer support in dealing with the Khaos Brigade and any internal strife with your dissenters.", Michael had some cards in the deck he could use. Sparingly and carefully he took note of the way the Devils conspired and planned.

Barakiel who had remained quiet decided to break the silence.

The gruff looking bearded man wanted something of his own and he unveiled what it was with lightness in his voice. "If the forces of Celestial would gain your tools then how would we be benefit? I would like for every fifth Reincarnated Angel one would join us willingly with no persecution on either side. As beings with free will they deserve a choice under which banner they would stand. The Evil Piece system offers a faster way to replenish working force while raising Nephilim takes considerable effort and time to do so. We would not tempt any other Angel to fall, we would give them a choice because they deserve it." he scratched his neck as a sign to Shemhazai to utter the things he could not as it would be nothing but personal affairs if he did.

The blonde Cadre knew that. It was his time to add something else on the plate. "We shall exchange members of our factions to act as mediators in assessing how possible is it for us to coexist in peace. And i would like to retrieve Akeno Himejima back to where she belongs to honor this day. A daughter must be by her father's side."

Gabriel did not like what she heard. It stirred her emotions upon thinking that more of her brethren would have to fall in order to maintain the balance. Giving their regalia and eleventh tier Celestial Resurrection was already pushing it. She understood the sentiment of the bearded Cadre as she had always desired children of her own but she was against parting ways with their most prized possesions.

Sirzechs frowned. Akeno was his sister's Queen and letting such a highly sought being like her would have been disastrous to the mental health of his sister. He anticipated what his counterpart would demand as well so he had to refute it in any way possible. Be it through technicalities and loopholes or through legal argumentation.

"My sister's Queen is not a resource to be traded. She was found and rescued and by the notion of gain she belongs to the Devil's side per her choice to join us." Sirzechs brushed it off with lightness in his tone but his possessiveness and extreme favoritism towards his sister was really easy to notice. He did not budge nor did he give into the hardened and bitter gaze Barakiel sent him. "And Asia Argento belongs to the ranks of Gremory as you clearly did not need her so there is no claim of property over her."

"Really now, Lucifer?", Shemhazai bit back at him while wagging a finger, clearly unnerved by such statements of possesion. "Tell me what claim do you have when it was done in a neutral territory? How did a little girl and that hypocrite gain such knowledge of her whereabouts as to sweep in human territory, disregard the laws and regulations to secure her? I know all about it.", it pissed him off but he tried to keep it from showing on his face. "She had no choice but to join your sister because if she didn't agree... Your wonderful girl would have left her to die."

He had seen that tactic throughout the 18 years he had dwelled upon the mortal reality and it sickened him how such a little child could have been so cruel,so insensitive as to innocently present such a choice that wasn't really a choice.

"Anyone would pick the alternative where they could live but this was forced upon her. And let's not forget how you gathered a peerage for her under such questionable circumstances where they had no choice."

Contrary to what most people would believe, Shemhazai had went out of his way and personally snooped around Devil affairs as to monitor any suspicious activities. The rest he deduced by observation and bits of information.

Grayfia held his hand as a way of expressing support. In reality he felt disgusted by her faked concerns and let go of her hand under the table. Shemhazai was aggressive in his approach, quite intent on returning Akeno to her father by all means necessary. She was like a sister to his son Samuel and in fact, if he were here he would have revealed their secrets so they did not take him with them.

"Asia Argento was not excommunicated because of her healing a Devil.", an elderly voice resounded back as it lingered in a moment of sentiment that was brushed away by a sense of duty.

One of the Cardinals finally had enough staying still and spoke up with the intention of saying what he thought. It was none other than Cardinal Domenico Giovanni himself, the infamous Dragon Impaler and second to the Blade of Heavens, Vassily "Vasco" Strada of the Orthodox Church.

He stood up with dignity and pride. He was going to make them listen for once; Michael couldn't say anything, he only leaned on his chair and nodded at him to continue.

So he began.

"The news of her excommunication were rather unexpected and with no substantial basis for such a deed. It was done for some unknown reason. We are taught to accept and forgive yet they did not forgive her for having had benevolence in her to look past any difference and heal someone indiscriminate of race", he placed his hands on the table to support his old body. He despised and mistrusted most Devils but it did not mean he couldn't cast away his loathe for the greater good.

After all, his sister Anastasia Giovanni was converted into one and returned to him by Diodora Astaroth.

"She did nothing wrong even if it were for someone who had taken people from us. She only did her job so we would like her to return because the excommunication order was not officially put in effect. Due to that fact she is legally bound to our side but we wish to hear her opinion on the matter."

Cardinal Giovanni was trying to overrule the decision as a token of gratitude to his very own ward, wishing to reunite two sisters just as he had been reunited with his own flesh and blood after all these years.

He despised his own weakness for never having been able to save his closest friend Valper Gallilei. The atrocities that were committed during the Holy Sword Project weighted upon his conscience because he could have prevented it. He could have done something yet he knew what he should have done so long ago. He was forgiving deep down, only that he was plagued by guilt and self-loathe which only made him grow colder and pragmatic. However, he was not devoid of sentiment so he wished to do atleast one thing right...

To satisfy Xenovia Quarta's wish and to reclaim Asia from their clutches as his new sponsor would have liked it to be.

"We cannot comply with such demands but the exchange program sounds promising enough as a trial period to see if we could work together.", Sirzechs gave one of his bright smiles with a hopeful glint in the eyes that was nothing but faked pleasantries to look good on camera. "On that we could all agree upon. Asia Argento would be the Devial mediator for Celestial while Akeno Himejima would act as such for the Grigori. It is a compromise we can make but no more than that if we cannot agree on the laid out terms." he finished by a nod of his head after having politely declined.

Something flashed upon Domenico's aged face. A sense of cold fury became a mask over his preserved features into making an ugly face, contorted by pain and despair, expressing frustration with the lack of progress.

"What about humanity?" someone spoke up.

"What about it?", a Devil said with disinterest.

That rejection, the lack of humanity in the mix as if they were nothing but mere spectators did not bode well with the other cardinals. No offers were made to assist humanity for the faithful service of their respective employees, not a hand was extended to include them. The Devils at the back looked down upon them as mere insects at their mercy.

It was silence.

Then it came crashing down like thunder.

"Just how long would we have to bear the aftermath of your conflicts? How many lives would we have to surrender because of your internal strife? How much longer do we have to accept it?!", he raised his voice to a menacing tonality. The elderly man could not stay silent even if he were to die for it, it did not matter anymore so long as he could give them a piece of his mind.

"You do not care about the lives of humans. You do not treat us as equals even when you're no different than us! We are nothing but livestock for your needs. You take people and force them to fight in your conflicts against their will. Just like how my sister was taken..." his outburst was the sentiment of an old man, powerless and fragile but the human spirit was strong in him.

"And the Angels are no less guilty." added the silver haired woman.

"All of us here are guilty so let's not deny it. You want peace? Then for once you should listen to the people and not just do as you please.", another cardinal chimed in with no care for the backslash his words would cause. His defiance did not quell nor did his ire fade away. "Then give us a reason why an alliance is possible? Do you think you are so different? We are both residents of this world, we share a similar appearance, common needs and desires. So how difficult is it to stop for a moment and think together for a change?"

The representatives of the Protestant denomination followed afterwards.  
"If not then leave us alone. We already have enough problems of our own to deal with. I'm done, I have nothing more to add."

Those words added more strain on the matter of an alliance. They needed evidence, dialogue to be able to make it work. The wrongdoings of each Faction could not be subdued as people do not forget those who had wronged them and the cycle of hate would continue anew. Murmurs and jeering were heard, dissatisfaction was presented by morose faces and the unwillingness to exchange.

"Then if you would allow me to present an argument." Malina von Astaroth raised her hand confidently with an idea she had thought of. It was time to use one of her cards she had been saving for this moment.

"The stage is yours, Lady Astaroth.", Gabriel waved a hand as a sign to continue. In reality she had gained what they needed already so she only played the role to divert any possible attention to her partner since it would have placed the wrong attention on their secret alliance. Goals they had in mind to uplift their races through an attempt to put down a bigger threat than another war.

The mother of Ajuka Beelzebub sprawled her hands and leaned forward on the table. Her graceful features did not make any grimace of disagreement as a subtle smile formed. Her lipstick(blood from the Glaysia-Labolas girl she put in her place) made her seem threatening as her smile became wicked to the point of mischievous. She presented a folder with sheets on the table and patiently waited for everyone to quiet down for her to elaborate.

Lady Astaroth opened the folder and laid out her evidence. What she presented were papers written by her late husband Lord Saul Eligos in collaboration with Lady Semira Gaap, the strongest Water Devil in the whole Underworld and mother of Sona and Serafall Sitri. A controversial, scandalous work that most condemned accusingly as mere lies, fallacy and a stain that smeared upon the pride of all Devilkind.

"Here is your reason. You can read it to tell everyone the truth as it is.", at this point the snake eyed lady further grinned in satisfaction for the wonderful opportunity to educate the misguided arrogant pricks back home. "Unless you would reject it." she spread one hand to gesture at Michael in goading him to read what was written. Such a masterful stroke she landed by shutting them up as well as giving a solid reason to unite.

Her voice resounded. "Instead of fighting amongst ourselves we should unite in such turbulent times. We cannot change the past but we should secure the future because we are one and the same. The ancient gods are waiting for a moment of weakness like this to eliminate all of us. Do you not see that we are purposely pitted against each other to divide us when once we were the same race?"

Malina von Astaroth glanced towards the camera in pure joy - her features bore a challenge, it was a declaration of wanting to show the rest she would not be so easily trifled with. What better way than to give a bitch-slap to the false pride of the Old Kings for their so-called purity?

It gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling so she gave them a self-gratifying grimace to unnerve them. They were surely watching plus she did have the support of more than half the Devil Council who had sided with her. So no problem with getting away with it.

"…Filthy lies.", Grayfia swore in a low voice.

Lucifuge eyed the shade wearing woman in revulsion, contemptuously glaring at her with fire burning in her eyes. She did not fancy her fellow councilwoman nor did a vast majority of High-Class Devils for her strict actions and her unparalleled might. They despised and feared her at the same time, they tried to oppress her Household and tarnish her reputation but they could not do anything against her due to fear of repercussions falling upon their families.

"I do not see the problem in some of the clauses presented.", Lady Astaroth relaxed despite the heated glare the female Devil threw at her nor did she felt annoyed in the least.

They were acting like this for the camera.

Rather, she was enjoying the atmosphere and did not mind anything else other than the surprised looks of everyone. "Young Devils fought hard to put down an enemy to all of the factions, nay, humanity and returned the stolen fragments of Excalibur as a sign of good will. The Brigade is another reason to unite. We can do this because we are equal. We are one and the same." with finnese she spoke and extended a hand towards Michael and another one to Azazel to show her willingness for cooperation.

Her hidden eyes shifted their focus to the human delegates and the Dragon Impaler specifically as her voice mellowed down in reminiscence of her late husband. "My husband may have been a Devil but he fought for humanity as a protector. He believed we could achieve more if we listened to each other and tried to put our differences aside. Because he loved humanity and I myself do so as well... since let us be frank", she paused to catch her breath before she would continue with her speech, "our race would not have been shaped into what it is today without humanity. You are not cattle. You can rise above us, each one of you can make a difference."

Another female Devil took the opportunity after she finished with her speech. A member of the Marax Household she was.

"Working together is impossible. What you said was done under dire circumstances otherwise such an act would not have been possible. I am against giving the enemy our Evil Pieces. We will not trade with the very same people who slaughtered our friends and family and act as if we are comrades! This is a farce! Equal? These are the ramblings of a foolish woman who has clearly forgotten about what they did to us! You filthy wench!", she growled and added more oil to the fire. Her emotions burst like a river despite the fear she held for her.

Satan did not seem infuriated in the least. Not at all.

This was nothing more than the usual insults she took. Malina leaned forward to the table, neutral to the point of unflinching monolithic tranquility. "Foolish? Perhaps. Senile? Not at all. But a wrench?", her fingers did not tremble. "I'm not one to have several men carrying me like some goddess when in fact," she aimed to make it dramatic as hell, "you need some eye liner, a bit of rouge plus foundation to cover that anomaly you call a face. You need some Maybeline New York." the final blow was dealt masterfully. "...Because you look like a Wookie."

People laughed like it was the most appropriate time for this.

"Oh, I like this one. And nice lipstick by the way.", Azazel enjoyed that momentary distraction.

"Thank you for your kind words, Azazel". she added through a thin smile.

The Marax girl hid behind the rest of the delegates.

"Forgive me but we cannot risk letting any possibility of peace slipping past us.", Azazel shrugged. "Yeah, sure you suffered but so did our people in return. If nobody would agree on the presented demands then there is no more room for negotiations, it seems." he stretched his arms back and made a witty smile. He grasped Lady Astaroth's hand and shook it. "Then let's change the rules. I propose a pact of complete neutrality."

"What would that entail, traitor?" Gabriel narrowed her eyes in trying to scope the hidden agenda the Governor was trying to fulfill. No trust did she express after she had heard the requirements of Angels falling to maintain the balance. It had some disgust mixed in the sweet voice, unapprovingly for the reputation he had amongst Heaven as the traitorous kin who slaughtered his very own brethren and for having been responsible for Hadraniel's death.

Hadraniel, the Angel of Love, was the wife of the Azazel she knew back when the former dwelled in Heaven. He had betrayed her when he fell to pursue mortal women, breaking her delicate heart in two. Hadraniel wept for a hundred days till her tears dried up like the Sahara desert and on the final day she was no more...

Angels were capable of love. One of a tender kind because what Father would deny his children the gift of love?

Hadraniel's purpose was a double edged sword - the loss of love killed her as she could not feel it anymore. Thus, Gabriel would forever loathe Azazel for what he had done to one of their most compassionate brethren.

The problem was this was not the _same_ Fallen Angel she knew. This was not the derivative found in different realities. This one was something entirely else. There was no knowing this because, let's be honest, the man played his role extremely well as to fool everyone. So did Barakiel and Shemhazai.

"Fine. Let's hear it. I accept.", Michael was tired of everything so he couldn't bother any longer.

Gabriel froze when she saw her brother's hand interlocked with that of the one who unofficially bore the mantle of Satan. Betrayal crept it's way on her features, locked in a quizzical gawk at his course of action. Disbelief made her eyes widen ever so slightly. This meant he would concede to the clauses and the pact, he would join these people who would kill any angelic being for no reason other than being a creation of their maker.

"We might have clashed before but now we need to fight side by side to thwart any more tragedies." the Archangel remarked.

"You...how could you accept this, brother?!", the azure eyed Gabriel lost strength. "What happened cannot be amended. I will not debase myself by giving them our regalia. To the people who struck first and brought this conflict into existence, nonetheless. This is beyond my capacity to forgive", Gabriel sneered. It was disdain directed at Azazel for the atrocities committed by his hand.

The blonde Archangel crossed her arms together. "Perhaps it was impossible in the first place to join hands. If our deceased brethren were still among us they would have been ashamed to see you, our Father's most beloved son, bow like a dog to the people who started this." the tone she delivered such words was anything else but kind. It was her disappointment, that compassionate gaze conceded to the feeling of despair in tune with anger.

"Peace is not possible." another Devil joined the fray. This time it was a male member of the Leraje Household.

 **[~** **Tarek Mansur – Reaper of Souls** **~]**

 **"I can agree with that completely."**

The sound of something crashing against the barriers shook the platform hard; it was like a tactical missile had struck them and rattled their bones due to the tremors.

People fell off their chairs, other tumbled and found themselves on the earthly mass. The strength this projectile had was tremendous enough as to temporarily make all multiple layered barriers sizzle for a brief moment, revealing the bright blue skies above the Pacific Ocean. The cameras fell on the floor, some were broken but atleast one continued to broadcast.

What more it did was to let the terrible noise of flapping winged appendages waltz in as gusts of air crashed upon it.

A dark shadow loomed over the platform in covering it completely under it's massive body frame.

"Oh, shit! They just had to bring the big guns.", Shemhazai exclaimed when he looked up at the sky. He immediately stood up while his chartreuse green eyes glowed in dangerous thoughts. It was as he had expected, the assault really took place and he only managed to produce a thin line of a smile instead of feeling any panic afterwards. It was all a game of masquerade and smoking mirrors.

"We have been most blackly betrayed. There is a traitor among us.", Sirzechs roared out as he threw away the chair behind him to switch to a battle ready mentality, preparing himself for the upcoming clash. He expected so much but this came out as a surprise even for him. Only he, the Devil Representatives, the two Archangels and the three Cadre knew of the day all parties agreed upon.

The exact hour was decided a few hours ago simultaneously through a specific phone line they had secured to avoid any detection through supernatural means.

A communication link popped up in his ear, one being directed from the city of Kuoh and one from the Underworld.

The siege had begun. It was as he had expected. They took the bait. Only that the situation was worse than anticipated.

"Get everyone out of here! Now!" Grayfia snarled at the delegates and clerics with a commanding intonation, not having time to spare with dealing with them. They were in the way so they had to go while they could still run. Her arms flared up with ice forming around them as miniature glaciers marred all of her arm's entirety in crystaline formations.

Various teleportation pentagrams flared up on the floor in preparation to get them away from here into the awaiting hands of safety.

They ran for their lives.

" **There is no peace. Only a fragile glass of an illusion you have lived behind for far too** **lo** **ng."** , a tyrannical cackle of an abomination echoed above their heads in pure mockery of their foolish desires. Loud and booming it was as the deep resounding reverberation of thunder itself.

The wind gusts blew at the barrier, bringing unnatural air currents to bask into it as a mere reminder of how fragile they were in the grand scheme of all things.

 **"And today the illusion will end."**

The upper layer of the barrier cracked for something terrible to peek inside...

A beast spanning thirty meters of length and a height of twenty five greeted them in a jagged imitation of a smile no matter how impossible it was to form one due to the lack of lips. Pearly white fangs of the size of an average human glistened ravenously inside the gigantic maw of three layers of serrated, razor sharp teeth ready to devour anything inside. They were like those of a great white shark.

Golden eyes of a slit pupil with red rings around them blinked once-twice before the organs darted towards the delegates in hunger for their flesh and blood.

Two semi-conjoined pairs of copper colored horns stretched out upon it's forehead while a singular assymetrical horn of gunmetal silver and black with smaller horn growths on the inner side curved between the bony growths of it's hardened eyebrow horns with spikes. The longer muzzle was sharp and adorned by a multitude of smaller pikes and horns running down it's segmented neck of scale plating and the cheeks were covered by three sets of inverted horns curving backwards and splitting into lesser rows. The chin bore smooth twilight colored pikes. It was covered by black scales with a metalic tint to their luster, similar to the shine of iron as it was of such nature.

The body was thick and dense muscles were defended by hardened scales and various growths springing from it at different spots. On it's spine it had a series of segmented protrusions in iron colors with some ornate black spots for variety.

The chest area had an overgrown row of spikes like a scimitar blade while the back had four individual spines jutting out of the shoulders like lances in a curved formation, the arms and legs had heavy conglomerations of iron scales into forming flattened halcyon-like attachments into three individual pieces and some parts of the shoulders, forearms and kneecaps as well as the thighs bore fused metalic bands instead of the regular keeled scales it had all over it's body sans the underbelly and neck.

But what was most striking were it's wings - torn at some spots and rigid clawed fingers like those of a bat followed at the tips of the wings that could move like the real deal and fold into knuckles. They too were armored by the same plating on the limbs but with horns growing out of them and they fanned out into two smaller sets of aviation limbs that came out of them while the tail had a trident end with a spade piece to thrash down any opposition that dared to defy it.

 **"And I, shall put an end to your reign."** , it laughed at them with extreme disdain. It was ripe with contempt. It did not sound anything close to a regular roar of a mere dragon. It bore the malice of a dark deity of Iron and a Harvester of souls. It was like that of a man with an Irish accent. A really loud,ugly and boisterous voice of gnarls with conceit and arrogance. It was powerful. **"The Age of Dragons will once more begin and the cult of Crom Diubhne will be resurrected! NOW COME AND SEE HOW FAR YOU GO AGAINST THE GOD OF IRON, CROM CRUACH!"**

It smashed it's skull against the barriers to pierce and weaken them through it's seventh tier magical resistance in colliding against the surface with no hesitation.

The other side of the barrier, beneath their feet was shaken by a strong tremor that caused a big wave to nearly wash them away from the earthly platform. It was strong and turbulent as the massive swing of a tail had further shaken the foundation and a singular finger ran across the barrier as if trying to draw on it.

Massive panic took place. This creature had scared them to death, it was here to devour their very lives they so much cherished. There was nowhere to run because the other creature wrapped itself around the platform with it's long body and snarled in a throaty, hoarse voice akin to that of a victim suffering from throat cancer. The air was getting colder, the temperature was slowly being lowered with each passing second till it would become a frozen palace in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

The other being gargled in return.

 **"What peace do you speak of, mortals? Your grasp upon the world comes to an end!"** , hoarfrost was expelled from the vast jaws, rimmed with the coldness of the realm of Niflheim. Domineering. Throaty, cantankerous roars echoed below them in announcing the arrival of the end drawing near.

Blackened scales from the ashes and painted by the rotten corpses of the fallen marred it's immaculate hide. Once a long time ago it had been stained in red, however, now it had been exposed to the twisted energies of the realm of the dead. They became blackened by burrowing in the roots of Yggdrasil till they had been nothing more than dark smooth scales with frost giving them color.

It was a Lindworm of forty five meters, far bigger and longer than the heretical God of Iron. It was huge in size as it had grown stronger by enduring the excruciating of dwelling in the roots of Yggdrasil, residing in the cold and unforgiving earth where it's hide was forged by the elements of the dark and the frost of the dead realm.

The whole body was entirely armored by hardened formations of scales melded into individual plates with minimal gaps to offer fluid motion where rough muscle mass resided in being bathed by glacial formations forming from the chinks as a secondary set of armor. Veins with red blood glowed at some points of it's body where the armor was slightly thinner. It's torso was rather heavily built in bearing a pattern of icy swirled plates having replaced the flat bands that once stood there. They were stained by white and bluish marks.

It's limbs were muscular and covered in the same plating with two big talon growths perched on the neck, clawed blades fanned across the forearms and the upper back as makeshift shields. The legs were guarded by scales at the kneecaps, the ankles and the back sans the tendons to offer mobility and protection by a small formation of claws before the knees.

It's spine had only one layer of modified curved talons and it had two pinions on which stood only bone and flesh - bumps that were used to push the dirt away and impale the corpses of the wicked that fell upon it. Ice covered them in the shape of simple wings and stalactite-icy forms gathered down to the strong tail with a regular tip.

It was wingless, it never needed wings to assist it in fighting back as it mostly burrowed while it was trapped in the roots of the tree. While having to endure the ceaseless banter of Ratatoskr and the eagle it so desperately wanted to roast.

The neck was shielded heavily by serrated segments that bore a cutting edge on both sides and the back, leaving minimal chinks between them while the head had more fluidity to it. It's head had a short muzzle with strong jaws, the whole head had similar plated structures but far numerous and more malleable to offer locomotion.

The nose was covered by ridged a two-folded row of keeled scales and continued past the forehead into spreading as two horns that jutted upwards at a seventy degrees angle, bony and swirled in their making. The gums and below the ridge of it's nose were the only parts exposed where four white sabletooth fangs stood with two lines of smaller teeth. Parts of the cheeks were exposed to move the maw with ease and revealed another row of needle teeth to clamp down.

And finally it brought it's head down to stare back at the majority with it's bloody red sclera where the pupils were thin and pure white.

 **"Your time has come. Bow down to the master of ice. Feared among all of Dragonkind. I am the vast jaws that will tear this world apart."** , it announced with a curdling roar to the whole world. The declaration of power it's name carried upon being uttered **. "I AM NIDHOGGR, THE WORLD DEVOURING SERPENT OF THE FROZEN NORTH. I HAVE COME TO CLAIM WHAT IS MINE!"**

Niddhogr swept his claw against the Devils at the back as his body tightened around the platform to use crushing strength in making it creak and groan. The limb flew over the delegates as they tried to retreat into the portals, running for their lives but the lindworm was faster than they had anticipated - it's claws splattered a good majority of the unfortunate delegates, spraying blood and guts left and right. Only a few had the luck to survive survived.

"You wanted a good reason to show you we can unite?", Lady Astaroth slid her palms underneath the dress she lifted. At first glance it would have been scandalous but on her thighs were to holsters from which she unveiled a pair of modified black matte Chiappa Rhino six o'clock barrel firearms. She didn't feel sorry as she only twisted her smile to something like her children would produce. It was further made terrifying by the blood used as lipstick. "Now, that's your reason! Here you go, Marax." she kicked the girl into the portal as it was about to close.

Like mother, like son. She was one of the very, very few who used mortal firearms because of the Devil pride in seeing one of their kind using a tool of a lesser species as utterly disgraceful and humiliating.

She and Sirzechs started to throw people left and right to get any of the survivors out of this place. The Cardinals were able to escape by dragging anyone they could grab into the portals Gabriel spun, saving as many lives they could yet sadly they could not reach everyone. It was going to crack further, the barrier wouldn't last longer if the draconian assailants were to charge their respective Ice Breath and Iron Blaze Breath and blast them with those.

Crom Cruach rammed his horn deeper into the barrier - the ornament smashed a bodyguard into mush before the man could swing his blade. The platform was damaged further in mere seconds because they were shocked and couldn't react so fast.

The blade that slid across the floor reached cardinal Giovanni who had prioritized the lives of his bodyguards and sadly did not reach the teleportation pentagrams in time, being left behind.

That sword the bodyguard carried was none other than the sidearm of Saint George, the notorious blade that had assisted him in putting an end to a Zmey alongside the spear he carried.

The only one who could wield that sword alone was the aged Domenico who picked it up and bravely stood his ground when Barakiel and Shemhazai zipped to his sides and prepared themselves for combat.

Ascalon was in his hands yet he was old and his mobility was limited due to old age and a wound of past times.

"Sister! Use it.", Michael spread out six gold feathery wings from his back as he made the earth beneath as fists to protrude from his surroundings into forming a secondary layer over their heads in the moment when Niddhogr swept his tail across the barrier and Crom Cruach having thrashed it's neck against it, weakened this line of defense.

Gabriel called for one of her divine armaments to appear; a bow of splendor as big as her whole body was crafted within her delicate palms. Golden swirls adorned the arms of the bow as alabaster and light solidified into shape with divine steel entwined into the framework, adorned by silver streaks and watery gems at the edges. The six golden feathered wings she spread out glowed with gentle blue light akin to water as they begun to encase themselves into protective casings with torrents of her Affinity crystallized into ice.

Deus Caritas hummed in a war cry.

But instead, she directed her aim at the old man and shot an unnatural light arrow that struck his chest before it dissipated into his body. Gabriel's hands became shaky and her wings dimmed out because she had used some of her own mana to do what she had to.

His old body started to reverse right away; the years were turning back as the body begun to return to a younger form. Only to reveal a man in his prime years when he was once an unparalleled champion. Amber eyes glistened in shock and blonde hair freely breezed by the winds for there stood the Dragon Impaler with Ascalon in hand, wrathful and ready to repeat the feats that brought his name to prominence.

The strong warrior had returned for one last time to show them how humans triumphed against the odds.

"...Just like the old days...I win, Strada..." he murmured in a restrained voice despite trying his best to hide that friendly tone he once used before time.

Crom broke the earthly shield and roared in laughter.

Niddhogr took this as a worthy challenge to test his newfound strength on something worth the mettle to stand against the lindworm of ice.

"Today is definitely not my day." Azazel exclaimed in feigned fear.

"No, you're wrong." Lady Astaroth took off her black shades and casted them aside with no care for their price. The sickly eyes of a lighter yellow shade than her sons glowered intelligently with a sinister illumination as she focused on what was around them. She wasn't going to reveal anything about her household's Sorcery Trait, opting to use it with smarts and discretion when the time would allow it. "It's a really wonderful day~."

The reptilian eyed beauty used a riddle once again to get into the right mood. Even when it was not the time for such. It was a habit she could never let go of no matter the situation.

"A nightmare for some. For others, a savior I come.", something shifted around her feet when green ethereal flames danced in a waltz until they spread all over the place. It was a painting of hellish phantasm where she stood in the middle, shrouded in darkness but for the disgusting snake eyes that continued ominously to glow. "My hands, cold and bleak," her fingers squeezed the triggers of her modified Chiappa Rhino set with them aiming towards the enemies, pulling back her right hand in a twisting manner before her face. "It's the warm hearts they seek. What am i?"

 **"Death!"** Crom Cruach answered her riddle with no fear.

The Steed of Abigor came to life from the ethereal flames in it's full glory. The familiar created by Beelzebub from one of the last horses in Eden joined her master.

"Then come and get it, laddie!" the dirty blonde haired woman responded.

The battle was about to begin. The time for retaliation and vengeance was nearing. This was the mark of something malignant, an unlikely alliance pitted against such foes to be forged in battle.

The dragons roared in a battle cry that shook the platform. It was time to test their might against these usurpers of the upper world that had once belonged to heir kind.

XXX

 **[~** **Fired Earth Music - Welcome to a New Dawn** **~]**

"They're coming! Run for it!", Linda Sellzen pulled Irina forward to get her on the move after she had ran away from the other street a few minutes ago. The will to live was far stronger than the need to fight. Nothing else mattered as the sister of Freed Sellzen did not let go of the younger Executor because she would have been left behind.

Irina was running away in trying to reach the rendezvous point with everything she had in her. Her second blade was on her back by the use of a scabbard while Blood Excalibur shrank down to it's bangle form around her wrist to offer her more comfort.

The horde was back to chasing them as the Dreadnoughts on the ground were marching right behind them. Flying Balance Breaker drones were catching up to them with arms ready to rumble. The packs of dogs were sprinting in the thrill of the hunt, deranged troops strode in heavy steps that shook the very ground by the weight of their metalic appendages.

Xenovia had managed to buy only three minutes.

Three minutes that were essential for the rest. It was enough to assist them in sprinting towards the main building.

They were just a few blocks away at best. So close they were and yet so far at the same time - only a good amount of 800 meters was the hurdle they had to cross. Under the heavy fire and rubble that was raining, never mind the advancing thralls and the monsters coming right behind them to splatter them in gore and bones on the dirty ground.

The Angels flew low since they carried people on their arms and backs while the remaining ground troops were running and guarding them from any projectiles that would reach them.

Irina wanted to go back. Even if she knew it would be futile, even if it would be nothing more than being a spectator of a bloody, barbaric ritual of sorts. She grit her teeth in panic, running with all of her strength in search for a safe haven. The stamina she had was depleting further while her mana still had a long way to go before it would be exhausted. Yet, Blood Excalibur was taking it's toll on her and she needed to recharge it or lest it would drain her instead.

"We have to go back... I can't leave her behind!", she screamed loudly.

Linda Sellzen tugged her further, "Irina... It's nothing... Nothing we can do so live, goddammit!", the blondie gnarled at her as if she were some beast.

The booster drugs were still working so they had more strength to run further ahead till they would reach the corner and straight for the next barrier.

A few metalic feathers flew past the two women in striking down a fellow Executor who carried one of their compatriots. His back and leg were hit by the projectiles but he pressed on and threw the woman he carried forward to another one who could carry her.

The lodged feathers expanded in a rapid succession of protrusions that covered and absorbed the man into forming a large construct of pikes like a tree. Blood splurged upon the pikes in droplets...

"Go! Go! Go!", Teodoro turned back to throw a lance of light behind him, hitting a blackened thrall right in the head before he charged ahead with his wing having healed enough to grant him flight. He didn't bother to look back as the light died out.

Now it was hell for sure. The smoke and mist did hamper their vision, making it hard to know what was ahead of them. It was some luck so far that had made them go so far.

A few more of the Executors fell as the fastest Sacred Gear users reached them to engage in a mindless thresh of strikes that tore their bodies apart. Even more it was done with the lent demonic swords of Sword Birth by another drone. Blade Blacksmith swords impaled another one in each spot possible to make a porcupine out of that poor soul.

 _"We need to do something! Think!"_

The hounds leapt for anyone they could sense, relentlessly pursuing men and women alike to feed upon their fresh meat so ripe for the taking.

Some of them were shot down by arrows made of celestial metal, arrows that traveled further in accelerating to boot up all of the inscribed scripture upon them. Arrow tips coated in Angel blood - further adding a deadly attribute upon them as it reacted badly against any demonic or tainted being. Especially when it was placed in metal.

The arrows flew straight, striking a few thralls. The sequence kicked in; deadly flames and piles of rubble grew in size from the enemies. Flames of a divine nature engulfed enemies alike in burning through their defenses, charring bodies left and right while pikes stabbed anything in sight. Then a detonation followed - blowing up many thralls who did not have any means to defend themselves against these new weapons.

Walls of these earthly forms had been crafted to slow them down.

It wasn't enough.

Flying drones darted diamond bits and blades rained upon the field, killing and cutting people further.

The numbers of Angels went down to a mere ten while the people they carried had died in their hands. Now they were reduced to a rough thirty man brigade.

"Enough... I'll hold them off!", Linda threw Irina away from her and turned back as she swung her Angel Blade v.1 pair in bringing an air current from the cutting edges of her new tools. It was insane to try but she tried anyways, anything would be of help right now. "Irina! I'll call for help!", it was a code between them that meant one thing to use at this point.

The blonde woman muttered through a feeble voice of fear a command to call forth her own Guardian. "Adonai Melek!", her eyes blazed electric green from their natural color as a lemon yellow halo manifested above her head.

Each Summoner could use the practice of Invocation directly into their bodies and that was what she had done now.

Invoking the power of her Guardian, Linda's form was covered by a few of Raguel's plating with two wings of lemon colored light blazing to life. Her face gained his metalic features as 15m claymores in a vague cross shape shot like bullets in clashing against the Balance Breaker drones before her.

Blinding light bathed the area as corpses fell down in blood, burning cadavers marched but fell into the hands of the reaper for an eternal sleep from which they would not wake up.

Angel Blade v.1 bullets supported her attack by demolishing the Sacred Gear users at the front row, utilizing the effects of each one to bring them down into a bloody mess of mist and organs flying like shrapnel.

It didn't matter that they had been in a Balance Breaker state if they didn't have a means to defend themselves. Not that it was quite easy to do so in their current state.

More and more of these claymores were produced by a swing of her wrists. It wouldn't last long as Raguel was a high tier Guardian and the duration of invoking his powers into her body would drain her considerably. The risk she knew well but took nevertheless because it was for her brethren, to save as many people as possible. Even if it meant certain death... She was scared but the drive to fight overwhelmed her senses into shooting more and more of these constructs in a rapid succession.

Two Dreadnoughts stepped forward to meet the claymores head on, bringing their spade and plumage of hooks to deflect the deadly blows of the Summoner. One swiped it's plumage to act as a shield that was pierced by the first two claymores while the third one impaled it's leg and lodged deep.

The second one deflected a claymore with ease but did not survive the next two that split it's head open, it's chest caved in by the sheer solid light construct triggering the self destruction mechanism. It was brought down, falling backwards into squashing some Gear users flat but the rest were fast enough to avoid the fall and pounced forward.

The mechanism triggered dark shadowy hands to make their way out of them and slithered down on the ground in massive rows that were reaching out for the running men and women.

Blasts and projectiles followed afterwards.

Angels made barriers in the nick of time to shield the group as best as they could.

The feathers and diamond shards collided against the barriers, making their way through the smoke in smashing against their surface with a heavy assault. The strength they bore was enough to pierce the makeshift field at a few points - angelic warriors were decimated upon taking on the full brunt of the attack, nearly killing all of them but one who survived. Some of the men and women succumbed to the deadly force, further brining down their numbers to a mere twenty five.

The shadowy hands were pinned down by the light claymores to negate them, as many as possible in the long run.

"We cannot take any longer! They'll kill all of us!", Lucina screamed in a chortle, drenched with despair. She only loaded her FR F2 with a new cartridge and took aim at random - it had hit something and a brutal shockwave followed.

They had tried to warp there but the disturbance negated it. So it was to do be done by foot.

Saint Lucca compressed all of his light rapiers into a singular, massive khyber blade to creep upon his biceps while the Gear he mixed up had been milked out completely. His other hand held one of those Angel Blade series swords, ready for battle.

"People... I love all of you.", he said in pure sincerity to his fellow brethren. He stepped forward, only making a few steps. If he caved in the rest would follow, he had to brave through this till the bitter end. "So one last time... We fight together and we die together. I could not have asked for better friends than you.", his smile wasn't fake despite the blood sprawled across his face making him look like a monstrous butcher.

Strength from nowhere gripped his body tight and a flicker of courage lit up. "So let's show them how we do it at Rome! Charge forward!"

The escape path was sealed behind them. There was nothing left to do but give them a fight as they would not hand them their lives that easily. Drones had blocked the way as they were encircled at both sides.

Irina twirled her rapier between her fingers. It was the time to show them who she was, to take down as many as possible to honor the sacrifice of Xenovia. "Guess there's nothing left to do... Fuck it! I wanted to apologize to you, Ise! You dumbass motherfucker!", at this point it was nothing but her ramblings since people became honest at the face of imminent peril.

 **"Mana** **Pulse** **, Rank Up Magic, Infernal Nightmare"** , she buffed herself to squeeze out as much as strength from her frame to last longer.

In that second they pressed forward. One unified charge with everything they had. Enraged, having nothing to lose to fight like madmen. Humans versus humans, abominations against an uncommon foe.

Debris destroyed some of the buildings around them. Hell had broken loose and from there did they emerge as the wraiths of the night.

Among the fires and rubble, the darkness and smoke were twenty six strong against a hundred. Wounded. Scared. Battered and tired. Clad in dark uniforms. They were like the monsters coming from the blackest pitch as they walked between the flames with fire burning in their eyes, life beating in their hearts like never before. Their dark silhouettes glowed with light of varying colors, weapons armed and ready to do what they were made to do.

Champions. Peacekeepers. Warriors. People.

"Advance!"

The first wave came at them.

Teodoro Legrenzi smashed his khyber sword at the shoulder of a woman with flaming fists after parrying her first strike, skidded to the left in a change of footwork by channeling light in his left arm into making a spiked brass knuckle. It dug into the base of her neck while his Angel Blade started to burn in green flames that were absorbing her's when he brought the dark edge against her throat after lifting her arm up.

The simultaneous use of his brass knuckle pushed her neck against the sharp cutting side of his blade, slicing through her soft tissue and severing the jugular vein upon a small change of positioning.

More and more came at him in heavy steps.

He lunged forward to crash his sword into the base of the skull, slamming his flaming blade right into the head of child with metalic limbs and skin. He met resistance in the face of two men. One centaurian legged drone galloped at his direction as more followed behind him, jumping high to crush the boy under his feet while another man with tendrils of darkness threw his piercing appendages towards the ground where he stood.

Teodoro used his light to form a shield at his back to block them, intensifying the illumination to shirk away the dark tendrils away but he stepped back in a hurry to avoid the legs of the other one. The Sacred Gear user held a polearm he dragged across the pavement in a crescent move to try to hit his side, yet it was met by the Angel Blade in a flash. It nearly made him stumble to the left if he did not use a lance of light to drive into the ribs of the man to bring him down.

Saint Lucca fought side by side with Irina, covering each other by a flurry of sword swings and footwork - his assymetric khyber light appendage swerved upwards to push off a woman away for Irina to turn around and decapitate her in one stroke with strength behind it. Blood splashed her but she did not relent. Blood Excalibur started to make it flow towards it's bangle bracelet form to feed upon it.

Irina stomped the ground fast, triggering the use of her buff instantaneously. "Mana Pulse!"

A shockwave followed to push back the incoming beasts, making a kinetic force shield to deflect the projectiles from above.

The Durandal rapier was slashing, splicing and taking limbs left and right to bathe her in blood to recharge her main tool. Yet, she was barely hanging there.

A small girl rushed her at the left, bashing her with her elemental hammer to be thrown away backwards. Exactly where the pack was standing.

"Irina!", the auburn haired Francesca screamed loudly upon seeing her thrown away. She took out two Black Key handles in her right hand and threw them at her direction, then switching back to her bow and nocked an arrow on it for a clear shot at the head of a leonine Gear user who was about to tear Lucina Vincente apart with her claws.

The arrow went through her forehead, activating the sequence for various chains to rip apart the demonic spawn from within but they also spread out to esnare nearby drones who fought to escape their reach. "Burst! Chain Link Solus!", they unwound into individual, straightened bolts that blinded any drone nearby. They were good enough to bypass the protection of helmets and visors into stabbing their eyes.

They burst into bloody mist the next second.

But in return she did not escape the bolts of diamond shards that riddled her left shoulder. The projectiles burrowed deep with one poking out of her armpit after having passed through the shoulder plating. Her grunts were pained but it only served to enrage her further into a frenzy.

A new arrow was nocked on her bow, swirling with mana to gain more piercing strength. An intricate glow of Latin scripture appeared on her body as she fortified her body to get more resilience, taking aim and released the arrow in no time. Her aim wasn't the best so she accidentally hit the floor.

It made a field of arrows to spring up in darting drones. Heavy burns were present on some of them but the advance did not stop.

A stray shot tore through Francesca Bianchi's calf, making her slump down where drones surrounded her with their weapons ready to end her life.

"...I'll see you in hell...", she muttered before the scripture on her lit up as she was struck by blades.

There was a flash that blinded them and a violent hail of metal sprouted from her body as the warmth left her body, a final parting gift in granting death by devouring any Sacred Gear users around her. Blood, organs and flesh were torn asunder before a wave followed afterwards in nullifying any metal based Gears to disrupt - thus killing many of them in the vicinity due to stripping away their limbs and suits that kept them together.

Men and women died fighting to take down as many drones as possible with them, impaled and cut down by their tools in a single blaze of glory.

They were overwhelming. Their strength, their numbers, their fearless charge was unstoppable.

There was a flash from the rooftop of a nearby building, flying towards Irina in gaining momentum that would have annihilated her if she had been struck. It was in her blind spot, she wouldn't have seen it coming.

It was so much faster than she was. Irina only had a moment to turn around when she saw it dangerously nearing to her, having no time to react. Reflexively, she closed her eyes in fear to avoid seeing it as she didn't have time to cast a shield to spare her life from it's menacing power.

The sound of something reverberating and bones being snapped made her blink and open her eyes to see what had happened and why she was still alive.

The single Angel remaining stood there, shielding her with his body where a singular sword had cut through his stomach and poked dangerously close to her chest. "...Once... he saved my life...I'm returning the favor now...", he spat blood and used his wings to defend her further as Blade Blacksmith swords were pushed into them, stabbing them with cold metal of a blue coloration. "...my time is over... if you see him... Tell him he was a good friend."

The Angel turned around, driving a spear into the head of thrall behind Irina but suffered from a slash on his back. His blood splashed on the Executor so he grabbed her hand and placed it on his chest... "...u-use...me...Irina..."

 **[Blood Knight Arthur: For the King's Glory!]**

All of his blood was being drawn out from the wounds to flow over her fingers. The blood stored by her bangle bracelet started to spread over her form by mixing up with the angelic blood to coat her in red. It solidified into a black knightly suit of plating over her uniform, bearing a dark luster. It had jagged spikes and a red cape flowed in the air like a creature as a crown of blood rested upon her head. Over her collar the blood solidified into a black half mask to cover her mouth and nose with two claws resting upon her cheeks.

Blood Excalibur expanded to take shape into it's Mimic configuration, becoming a broadsword from legend. Thus granting her dual wielding simultaneously in conjunction with her Durandal rapier that was covered in blood.

It was her version of the armor of King Arthur, similar to the one the Genocide Bishop Valper Gallilei had while he used the sword before having relinquished it to his prototype.

"...Thank you...", she muttered as she killed an elderly drone. Her swords parried another blow and when she stepped up she knocked another one so she could cut it's throat before spinning to slash across the chest a woman.

More fell down. Their numbers dwindled to fourteen, all members of the Last Battalion.

Lucca used his Miracle to merge the flight enabled Sacred Gear of a child to use it's diamond wings as shields. However, they were halfway through the tunnel of light, about to succumb to their wounds under the fierce blows of the enemy.

Ferocious as lions, they delivered blows after blows in deadly force. One fell with shards in his torso and limbs but clung to life long enough to stab the khyber sword into the pavement as a crutch. "Blessings...of the Wind!", his hands slid upon the hilt but it was enough. Before he would detonate, his Angel Blade resonated in green for air currents to crush the organs of nearby foes, applying pressure on the ground to lift more in the air.

It was raining blood for a few moments.

His corpse they dismembered and made a bloody mess.

Linda layered the field with claymores to act as a wall. She was already feeling the strain, thus she knew she was going to collapse soon enough. Every blow she delivered was met by strokes of hammers and elements, weakening her further by sheer overexertion. She was paving the way by making rows between the ugly creatures who knew no fear.

Another fell. And another. Till the moment where only she, Lucca, Irina, Teodoro and Lucina Vincente remained as the last standing.

The circle was tightening, they were being pushed to the center.

Irina breathed out, "Teo. I'm sorry for earlier. I didn't mean to insult you."

Teodoro looked at her direction. "It's okay, Shidou. I love you too.", he was trying to catch his breath.

 _"...u..mmo...n...Call...for...m...e..."_

Lucina Vincente wheezed in pain. "Damn, where's thunder when you need it?", blood dripped down her lips when she tried to talk back.

Lightning struck.

Fires erupted over those who had no defense against them while others had no problem at all since they had a means of protection to last longer.

Twelve pillars of light tore through the darkness like the rays of the sun itself.Those lights surrounded the remaining Executors in a protective shell. Each of them had a specific coloration that defined their belonging to a class. From there did they emerge as the lights illuminated the way - twelve beings in dark skintight suits with celestial plating, each one bearing an Affinity to distinguish them. Some of them were men while others were women, all hooded where unnatural eyes glowed in colors not found in any human being.

More lighting struck the drones, frying organs like in an oven at 360 degrees for a good crispy drone buffet.

These creatures spread out different types of wings that were not like those of the regular angelic messengers of the lowest hierarchy. Those were pinions where ethereal appendages of pure photons or ones constituted of Elemental Affinities resided. Feathers made out of razor sharp steel unknown to the modern age were seen at some points where there was no light.

Those resembled the wings of an invoked Guardian but far more corporeal and solid.They were closer to the ones the higher hierarchy possessed.

The strangest thing was the fact of them lacking any halo to determine their status, such a thing was completely lacking.

It was quite bizarre to witness.

The drones hissed for the first time as if they actually felt fear. Some were stepping back out of pure instinct to avoid the light that emanated from their direction.

"Est Audito ab Terminus. Sefer malak est de sulla." One of them spoke in clear, melodic voice of demure. It was sharp like a cleaver and thunderous like the march of men upon a battlefield. Yet it was somehow familiar, very familiar to Irina as if she had recognized to whom it belonged.

The one who spoke was a woman, evident by the figure she could not hide underneath the dark clothes.

Cross swords rained while lightning struck thralls. The twelve figures took flight to battle the mindless Sacred Gear users by all means necessary to deal with these pests. Dreadnoughts stepped towards them to clash in a heavy rumble with debris within their massive hands.

Lucca felt the ground shaking beneath them. A terrible tremor was growing stronger with each step as booming echoes rebounded, it was like an earthquake but it felt different. It was like the sprint of a horrible titan that was coming their way. It was morbidity that crept within him as the source was advancing faster than expected.

Until a shadow loomed over them threateningly.

"Oh...dear god... We're doomed...", Teodoro looked up and saw something really big towering over the buildings. It was massive, it was huge to even try to scope what it was but the disturbance it caused was felt all around the premises.

The air was blown by it's trotting, tremors followed every move it made in setting off car alarms. It was very mobile for a creature of such magnitude, moving as if it were a human being with all of that locomotion packing.

The next step loomed over them threateningly, it didn't bother to look down as it confidently pressed on. The weight of it's sole met the pavement in one fluid motion, accidentally crushing a lot of drones in the process. Blood and organs, flesh and bone were pulverized in a mere second when the thing lifted it's foot to stroll ahead.

A great amount of the opposition perished under the foot of the titanic spawn. Where it was remained a gaping hole, filled with people in a gruesome mixture like in any bowl of soup.

It was heading towards the barriers keeping them away from the threat of the World Destroyer battling the Angels on the other side...

"...they have breached the perimeter...", Linda despaired as she cut the next demonic spawn before her. They were fighting a lost battle, there was no hope left in them. But she realized something was odd about everything. The barriers were still holding together. "No, wait. I think that's help!"

XXX

13th September, Sitri Manor, Kuoh City, East, 13:39 pm

Sona Sitri was walking down the stairs slowly by supporting herself on the handlebars, carefully moving not to fall since the stairs were big and her distracted countenance might have had her accidentally trip. The emotional rollercoaster was dying out slowly as she felt the sharp fangs morph back into her regular set of teeth by each moment she was becoming calmer. She was easier to agitate as of lately due to the fluctuations of emotions she experienced, her wrath being far often unleashed by smaller stimulus that would not have affected her before.

The pink strings of her white hoodie dangled left and right with each step, the pink slippers flopped and made that unmistakable soft sound upon touching the expensive stair rugs that covered the cold, heavily decorated tiles underneath. The changes in her physique did make it a bit challenging because she broke one of them when she stepped. It wasn't of importance, she ignored it to continue walking down to partake in the lunch her maids had prepared.

Serafall had already visited earlier, her father and mother were back at home in the Underworld so she was all by herself. Atleast she had her employees and her butler around to live with her, each treating the other with cordial respect.

The dark haired Sitri scratched her neck with her left hand, uneasy and distant in her cold gaze.

The dullness of her voice acknowledged one thing she had thought about on a random principle. "These pantaloons are tight. Should have picked something bigger.", it was done with annoyance for the fact that necessitated a shopping spree to buy new, bigger clothes because everything else didn't fit her new appearance and she had only bought new underwear.

Rather, her maid Angela had taken mister Basset with her to the nearest lingerie shop in the mall to pick some proper garments for the young lady. Since the lady of the house only went to school and immediately returned home after finishing the paperwork or brought it with her. She was extremely cautious about going out because of her status as a target of the culling and her designated status as a threat to be exterminated ever since she saw that e-mail around a month ago.

Never mind the fact of her reaction to the sexy underwear being mild disbelief at first glance. But it was nothing short of pure, unadulterated smugness in reality because she liked what she saw after getting used to it. Going as far as stripping down to pose before the mirror with her new garments on wasn't so weird to her except for the fact of doing it for hours.

"These bounce quite a lot. Now i see what it's like for Rias and Akeno", she concluded casually by grabbing her breasts over the hoodie, placing her fingers over them and ran them down in a swipe. A shiver went through her spine, "After all, a pair of big tits is the best... Damn, they feel awesome.", satisfaction and pure bliss were written on her face when she tip toed to have her chest bounce. It made her want to snicker but she restrained such a desire.

Despite everything, becoming a Dragonette had some undeniable perks she embraced.

But then again she was reminded of something. Her palm made it's way to her chest where she placed it above the Brand. Even with a hoodie and a pink v-neck shirt underneath she felt the coldness of those three black scales. Her eyes darkened with apathy for a moment.

"I'm going to fix this and we'll be a team again. Even if i have to force you into this.", she resumed her steps as she was halfway down the stairs on the second floor. _"Then I'll kill you while you would kill me. It's a promise. And I'll keep it."_

Upon her next step she froze; in her head something was whispering to her about tranquility and stillness. It was unnatural for sure, it was far too quiet at this hour. It was never the case, no matter the day there was a lot of noise around lunchtime. Such a peaceful atmosphere was an alien concept in this manor.

Sona knelt down to hide behind the cover of the handlebar, stepping backwards with trepidation. Her breathing she paused, climbing back to her own room where she locked the door shut.

The first thing the dark haired girl did was to pull one of the built in drawers into her bed, revealing folded clothes. They were thrown away in a hurry to find a squarish black case which she took out. Upon opening it a Browning Hi-Power and a fourth generation Glock 19 were waiting for her with loaded cartridges. The butterfly knife she had as a present from one of her relatives was there.

"This should do it. I need to get away from here...", Sona slid the cartridges into her firearms, unzipped her hoodie to wear the holsters with a belt and inserted them in. The butterfly knife was hidden in her left pocket while her phone took the right one.

Of course, she had more than this as her hidden arsenal. Upon pulling the drawer over this one a Colt AR-15 with a rail was in plain sight. Thank goodness she had loaded all cartridges beforehand.

All of these were procured by striking a deal with her partner through a third party arms dealer to have her own weaponry at disposal.

The door to her room was opened carefully, causing her to turn around in preparation for anything coming her way. From there mister Basset showed up and waved at her.

"Something's happening, miss. We need to depart. Right now.", the way he spoke was clearly in concern. He didn't waste any time to pull her by the hand and boot up a transportation pentacle to get her out of here. "We're not telling your sister about the guns."

The circle started up, glowed for a moment but nothing happened. It only crashed down with them still standing in the room. Something was interfering with the manor's defensive wards or it was Sona's condition that prevented it since those circles were no longer compatible with her.

"We need to use the secret passage on the first floor. We'll go through the other stairs and off to the kitchen.", Abraham Basset mussed over the fact in dissatisfaction. It wasn't going to be that easy. "May i?", he pointed towards the Colt AR-15 in her hands to use as a sidearm.

Sona threw him the firearm and the secondary ammo clip from her back pocket. They had to use alternative means to escape the city as far as they could. Contacting anyone else was dangerous at this point because someone might have tracked the signal.

One of the choices they had was to reach out and hide in his granddaughter's home outside the city where she was waiting to meet him at the airport. Milla Basset had decided to go see her grandfather with her mother but due to a phone call she was told to stay there and wait.

"Let's go.", the Sitri girl swiveled her neck to the left as she closed the drawers and stood up.

The two of them walked out carefully by checking the perimeter really carefully when she opened the door, glancing at both sides of the long corridor and above her. Mister Basset held her hand as they stepped outside, glued to the wall and tactically retreated to a nearby flower stand.

The butler took off the vase and the table, moved them away to find a small dot he pressed with his index finger. It sunk right back in, becoming something like a hole in which he slid his finger and pulled upwards for a medium sized exit to show before them. It was akin to a door but more like an air hatch with darkness waiting inside.

"Go. We need to get down as soon as possible."

Sona followed the instructions and crawled inside the open slot where she was back on her feet. Everything was dark, it was moist and the air was humid. Behind her followed her butler who closed the hatch after putting back the vase and table.

They walked for a few minutes till they reached a hidden door at the end. There were secret passages built into the entire house with the fastest exit being located in the kitchen behind a meat storage space.

Sona gripped the ball handlebar, rotating it to unlock the mechanism of the door. Hastily she stepped forward went the door swung, minding her steps to avoid any excessive sound being made.

"This way, miss. Hurry.", on the other side was one of her maids. It was a tall woman in black clothes and shoes, hazelnut colored hair and light brown matching eyes. She was quite normal in looks, average at best but with a remarkable pair of eyebrows. "The car is waiting for you outside. We cannot contact the Underworld. Hurry, miss, hurry."

She stepped back to watch for anything incoming. Sona hopped out of the door and pulled out the older gentleman with a wonderful mustache to make things faster.

"Come on, mister Basset. There is no time to was-

Sona felt a strong kick right into her back, tripping while pulling down the butler with her. She didn't have time to react at all, she was instantly held on the kitchen floor by multiple hands that pinned her down.

Abraham Basset tried to stand up but a fist smacked into his jaw to make him stay down.

Both were held down. With her peripheral vision the Dragonette managed to get a glimpse at the corner where the big table stood.

"Don't treat them roughly, we must not be rude to our host. Make sure they are treated with respect and courtesy.", a deep bass voice was heard at the table.

The maid grumbled when she lifted both man and girl by the help of others around her. Her compatriots held them to prevent escape and dragged them to the table.

Upon the chairs were men and women in modern tactical gear, armed to the teeth with weapons and magic at their disposal. A few of them had horns while the rest were strictly human looking with no deviations. They stared back at Sona blankly like any other person on the street. Disinterest and silence they directed towards her, carefully observing her features and frame to catch the slightest twitch of a finger.

"You! How dare you set foot in this house?!", the butler groaned in clear aggression when he being forced to sit down on the free chair at the end of the table. "This is treachery. How could you do this, Andrea?", there was disappointment in his tone when the maid strolled to the other corner of the table to set up coffee cups.

"Because I'm tired of being treated as some second rate person. How long do we have to serve these filthy oppressors?", the maid glanced back at him with bloodshot eyes. There was still respect for the older man in them. That had not changed at all. "I'm tired of having to tend to this ungrateful brat. Just because she's a daughter of some noble?! I'm sick of it..."

"Andrea, you don't have to do this.", Sona tried to dissuade her.

The tall maid only narrowed her eyes. "I don't care what you think. You have no idea what is really happening behind the scenes. Everything you know about the Underworld is a lie. They lied to us... All of us. Including your sister, she doesn't know anything about the truth..."

She presented coffee to them as well before she moved away from the table. One move and they would not get away unscathed, they were being monitored closely at each side.

"It's not too late to turn around and walk away. We have no quarrel with you, good sir.", a different voice was heard. It was a high soprano with a tinge of allure behind it.

On the other side of the table was a woman.

She was a tall woman with nearly flawless looks. Darker skin coupled with Mediterranean beauty. Her soft features posed with a pair of intelligent looking, sharp eyes with a touch mellow behind them. Long brown hair streaked past her mid-back gently stood below her shoulders with her bangs parted sideways while a few strands rested over her ears. Her fringe was left to hang between her eyes in a few strands that gave her a sophisticated yet dignified look of an intellectual, bearing sharp eyes of frosty blue with grey scattering around the pupils, hidden behind semi-rimmed glasses with ornamented flowers cut into the handles themselves

She was drinking her coffee at her own leisure gracefully as she nodded in a friendly manner despite the situation. "I apologize for the methods we had to employ to gain audience with you, miss Sitri. We do not intend to cause you any harm or to any of your employees.", her eyelashes pursed when she blinked behind the glasses she wore. "You will be set free soon enough so please be patient. We do not wish anything from you but for Serafall Sitri to arrive."

Sona tensed completely and her teeth clattered against each other. There was no way what she heard was true. She realized they were only using her to get to her sister but something in those words made her doubtful. If they wanted, they could have already tried to kill her but they didn't present any intention to do so. Her expectations were chains and a public execution but nothing like this had happened yet.

The woman responded in turn to make things clearer. "Your sister betrayed us. She doesn't know what they're going to do if they get their hands on it. She betrayed me when i only wanted to save her and the rest. She turned her back on our teacher, she threw away everything. Serafall was my only friend... the closest thing i had left..."

There was grief and sentiment in her blue eyes. It was pain in each sentence she expressed, a dejection and betrayal in her very intonation. There was no hate but only a deeply saturated regret and melancholy gloom in a commingled expression.

The woman stood up to declare her intentions loud and clear. "Call your sister right now. I wish to settle this between us once and for all. Only her and I, no one else is to interfere." her coffee cup she placed on the table and gleamed in a pleading look of inquiry. A burning desire to gain freedom from the shackles of the past. A single wish to change things.

It had to be now. There was no other chance but this.

"Call her, girl. I ask of you to bring her now. This is my sole wish. To face Serafall and snap her out of the lies they put in her head."

The woman paused with a hand upon her chest. She took a deep breath to calm down before she finished the conversation with a final statement.

"You will bring her to me. You are free to go once she would honor us with her presence."

Sona was calculating multiple plans on how to escape. Many thoughts raced through her mind in estimating the chances she had in trying to run away. However, she decided to wait for an opportunity so she played along and nodded in agreement. Those words did make her question herself about what she knew and what she did not.

She gave her approval and blinked.

"I look forward to cooperating with you, Sona Sitri... sister of the Leviathan."

Katerea Leviathan sat back in her seat in wait of her dearest companion.

The very same one she had lost all those years ago.

XXX

 **[~** **Twelve Titans Music - Monolith** **~]**

Thousands of souls were battling the World Destroyer spawns before the main barriers, each portion of their sheer numbers defending the protective layers at all sides.

The Dominion mergers used the barriers they had created like a battering ram to smash into the huge creatures. A few of them tackled the beasts through the strength of their limbs, bringing forth devastating blows into the shoulders and their knees.

Bolstering enhanced firepower, the big Dominions uses kinetic force blasts to further damage the Bandersnatch in their weak spots by dismantling the armored parts. Dealing piercing damage they unleashed bone breaking punches straight into the flesh, rupturing vessels and breaking bones.

Finally a few of the badly hurt Bandersnatch spawns caved in underneath the relentless assault while being blasted with more force. The one with a huge hole in it's torso fell lifeless as the warmth left it's frame and it slumped back, extinguished and unmoving.

Uriel was upon Castor's back, holding Deus Solaris for another strike in preparation. The King Bahamut transformed man took flight upwards, his wings menacingly flapping to gain more speed and dart into the dark skies above another Bandersnatch monster. The speed he gained was plenty enough to stand above the beast, lunging downwards like a fighter jet in pursuit.

It was like a sonic boom when he flew down, aiming for the head of the creature. Uriel held on tight while Deus Solaris was readied to deliver another one of it's monstrous blows by a clean swing. The slash in reality formed as they were about to meet head on with the abomination. Castor opened his jaws to spit out a jetstream of the Cannibal Dragon's Toxic Breath into the the left eye of the Bandersnatch - the acidic, corrosive blast bathed the big organ in a hurry. The burning effect of the Toxic Breath damaged it's eye and the tear in reality collided against it's face as Uriel landed a hit.

Deus Solaris intensified the flames on all Bandersnatch spawns to burn faster and spread out as that specific one suffered the full brunt of his wrath. The tear ate away at the phantasmal monstrosity's face, traveling further into it's insides and it devoured the organs it passed by - the Bandersnatch could not defend against such a thing as it wasn't magically fueled and thus it stepped back with it's dying breath being the last thing heard.

Two of the main line Annihilation Maker Bandersnatch drifted towards the lands of the dead.

Ten Bandersnatch and the Jabberwocky remained. But the second line seventy five meter Bandersnatch were still locked in battle with Raphael and his brethren.

The souls of the dead came in next; thousands of them drifted off from the ones holding up the barrier to push away another one through sheer numbers.

Gadreel looked around him. These things were still holding out despite the heavy resistance they met but it was not hopeless. He knew it deep inside, they had to kill these things as fast as possible. "Shields ready! We can do this!" he ushered a command to everyone around him to join hands and fight to the last man.

More barriers were being created to aid the big Dominions, making hexagonal shields to link with the rest of the defenses before another Bandersnatch would bring it's flaming fist into the east side.

Penemue pushed herself further to craft a barrage of her iconic spears, drawing from the seither the Dominions had oozed out to enlarge her constructs to the size of thirty meter javelins with chains. She threw her fist forward to shoot the projectiles into a Bandersnatch, each one being coated with her Poison Affinity to give them an edge.

The spawn brought up it's right arm in a defensive maneuver, trying to swat away a few of the Dominions while deflecting blows from the rest of the Angels. But it was what Penemue had expected, they were sluggish and damaged enough for it to work.

The chained spears were thrown into it's right knee, burrowing deeper into the flesh and expanding into a series of hooks to constrict any movement. The chains flailed around, wrapping themselves over that limb, thus bursting into barbs that impaled the flesh to boot up a specific spell in her arsenal.

A reagent that would react with the Divine Flames scorching it's limbs, it was like napalm showering the creature. With a snap of her fingers the flames engulfed it completely as a burning mannequin all the way up to it's head. It was getting weaker and weaker when lightning and fists of earth flung into it's other leg. A Dominion merger broke from it's defending post to move between the heavy crossfire, gliding around the Bandersnatch before it would try to use it's tail.

The intention it had was to glue itself into one of the open wounds of the beast, slipping through the cracks and burrowed two of the wings upon it's back to act as a pair of pliers to stretch the wound where a hand was slid inside.

"No more shall you take from us...", the voices of hundreds of Angels roared simultaneously within the shell. The hand started glowing in pure light for a multitude of Elemental Affinities to spark to life, being supplied by the Angels that constituted it. The Dominion plowed his other hand inside and dug in the remainder of his wings to stretch further the wound. The feathers extended from each other, lodging inside the black flesh where they vibrated at a high frequency for the self-destruction mechanism to boot up.

He knew it was leaking out already, it didn't have much time to waste so it chose the obvious action before it - the angelic almagalm tightly held on despite the struggles of his foe to remove him from it's ribcage. If he was removed, if he was to miss... They would have lost a chance they had painstakingly bet on so much.

So he held on, clawing inside to stay in one place before the sequence would take place. He turned around to glance one last time their brethren as to say goodbye, those eyes that bore nothing but light inside said something painful despite being immovable.

Barachiel took aim. Only a single bolt did he expell.

And the Angel granted the wish of his brothers and sisters...

The self-destruct was initiated. It was only for a second but it enveloped the Bandersnatch into light before a detonation took place. There stood no creature anymore.

It was evaporated completely. It was dead, finally. But at a cost.

The Jabberwocky grunted in outrage as if it were an intelligent being. It commanded two of the nine remaining Bandersnatch to move forward because a few of them were already useless in the condition they were. The two hundred meter titan was being bombarded and hit constantly, sustaining wounds that should have crippled it but it pressed on.

It's two tails grazed the ground before they slammed into an incoming hail of blasts to act as a shield. It avoided them, barely scratched it was when to it's side rushed two Bandersnatch to act as shields. They took the bombardment head on, withstanding great pressure to the point where only a little was necessary to bring them down. The Jabberwocky suddenly rammed it's fists into their backs, pushing forward to use them as defense when it made a few steps before the two lesser spawns were literally shoved into the barriers.

The souls there maximized their efforts to lessen the impact, burning out the time they had before they were to pass on. The barriers had suffered some damage but it wasn't hopeless since they still stood. The Dominion at that post punched the falling creature right in the eye, smashing it's organ and robbing it of sight.

The problem was the Jabberwocky. It was too strong and the regeneration rate it had was a serious problem even with the Divine Flames and Penemue's poison hampering it. The knee it had injured was already healed to it's previous state, thus allowing it to continue on with the assault. Fatigue was taking it's toll upon the defenders, their numbers had been lowered but they continued to press on.

A squad was sent out to find the master of the World Destroyer while they battled the product. The fastest way to stop it was to cut out the sun, kill the user and win through a series of tactics, exploiting the main weaknesses of the creatures at the same time.

Then the leading monster did something strange. The two downed Bandersnatch liquefied completely.

Black ichor moved straight for the Jabberwocky, miasma was coming out of it's jaws. The liquefied spawns crept upon the leading one, bathing it's legs into their ichor for them to climb upon the two tailed titan and be absorbed. The flames that were burning on the surface had been extinguished for a moment; the ichor solidified into a malleable tendrils that wrapped over the vital spots and became jagged armor plating without having to sacrifice mobility. A few of those remained unaltered to become a secondary pair of arms to give it more punching strength. The shell of horn growths it discarded for smooth, segmented armor with a row of swords between each line to poke.

The head remained almost untouched, except for a small pair of mouths to spring forth upon it's cheeks. It had changed form to gain higher mobility and piercing strength, rejuvenating itself to look above in a sickening grimace.

The remaining seven Bandersnatch undertook the chance to try to bypass the secondary protections and target the main ones.

Sauriel looked at the strengthened creature in fear. Just how much would they have to do to bring it down? Raphael was already busy with the second line spawns and it was harder to reach them. Calling for a Throne or a Virtue would have likely dealt damage beyond repair to every corner of the place and beyond, they only had to rely on their own.

 _"Give me a sign. Just one small sign of hope. We need help."_

Uriel was standing before the creature upon the back of the African man. Facing the abyss, unflinching, unrelenting for nothing in the world. He was going to fight.

" **E** **l** **Ataraxia**."

His armor was becoming a part of him, melding with his flesh to become one solid being. It turned completely golden with the red coloration fading away, only a few accents remained upon the chest where multiple orbs formed. Every single plate became a part of him, more ornate armor was produced by pure seither with various curves and resplendid shine. There were segmented parts of white upon the forearms, stomach and the thighs with swirls and red lines. Diamonds were upon the back of his hands where sharp fingers moved, his face became metalic and lost color. The mouthpiece split and slid back to his temples where various parts manifested to craft a helmet that hid his eyes completely. Adorned with gems, lined with black marks and he grew up to five meters.

His wings became pure flames, no longer bearing the feathers they had upon them. Only that they fanned out for six more to emerge, giving him the full might of his real form. Justice, Wrath, Flames coursed through his blade.

The Flaming Sword regained it's true form; it changed to a bigger blade like a one hand greatsword composed of white flames, the very same ones that were his wings. Deus Solaris was called upon it's truest form through the selfless sacrifice of many, the territorial boost also helped and the cries for justice gave it strength.

In silence he remained. His form was glowing in divine colors, unmatched by any other illumination before the light was compressed into a layer around him. He raised his sword above his head to cast a multitude of seals that interlocked into a shield. It was a framework for a bigger spell to be cast by the rest.

"We won't make the same mistake... I wouldn't...", the Flame of God spoke in an altered, booming voice that lost any mortal semblance to his previous one. It had a strong presence just as it had in the days of old. "...in his memory. Lend me your strength."

Deus Solaris burned even brighter with the flames of righteousness as his eyeless visage bore nothing visible on the outside but inside Uriel focused all of his anger into one single point.

Castor spread his arms for two custom pentacles to form over his claws. The King Bahamut's very own pentacles formed all around them in a protective layer to resist the miasma. At this point he could not speak as the instincts of the creature were slowly overtaking his psyche, stripping away any fear to continue on. He nodded and began to charge another Toxic Breath as he roared in fury. Souls flocked to their side, flickering in rage and vengeance. They formed a line before them, standing shoulder to shoulder. Monolithic, unstoppable, burning with power from somewhere within.

Uriel pointed his blade forward. "This time nobody would be forgotten when i carve their names upon it's hide. So you may remember us forever, spawns of filth."

Two Dominions mergers flew forward before their commander joined the fray upon the back of the King Bahamut. Souls followed suit by marching down to the Jabberwocky, faster than it they were despite the gained mobility.

The Jabberwocky welcomed them to try. It's upper arms swung faster than before to meet the Dominions who channeled power to knit light constructs in the shape of fists to clash with the fists.

The light fists met the arms in a second. The Dominions held on tight to press forward by gripping the fists with their own and casted multiple pentacles over them to withstand the pressure and to halt it's movement. It required enormous effort to do so, however, many souls aided them in focusing upon the joints where they started raining upon it. They were pushing it back, making it take a few steps due to their numbers and intensity.

And then came Uriel. He jumped off Castor's back to glide by the beat of his wings, zipped past the right arm and circled over it before he managed to step on the mountain of flesh. The Flaming Sword was stabbed into a small area that was not armored and so he braced himself to run upon it with extraordinary speed in carving the hide. The Miracle of Separation did it's job by severing muscles as he sprinted, flames emerging from each cut he made to deliver pain as to hamper the regeneration speed further.

Castor climbed over the left fist, spitting Toxic Breath over the area before he pounced like an animal in pursuit. He folded his wings and clapped both hands to unleash a kinetic force blast into the flesh by slapping both limbs into a patch of black skin. It was a big shockwave that reverberated through that limb while the sixth tier resistance protected him from the miasma.

More souls joined to repel the beast. Together they pushed, as one, burning the armored segments bit by bit.

The framework of seals produced thousands of chains that pricked and wrapped over the Jabberwocky with the help of Powers, Fallen, Principalities who took a chain link and spread out in a tactical maneuver to encircle the greatest foe with bindings. Covering fire kept the wretched abomination distracted as it tried to defend itself but the cesspool of souls and the Dominions kept it at bay.

It's only choice was to gather enough strength for a new mana blast to free itself from the constraints.

The chains were touching the metalic hide, sporadically ushering flames to appear whenever they tightened and connected with other chains. Even with such a superb regeneration, it would have to constantly heal to undo the damage of those fiery tongues. In turn, it meant the creature would have to sacrifice a good amount of stamina and strength to keep the healing rate at an acceptable rate. It would be weakened and burn out in due time but they didn't have time to waste.

It's magical resistance was fighting against the chains - flailing it was for nothing. Until the seven Bandersnatch chose to adress the issue in freeing their leading spawn from these hindrances.

Bandersnatch spawns turned their attention to the Jabberwocky in pain, slowly moving on their own despite the injuries they were sustaining to get closer.

One of them dragged it's arm over the bound right limb in a bid to smack off any resistance. It was burning, it was screeching like a dog about to die. It did not put a halt to it's attempt, it cared not for the wings of the Dominion that slashed the fingers of it's hand. It was slow to reach the angelic entity since it flew upwards with mobility unbelievable for it's size. The metalic Angel stomped the fingers with both legs before it returned fire by a blast of kinetic energy, shot at the eyes of the Bandersnatch.

Thunder zapped the creature again. Ice spread, crystallized structures that grew more massive with each passing second. Flesh bloomed with frozen flowers as bizarrely shaped edifices erupted into existence, torrents of flame and gusts of air splashed like waves.

But the Jabberwocky managed to finish charging another twin mana blast, only requiring precise aim to raze them completely. Hydrogen exploded within those maws by the power of Principalities who dealt extra damage before a shot would be possible. The chains were tightening, stretching to encase it in a hurry for there was no time left.

Things were getting darker by the minute.

A deafening snarl of pain filled the battlefield with dread. The Jabberwocky groaned in pain despite everything, the mana blast blew up inside those mouths. It was hurting badly, ichor poured out of them onto the ground below like black rain.

It wasn't looking good at all. Especially when the restrained monstrosity broke free...

Angels were thrown aside, falling down from the metalic surface.

The torrent of souls did not stop at all. Despite passing on, more and more replaced them in the nick of time to prolong combat. Until that threat pounded on the ground, creaking in each step it took. It was a juggernaut for a reason, a World Destroyer was the title it rightfully possessed.

Rubble collided with the barrier at the lowest point of origin. There was some blood in a few spots because of it.

Then the second line of Bandersnatch, totaling ten in number were rearing in support, ignoring Rahab and the rest in pursuit of the ones battling the Jabberwocky.

They were incoming.

Barachiel snarked in frustration. "This thing is a damn piece of work. Why did Father craft such a tool? God, why the hell did it have to find it's way to a bunch of murderers!?", he renewed shooting back at the incoming wretches.

Gadreel shrugged in hopeful wish-fulfillment. If anything, he felt proud to fight alongside such brave men and women and he found honor in dying together with them. "I really wish Father was here with us. I'm sure he would have been proud of us standing together once more.", he muttered before his hands made a projectile of darkness. In all of that fear existed hope, buried underneath emotional turmoil. He had found his purpose anew in the presence of all of these brave, selfless people.

For the first time since a long time ago he felt proud to call himself an Angel, to be surrounded by so many of his kin.

To die as one of them because they were and always would be family.

The Fallen Angels had not deserted the battlefield during the Second Faction War because of their smaller numbers or for any made up excuses by their enemies to paint them worse than they were. The actual reason was not a lack of strength as those who walked between darkness and light were truly mighty and all of their leaders were alive. It was because they couldn't bear to fight their kin any longer.

It scarred many for life for having to kill their own flesh and blood.

Kokabiel was one of those as he had gone mad in his grief and hatred because of this, making him into the delusional being that persisted through the centuries that followed that conflict afterwards.

 **[~** **Revolt Production Music - World Crusher** **~]**

Another sound chimed in like an earthquake. Heavy pounding echoed in the air, the earth was shaking underneath the weight of something really big. It was ominous, a presence terrible and frightening. It felt like human footsteps but a thousand times louder than they could ever be. A song of death were the vibrations it produced upon the field. Something was incoming at an alarmingly fast pace towards them.

...or rather, it was coming from behind the barriers.

Penemue turned around for a moment to witness what was happening in pure horror. Before her eyes was the picture of something big, rivaling the Jabberwocky in size upon a rough estimation. Her lips squeezed out a hollowed shriek and a whimper melded together the words she most despised in the whole, wide world.

"...Everything is lost. We are doomed..."

Her realization was a foreboding one. Sickening, harrowing and deadly certain on what it meant. The enemy had somehow bypassed the protections, thriving inside the city where she knew nothing had been left.

The next few moments were crucial. The Jabberwocky was dangerously near the barriers, the rest of the Bandersnatch were soon to reach it and everything they had fought for would have been lost.

The blonde Cadre nearly dropped her weapon in resignation when the looming shadow was cast over them. Not even their light was enough to cut through the darkness. She, who was known to fight till the end, never giving up, had cast aside all hope at this singular moment.

"I'm sorry... I'll be there soon.", her eyes were wrathful despite the despair swimming in those beryl green pits. It might have been useless but she wouldn't fall down without putting up a good fight.

The shadow passed through the barriers unhindered as if they were made of thin paper. The thing didn't flinch at all. No grunts nor gnarls were heard, it didn't feel alive somehow. The Angels located at the posts were demoralized further upon acknowledging such presence in their vicinity.

All hope was lost.

The Jabberwocky imitated a satisfied grin with the three months on it's face, being a product of Leonardo's sick fantasies and twisted imagination powering the behemoth. It was frightening how this thing could perfectly imitate human expressions. It was unnerving and unnatural.

It came to demolish the rest, charging up a mana blast from the mouths on it's face. The pentacles on it's eyes glowed in taking aim for one devastating blast. Uriel and the rest were dealing damage to stop it but it was still moving, still breathing when it took a stance before the barriers. Atleast three of it's hands were available to punch through the shields and strip them down like a dirthy cloth hanging on some balcony.

Jabberwocky raised those hands to add some extra firepower to the blast charging within the mouths. It would need some time before the twin maws would be healed completely.

Angels braced for the impact. Thousands of souls combined forces to make a wall to save as many as possible.

The other creature was behind them. They knew they couldn't battle another one. It was too much even for them.

Penemue was facing the face of death head on. With everything left in her she morphed her weapon into an array of shields. Everyone near her did so to give it a final push. It was now or never. "You big fuck, I'll see you in hell. I'll be waiting...", she closed her eyes not to see the blast that would come for them.

Then, a moment before it would fire something else happened.

The Cadre felt the wind blow past her, she was pushed aside by the torrents of air friction. Falling, she witnessed something outrageous, so unbelievable to her mind to grasp due to all of the shock.

The other creature was moving against the Jabberwocky. Much faster than it could ever be, composed of debris, rubble, stone, dirt, iron and anything upon the battlefield it was. It did not roar nor did it cower before the presence of the World Destroyer.

In a blink of an eye did it happen...

It literally smashed it's right fist into the ugly jaws with titanic strength.

It was a beacon, a monolith of hope. It was an answer to those hopes in kind.

It brought it's second fist for a left hook aimed at the Jabberwocky's left cheek, viciously pounding the beast through a fast punch. It stepped up the game by bringing both fists back in a boxing stance before it threw another piercing punch at the third eye, breaking parts of the crown of horns. The Jabberwocky was pushed back, tumbling back before it managed to regain some balance through the two tails acting as a brake and stabilizers by digging into the ground.

Debris was levitating around it, rotating to tactically use the sharp edges over the fists like a pair of brass knuckles. This titan was intelligent by the way it displayed basic combat capability and stances like a human fighter. More rubble was being added to it's overall mass, more of the terrain was being used to power this simulacra made of various pieces.

The creature was preparing for a second assault on the Jabberwocky. The face roughly resembled that of a woman, even an imitation of hair was made by rubble and steel bits. A colossus, roughly human shaped. The World Destroyer was going up against something that could possibly fight it back.

A World Crusher.

But the most outrageous prospect was realized. It came out of nowhere, it was not possible because it was only a product of creativity. It had no beast sealed inside, it was only a mere weapon. It should have never been able to do what it did.

The Jabberwocky eyed the World Crusher in pain, it's third eye damaged and horns broken. It took a similar stance, ignoring the rest like they were ants. It opened it's jaws to vocalize what it felt. It took a deep breath, bashing it's two tails on the ground in rhythm before it craned that sturdy neck upwards as if it were about to scream it's cords out. It was booming, it was about to be heard everywhere.

Only that something else entirely was wheezed out instead.

 **"KILL THE SUMMONER!** **FIND THE GIRL! DO NOT LET** **IRINA SHIDOU** **TO ESCAPE ALIVE** **!"**

The Bandersnatch were enraged, frenzied like never before. Their moves changed, they became fluid and balanced with grace and poise. Something in them changed completely, they had been waiting for this moment to spring into action full swing. They did things on their own accord, abiding the commands of the user no more. Free, unchained and let loose.

The Jabberwocky _talked._ It actually produced intelligent, coherent speech and improved tactics were to be expected from it. It broke free from the control of it's master. It was intelligent, it was independent in it's actions. It was sentient, it was masquerading all this time as a mere tool when it was biding time to break free from control.

The march of the giants had only just begun.

XXX


End file.
